CEDAR KNOLLS, N.J., Nov. 8, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- ChesterCAP is pleased to announce that Dotche, its innovative web platform for philanthropic entities, is now available online at the Elkhart County Community Foundation (ECCF) at www.elkhartccf.org.
"The Elkhart County Community Foundation represents another important partnership opportunity for ChesterCAP and Dotche," says Eric Swerdlin, ChesterCAP's founder and CEO. "This venture will allow all of the organizations in the Elkhart region to access this exciting technology."
Dotche, which stands for "Donor and Community Exchange," is a unique online philanthropic marketplace that changes the paradigm of the donor-grant seeker relationship. Dotche allows much greater collaboration among grantmakers, either the Foundation itself or donors, and grantseekers; those organizations who are looking for grant money to do meaningful philanthropic work. Dotche allows donors to get far greater visibility about specific programs, projects, and scholarship opportunities. It also allows grantors to unite online to evaluate grant proposals, scholarship applications, and other opportunities available to them. ChesterCAP, LLC acquired the rights to Dotche in June 2005 from Arizona Community Foundation (ACF).
ECCF serves not only 110 not-for-profit organizations that have endowment funds with the Foundation, but also the Elkhart County community of nearly 200,000 people. Dotche will serve as a charitable catalogue that identifies and categorizes these not-for-profit organizations along with other not-for-profit agencies that wish to be visible to potential donors. Users of the tool can browse by program category, organization category, keyword or capital campaign calendar.
W. Earl Taylor, president of ECCF, has been a fan of Dotche since its inception and believes the technology will revolutionize the way ECCF operates, providing a more simplified and transparent solution to the philanthropic process.
Taylor says that Dotche unites donors to matters they care about most in a way that was previously impossible.
"This technology allows donors and prospective grantees to discover each other," explains Taylor. "The donor can now find on our website an array of charities that they may potentially want to support, on missions and projects of which they may be unaware."
"Our desire is to streamline the grantmaking process for the grantmakers and grantees and encourage more online grant and scholarship applications," says Taylor. "The grants committee gets to remain actively involved and the grantee can now transition to a virtually paperless process. It's a win/win for everyone involved."
"I have known Earl for some time and I have a high regard for him and all that he's meant to the philanthropic world," adds Swerdlin. "His endorsement of the product has great significance in our industry and we're going to enjoy watching as the foundation builds its charitable catalogue over the next few months."
Swerdlin hopes other community foundations will explore Dotche and learn about its utility for their respective organization.
"The vast majority of community foundations have not yet gone the electronic route," says Taylor. "But if this produces the results that we are eagerly anticipating, then I would encourage them to explore it for themselves."
About ChesterCAP, LLC
ChesterCAP, LLC bridges philanthropy and the financial services industry with solutions designed to simplify the complex transactions among philanthropists, financial advisors, and nonprofits. The software components of our solutions are offered as web-based services on the pay-as-you-use ASP model, for recognized efficiencies of deployment and maintenance. We offer a compelling synergy of solid technology, expertise in the back office operations of nonprofits and financial firms alike, and innovative approaches to the stewardship of charitable assets. For more information, please visit www.chestercap.com .
About the Elkhart County Community Foundation
Established in 1989, the Elkhart County Community Foundation (ECCF) inspires people to make charitable contributions that improve the quality of life in Elkhart County. The ECCF administers more than 300 funds and scholarships established by individuals, other agencies, corporations and foundations. During the past fiscal year, the Elkhart County Community Foundation awarded $2,629,371 in local grants and scholarships. Join us in the Art of Giving Back! Please visit us at www.elkhartccf.org.