It’s hip to be civic. That’s the slogan of Catalyst, a civic and social organization that connects more than 1,000 members to opportunities to serve and have fun at the same time.

”Catalyst started in late 2003 as an experiment in mixing social events with leadership training and a chance to serve,” said Patricia Mattison, current Catalyst chair. “When I moved here from Washington, D.C., in 2008, I fell in love with the Catalyst mission of making Birmingham better, so that it continues to be a place where I would want to stay and my friends would want to live, now and in the future.”

A major focus for Catalyst is training new leaders, especially from the next generation, and exposing them to important issues. As the Catalyst blog/website says, “We believe that, if you can get enough people together and give them access to information and to the people working on these issues, you can create a ‘constituency of change.’”

The spirit of that first group, meeting over coffee to talk about issues, continues six years later, making Catalyst a great place to find opportunities to love and serve the community – and have fun at the same time.

Catalyst activities fall into three main areas: Sustainability, Culture and New Leadership. To support these pillars of a progressive community, Catalyst members:

• Helped to capture the voice of the community about Birmingham City Schools, first as part of Community Conversations sponsored by Yes We Can! Birmingham, the grassroots initiative started by the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, and more recently as part of Community Conversations focused on seeking citizen input in the search for a new superintendent of Birmingham City Schools. 
• Work in community gardens, providing labor for gardens in Norwood and West End as part of an overall focus on creating a more sustainable community.
• Host Green Third Thursdays, featuring experts in sustainability, and provided volunteers for the Green Building Focus Expo through July 30 at the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center.
• Created the Kids Got the Vote voter education campaign, which used Gen Y-friendly techniques to bring nearly 500 new voters into the system.
• Partnered with City Stages to develop a fundraising campaign to raise $800,000 in an effort to retire the debt that ultimately drove the festival into bankruptcy.
• Pioneered a very successful event, “Women in Politics,” which provided an opportunity for elected officials to connect with women aspiring to run.

Looking for the next opportunity
Catalyst members are looking forward to the next opportunity to be part of making life better in our community.

”We are looking for ways to use our great volunteers and to add even more different kinds of people to our number,” Mattison said.  “We welcome members who enjoy mixing with others, but most importantly, we desire active participants who want to take initiative and push for positive change.”

Being a member of Catalyst provides a connection to lots of ways to appreciate our community and serve it.  Dues-paying members get the additional benefit of supporting the work on an organization that is dedicated to training a new generation of leaders.

”We want to motivate our diverse membership to become educated about issues and to find a way to turn their solutions into reality,” said Mattison, restating the mission that has driven the organization forward from the beginning.  “This is a way to get civic, get hip and Be the Catalyst.”

Whether you want to sign an on-line petition about the importance of growing your own food or help disenfranchised citizens make their voices heard, Catalyst is another way to love your community and explore new ways to make a difference. Find out more on the Catalyst website, where you can sign up for e-mail blasts and, as an option to support the cause, pay $25 in tax-deductible dues.

Meet the Catalyst Board:
Patricia Mattison, Chair
Katrina Marshall, Vice Chair
Lee Corte, Treasurer
Rebecca Beers, Secretary
Tony Legrone, Graphics/Technology Chair
Ashley Fulmer, Media/PR Chair
Joshua Vasa, Membership Chair
Roxane Lamb, Leadership Developement Co-Chair 
Janie Jordan, Leadership Development Co-Chair
Crispin Piazza, Sustainability Co-Chair
Gail Harper Yeilding, Sustainability Co-Chair
Caprenia Anthony, Culture Co-Chair
Michael Bell, Culture Co-Chair
Cutressa M Williams, Board Member-at-Large
Duncan Lamb, Board Member-at-Large
Catie Farrell, Board Member-at-Large