Experiential Philanthropy in Higher Education

1. Experiential Philanthropy in Higher Education Development, sustainability and Effectiveness of Grant making Courses David Campbell, Convener College of Community and Public Affairs Department of Public Administration Binghamton University

2. Panel Overview • David Campbell • Nature and Extent of Student Philanthropy Programming • Maureen Curley • Campus Compact and Student Philanthropy • Nelli Garton • Brandeis Course Model • Julie Olberding • Northern Kentucky Program Model and Evaluation

3. Presentation Overview Nature and Extent of Student Philanthropy Potential Research Questions

4. Experiential Philanthropy Experiential Philanthropy: Any course with a focus on philanthropy that involves grantmaking by students or another service learning component.

5. Student Philanthropy Programs • Universe • 44 courses/programs • 2 extra-curricular (non-credit) undergraduate “clubs.” • 36 in operation between 2007-2009. • 3 discontinued • 42 involve direct grantmaking; 2 involve other service learning activities. • 8 in development • 4 courses/programs in existence continuously for five years.

6. Funding Sources • Campus Compact (14) • Students4Giving Program • Initial Funding: $15,000 in Giving Accounts • Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund • Sunshine Lady Foundation (15) • 10,000/year • Local Funders (14) • Individual Philanthropists • Independent Foundations, Community Foundations • CNCS • KY, OH, MI Campus Compacts

7. Course Levels

8. Departmental Settings

9. Research Questions How do student philanthropy courses affect student beliefs attitudes and behaviors? What teaching strategies strengthen students’ interest in/commitment to philanthropy? How do student philanthropy course structures affect student learning? How do these courses contribute to the goals of undergraduate and graduate public affairs programs?

10. Student Philanthropy Research • Campus Compact • Learning Community • Sillerman Center at Brandeis (Heller School) • Northern Kentucky University • Sunshine Lady Foundation/Louise Sawyer • Binghamton University • Welcome Other Interested Researchers

11. Maureen Curley President and CEO Campus Compact www.compact.org NASPAA 10/16/09

12. Campus Compact • Coalition of college & university presidents • Advances the public purpose of higher education by deepening their ability to improve community life and educating students for civic responsibility. • Network of 1100 members and 35 state offices NASPAA 10/16/09

13. Historical Development Community Service Service Learning Indicators of Engagement Civic Engagement

14. Why Student Philanthropy? • Strong commitment to civic engagement activities tied to academic achievement • Lack of attention on philanthropy as a civic engagement activity • Opportunity to gather data and support research about student philanthropy • Support education focused on the nonprofit sector and direct relationship with community • Development of resources for the field on student philanthropy • Unique experience for students – money matters! NASPAA 10/16/09

15. “Practicing Philanthropy”A Graduate Course in Experiential Philanthropy Presented by ElenoreGarton Senior Researcher The Sillerman Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy

16. Course Background Developed out of new Center on Philanthropy Syllabus development Approval process Establishing student interest Experiential learning

17. Course Structure and Flow • Graduate Students - MPP, MBA, SID and PhD • “Family Foundations” • Module turned into full course • Theoretical and experiential balance -Readings, activities, speakers and process • From values to grants and everything in between

18. Philanthropic Content Areas Covered Scope of the field History of philanthropy Social justice Debates and quandaries in philanthropy -Power, Effectiveness, Root cause vs. Band-aid. . . “How-to” More than just money Evaluation

19. Experiential Process Establish a Mission Statement Define topical areas of interest Research -Topics, interventions, organizations. . . Develop process -RFP, invitation, site visits and decision-making Grant requests Decision time

20. Course Outcomes Community Organizations: -Grants and student connection Students -Knowledge, skills, attitude and behaviors The Sillerman Center -Notoriety, student engagement in philanthropy, partnerships, conference and research area The Heller School, Brandeis University -Community building, positive press and philanthropic alums

21. Favorite Quote “It is not as Easy to Give Away money as I thought.”

22. Student Philanthropy at Northern Kentucky University Julie Cencula Olberding, Director The Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project Northern Kentucky UniversitY

23. History of the Mayerson project In 1999, the Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project was initiated during a conversation between Dr. James Votruba of NKU and Dr. Neal Mayerson of the Mayerson Foundation. They wanted to inspire young people in the region to become future philanthropists. The Mayerson project is now celebrating its 10th anniversary, making it one of the oldest – if not the oldest – philanthropy program in the country. The Mayerson Foundation continues to be a key funder. Other funders include Citi, the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./US Bank Foundation, and the Scripps Howard Foundation.

24. Models of student philanthropy “Direct giving” provides a class with funding – usually between $2,000 and $4,000 – and then students research community problems and nonprofits, conduct a request for proposal (RFP) process, and decide which proposals to fund. “Indirect giving””partners a class with a corporation or foundation in the “real world.” Students evaluate grant proposals submitted by nonprofits to the corporation or foundation and make recommendations about which proposals to fund; the corporation or foundation makes the final funding decisions.

25. Traditional evaluation of the Mayerson project Since the Mayerson project was initiated in 1999, administrators have conducted an evaluation of participating students, faculty and nonprofit representatives. Measures of impacts on students include the following: • Awareness of social problems • Awareness of nonprofit organizations • Beliefs related to helping others and civic engagement • Intentions related to working in the nonprofit sector, volunteering and donating funds • Interest in the curriculum • Gaining and applying knowledge

26. Outcomes of the “direct giving” model • Ahmed and Olberding (2007/2008) analyzed the impacts of NKU’s direct giving model on 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The program impacted students in the following ways: • 89.6% - increased their awareness of social problems • 94.6% - increased their awareness of nonprofits • 88.6% - increased their sense of responsibility to help others in need • 83.7% - enhanced their intentions to donate money to charity • 82.6% - enhanced their intentions to do volunteer work

27. Outcomes of the “indirect giving” model • Olberding (forthcoming) examined the impacts of NKU’s indirect giving model on MPA students. The program impacted students in the following ways: • 64.8% - increased their awareness of social problems • 77.8% - increased their awareness of nonprofits • 75.7% - helped them to learn the curriculum • 72.1% - helped them gain academic skills or knowledge • 75.7% - helped them to apply the course principles

28. Some lessons learned • Maintain some flexibility in the course. • Require or encourage site visits. • Manage student expectations. • Look for ways to leverage the program.

29. NEW research – Quasi-experimental studyof student-participants • Pretest/posttest: Administrators of the Mayerson project have always conducted a survey of students at the end of each semester (posttest). This year, we have added a survey at the beginning of the semester (pretest). • Control group: In addition, weworkedwith a faculty member to have a control group. Dr. Danielle McDonald is teaching: 1) one section of a course – Race, Gender and the Law – in which she incorporates student philanthropy (experimental group), and 2) another section in which she does not (control group).

30. NEW ResearchLongitudinal study of Mayerson alumni • This study will survey NKU alumni who participated in the Mayerson project from 2000 through 2008. • It will look at their longer-term perspectives on the impact of student philanthropy on their beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. These items are based on items on the end-of-semester surveys in order to compare short-term impacts and long-term impacts. • The study will also measure their actual volunteer and donor behaviors, based on questions from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It will compare the results of Mayerson alumni to national averages on these items.

31. Student philanthropy at U.S. colleges & universities (Millisor & Olberding) Student philanthropy seems to be gaining popularity. • This study identified more than 40 current programs. • A survey of 12 colleges and universities with student philanthropy found that most of them were developed within the past year or two, suggesting a recent increase. • About 60 percent of respondents said they have plans to expand their current efforts. • And 60 percent also said they have been contacted by other colleges and universities interested in starting their own student philanthropy programs.

32. Panel Participants David Campbell, Binghamton University, dcamp@binghamton.edu. Maureen Curley, Campus Compact, mcurley@compact.org. Nelli Garton, Brandeis University, nelli@brandeis.edu Julie Cencula Olberding, Northern Kentucky University, olberdingj@nku.edu

33. Questions?