By Anuj Marathe, BBA 2017
The Baylor Philanthropy course has a group-oriented structure, which is extremely useful in helping us divide the workload and keep our focus on the final goal of donating money to select non-profit organizations in Waco.
Our five main organization categories as well as class groups are:
- Community Improvement and Community Development
- Hunger and Homelessness
- Human Services and Civil Rights
- Health and Wellness
- Children, Youth, and Education
I am working with the Children, Youth, and Education group.
Reconvening after group conference calls, our class has taken a giant step forward. Each group was responsible for interviewing about twelve organizations and shortlisting the five that they thought to be the best potential match for grant funding this semester. Through this experience, I was able to learn an astonishing amount about the different types of programs geared towards Children, Youth, and Educational advancement in Waco. As a group, we held twelve conference calls with our organizations and learned as much as we could about them and their grant proposal ideas.
Having spoken directly to organization leaders, I found that we had become mini experts of our category and would be responsible for presenting our findings and thoughts with the class. However, the task of shortlisting these organizations still loomed over us, and given the nature of the project proposals we had heard, it proved to be a particularly difficult undertaking. Nevertheless, our main selection criteria revolved around the project’s innovative nature, scope of impact (how many people it could affect), sustainability, the organization’s need for funding, and the leadership behind the project idea. After much deliberation, we successfully chose the organizations with proposals we thought best matched our mission statement and philanthropic goals.
This past week was dedicated to group presentations explaining these organizations, their proposals, and the group’s reasoning behind its shortlist. While at times it was a challenge to keep various organizations straight, it was incredible to hear about the various new and ongoing charitable endeavors across Waco. It is inspiring to see that there are so many individuals and groups striving to make Waco a much better place. And while familiarizing ourselves with over sixty different non-profit organizations in a few short weeks was no small task, it is exciting to know that we will eventually have the opportunity to tangibly impact several of these “innovative and sustainable efforts” that will “enhance lives and enrich the Waco community.”
About the Author: Anuj Marathe is Junior Business Fellows major from Chicago, IL. He is passionate about the healthcare industry on both the medical and hospital administrative fronts and plans to attend medical school after graduation. At Baylor, he is the Secretary for Order of Omega and an active member of Delta Epsilon Psi Fraternity.