Category Archives: Decision-making

How Far We Have Come

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By: Daniel Burguete, BBA 2016

I find it incredible that our time together has gone by so quickly. A month from now we will be earmarking donated funds to actual programs that serve community needs, thus achieving our program’s mission: Through strategic stewardship of resources and thoughtful partnerships with Waco-area organizations, we seek to enrich individual lives and our community at large in lasting, sustainable ways.

My role, as has been every member’s, has been multifaceted. We have learned how to address our money, cultivate relationships with nonprofit organization officers, and we are now in a very important part of our mission – deciding which organizations to support and to begin writing grant proposals that will be considered by the entire board.

At this moment in time, my group and I (Health and Wellness), have completed our four site visits to Cenikor, a substance abuse treatment center; the Care Net Pregnancy Center; the Community Cancer Association, and the YMCA. These meetings marked the first time we personally met with our organizations. Cenikor provided us a tour of their pilot sober living house. Care Net provided us a tour of their new pregnancy center, currently under construction, which will have a motor skills lab for infants and a residence program for financially burdened mothers. We also met Bill Northcutt, the executive director and founder of the Community Cancer Association who shared with us his personal experience with cancer. Hillary Grant, the financial development officer of the YMCA, gave us a demonstration of the “Y5210,” a program aimed at the rising rates of childhood obesity in McLennan County. These site visits provided us with an immense amount of insight into each organization’s workings and ultimate callings. They also made our selection process a whole lot harder.

Every organization has something unique to offer. Each has something we personally identify with. But we also know that our resources are scarce. Narrowing down the number of organizations, yet again, will prove even more difficult. It’s time that we reflect on our mission statement, and let it guide our decision making process.

And even though this phase of our grant-making process has been, for me, the most difficult part of our program, it has also been the most gratifying. It has been truly rewarding to meet these unbelievably passionate individuals. The work they do is inspiring, and I hope, someday, I can share their passion for a cause of my own.

The Baylor program – Philanthropy & the Public Good – has been, for me, an introduction to formal philanthropy. And while it has taught me the organization, mechanization and process of philanthropic programs, it has more importantly further introduced me to some of the day-to-day issues that plague society in general, some people in particular and, too, specifically the Waco area. The experience we have acquired throughout the semester will serve us indefinitely, regardless of our calling in life. I am grateful to be a part of this group of young, smart, and engaged individuals.

About the Author: Daniel Burguete is a senior Business Fellow and Entrepreneurship major with a minor in Biochemistry. His parents emigrated from Guadalajara, Mexico to reside in Brownsville, Texas – a city in the Rio Grande Valley. This past summer, Daniel worked as a clinical research intern at the Baylor Scott & White Health Hillcrest. As an aspiring physician, he hopes his focus in philanthropy prepares him to see patients holistically and as more than just a collection of organ systems that may require treatment.

Purpose in Philanthropy

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By: Luke Ungarino, BA 2017

“Now… what is the purpose of philanthropy?” Dr. Hogue posed this question to our class and waited for a brave response. I was hardly surprised that the age-old question of purpose resounded even in the closest thing to a business class I will ever take.

That was in the first week of the semester. We’ve now moved from the textbooks, research, and planning to the up-close and personal, visiting organizations’ sites and sizing up their potential for a grant from the class. The last organization that the Children, Youth, and Education program officers (my team) visited was the Talitha Koum Institute, an innovative therapeutic nursery that delivers its own profound answer to this question of purpose by working with small children and babies who come from distressed home environments.

As Oliver, Sarah, and I drove through the Kate Ross neighborhood to Talitha Koum, I should not have been so surprised by the neighborhood’s desperate condition. There were no neighborhood association awards for best garden or similar hallmarks of Waco’s best neighborhoods. Instead there was rotting paneling, men walking idly on the pavement, shot out streetlights, and the other usual indicators of a crumbling neighborhood– all within a mile of Baylor. Talitha Koum’s building was not in tip-top shape either, but the men repainting the outside walls offered us a smile as we walked into an eye-opening world.

Susan, the dynamic CEO of Talitha Koum, welcomed us upon entering the building. Susan enjoyed a successful career as owner of a marketing firm when she responded to the call to be Executive Director at Talitha Koum. As she walked us through the various rooms of the building, I was reminded of a proud mother beaming in the light of her child’s success. And indeed the organization had plenty to be proud of.

In the first room, designated for the under one-year-olds, a few babies scattered the floor, sleeping peacefully, while their teacher rocked another in his rocking chair. Moving to the two-year-olds’ room, several children played under the careful eye of their smiling teacher. The tour continued this pattern of happily playing or sleeping babies in secure, comfortable rooms.

While the fancy sensory therapeutic play equipment and the stock-full shelves of play toys and diapers were memorable indicators of the great work that Talitha Koum is doing, what made its greatest impression on me was the people. Every staffer and volunteer we encountered seemed to know their profound purpose. I got a small taste of their passion just watching them interact with the kids.

After our tour concluded we got a chance to sit down with Bruce, one of the inspiring teachers in the two-year-old group. Bruce told us a story of RJ (name changed for confidentiality), a boy who came to the institute several years ago. RJ suffered from severe anxiety. He cried literally nonstop, and none of the staff’s cutting-edge therapeutic interventions seemed to work. Bruce took a particular interest in RJ and made it his mission to help him overcome his anxiety. He spent entire hours holding RJ just to keep him from crying, and gradually, RJ’s temperament improved. Eventually RJ became one of the happiest kids at Talitha Koum and is now thriving in his education.

Bruce helped RJ on an individual level. As grantmakers this semester, we are not in a position to serve individuals hands-on like Bruce. However, we can be a part of the mission of men and women like Bruce by providing them the means to fulfill their mission through the philanthropy course. Bruce’s story illustrated his purpose as a source of comfort and development to RJ and the other children at Talitha Koum.

We too must ask ourselves, what is our purpose? Behind the logistics and paperwork and site visits and conference calls, this is a fundamental question in our work this semester. My visit at Talitha Koum helped me understand my purpose as a servant in the philanthropy course. When I first visited with the folks at Talitha Koum several weeks ago, I thought to myself that I needed to be in the trenches with these men and women, rather than sitting at a desk reading, writing, conference calling, etc. However, that is not my purpose at this moment. We can share with those who are in the trenches by viewing ourselves as part of the same, larger configuration.  On the grantmaking side of things, I can enable those who do inspiring work throughout our community with the resources they need to continue their mission.

A proud New Orleanian, Luke Ungarino concentrates his studies in political philosophy and ethics in the University Scholars program. He is discerning a vocation in ministry, though entrepreneurship and education are also possibilities. He lives with seven other Baylor students who host “Convivium,” a monthly lecture series in their apartment featuring academics speaking on all things relating to modern culture, religion, and sexuality.

If This Class Were a Semester-Long Skydive*

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By: Anna Clark, BA 2016

If this class were a semester-long skydive, the first few weeks of reading would be the equivalent of suiting up for the plunge: shedding our valuables (pride and preconceived notions about Waco and philanthropy) and donning a philanthropist’s green and gold jumpsuit (humility and curiosity). After these essential steps, and a somewhat overwhelming perusal of the sixty organizations and their missions, we were placed on a team, within a sector and prepared to jump, none of us being experts. The research we did on each of our organizations, scouring the Internet, served as our ascent in the plane toward our jump, our stomachs churning with an unidentifiable mixture of fear and excitement. More recently, our conference calls with Executive Directors and experts of the public service trade forced our teams to put our legs outside of the plane, stare down at the cold, hard ground of an impending decision, and use the skills we learned in theory at the beginning of our skydiving (ahem, philanthropy) training. Then, in a moment that seemed to simultaneously last a second and two weeks, we jumped (or were gently nudged) into the free fall: the first board meeting. Yes, we feared the 20 pairs of critically thinking eyes on us during the presentation and squirmed in our professional attire, but after the first bit, our fear shifted into excitement and we could all feel the stillness and restlessness of innovation surrounding the reality of impacting our beloved Waco and its people.

This week, we pulled our parachute, slowing our 120 mph free fall and cruising into the scenic third floor room in Carroll Library, catching our collective breaths, and preparing for site visits. After drafting general agendas for the visits, we welcomed a guest speaker to our class. As Pratik Patel, a distinguished Baylor alumnus, told his story involving philanthropy and professionalism and collaboration, drawing us into belief in his words through his charismatically relaxed demeanor. He spoke with expertise in many aspects surrounding philanthropy, leaving us encouraged, with practical means of achieving a life of service like his, and a charge to experience. To use our knowledge and apply what we know about philanthropy to everything around us. To take off the blinders of our preconceived notions, and experience life and philanthropy for ourselves, without fear of failure. This stage allows us to do the tricks with the parachute, pulling one arm down to enact a circular, holistic experience  of the side of philanthropy that “secures the floor,” and successively pulling the other arm down to circle and observe the side of philanthropy that “raises the ceiling” for the public good.

Our instructor doubles as our metaphorical tandem diving instructor and has slipped our hands in the ropes that direct the parachute, trusting that we are capable program officers. Next week, as we pull down with both arms, we’ll enter into a stall, briefly close our parachute and return to free fall for the weeks leading up to our next board meeting. We’ll take Mr. Patel’s advice to experience everything, making our next decisions, and anticipating further use of our skills and the ultimate landing on solid ground, having been changed by our experiences in this class.

*This post inspired by a recent skydiving adventure.

 

Anna is a senior English major, Poverty Studies and Social Justice minor from Wise, Virginia. She loves coffee, books, and long discussions involving both of the former.

“I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right.” (The Book Thief)

 

 

 

What’s Next

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By: Tim Campbell, BA 2017

We are just beginning a new and exciting phase of the course. After weeks of deliberation and research – in addition to lots of emails and phone calls – each of our six teams has selected four organizations with which to move forward over the next several weeks. Given how difficult it was to select four organizations from the ten or so we had at the beginning of this process, it’s tough to reflect on some of the further decisions that will have to be made in the next few weeks. But the next stage of our course will help us determine how we should allocate our resources this semester.

Next week we will conduct our first site visits. These visits will provide us with an invaluable opportunity to see firsthand the important work these organizations are doing in Waco and the surrounding community. Although phone interviews and independent research have been useful methods for learning about these organizations thus far, we can only learn so much from conference calls. We’ll be able to learn so much more about the organizations and the people behind them when we visit them in person.

In particular, it will be useful to see with our own eyes the particular needs that every organization has. It’s one thing to hear an organization’s director talk about the need for a new hot water heater or convection oven, or about funding for internships or a new curriculum for adults looking to enter the workforce. But these needs will take on a whole new degree of urgency in our minds when we’re able to see what these organizations are doing on a day-to-day basis.

In class yesterday, Dr. Hogue instructed us to develop an agenda for each site visit. These agendas will consist of things we want to see and any lingering questions we have about the organization, its methods, or its effectiveness. They will also help to keep us on track during our visits, ensuring that we clear up any areas of confusion we still have.

But we don’t need to feel constrained by our agendas. As we talk with the leaders of these organizations, we may come up with new questions or become aware of needs that we did not previously know about. These developments, in turn, may lead to slight modifications in our grant proposals or different grant ideas than we had before.

So I’m excited to see how our site visits go during the next two weeks. We will prepare thoroughly so that we can make the most of our time when we visit these organizations, but we can (and should) be open to encountering things we may not have expected to find. We will learn lots of new things about our organizations and will be able to see their most pressing needs more clearly. And hopefully these discoveries will make our next difficult decision just a little bit easier.

Phase One Complete

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By: Jennifer Janicki, BBA, 2017

It’s hard to believe we’ve already had our first board meeting. I feel like I just had “Syllabus Day” last week. As a class, we’ve learned so much about our surrounding community and fallen in love with the spirit of philanthropy found in Waco.

It has been such a privilege to see a different side of the city I love. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed speaking with each organization and learning about how they are making an impact on our growing community.

That’s what made this part tough.

Every team that presented has worthy and deserving organizations that were doing valuable things. Every team had a dozen innovative, sustainable and truly visionary grant ideas that would have a lasting impact on those affected. Several had benefits that weren’t immediately recognized when the grant idea was presented, but impressed us all when further explained. Every team had examples of compassionate, dedicated leadership that gave their all to their organizations.

We had the difficult task of narrowing our focus to a few key organizations that matched our mission for the class this semester. Ultimately, we had to decide which organizations, at the present time, had goals similar to our own that would also have long-term effects in Waco – something we really value as a class.

Somehow we were able to do it. And, we did it collectively with respect for each team. We all understood the time and effort each team put into researching and speaking with the organizations in their program area. When it came time to make votes, we honored groups’ suggestions.

Allow me to better explain the procedural side of the board meeting. Each team was assigned 9 – 12 different organizations related to their area of interest. For example, my area was health and wellness. Others included youth and education, hunger and homelessness, human and civil rights, etc. We researched these organizations as a team using their website or connected sites as resources. We attempted to know as much about the non-profits as possible before contacting a representative on the phone. After hosting conference calls with each organization, we compiled all of our research into two documents: a one-page summary to share with the class and a multi-page compilation of all of our information gathered.

During the meeting, the teams presented their summary of each organization and their grant idea. We also made suggestions as to which non-profits we felt it would be best to move forward with. Then, the class was able to ask questions to the group presenting. We were able to gather more information about those suggested organizations or hear about the organizations that weren’t proposed. It allowed us all to gain a deeper understanding of the team’s decision process and the basic components of their organizations.

The next class day was our final day of the board meeting. We were able to submit any objections to our professor, Dr. Hogue, in the interim time between. As a class, we elected to not change any of the suggested organizations and voted to keep the list as presented.

Now, we proceed with site visits to learn even more about these organizations from an academic and emotional perspective. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

About the author: Jennifer is a Business Fellow studying marketing and public relations. She is a member of Delta Delta Delta and serves as the Assistant Membership Chairman. Jennifer is also involved in Campus Kitchens and serves as the Event Coordinator.

The Pool Narrows

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By: Oliver Ha, BA 2016

[Editor’s Note: This post was authored on Wednesday, leading into our Thursday board meeting, but a system glitch prevented this post from publishing until today.]

       We began with sixty names, sixty non-profits, sixty ways of doing good and sixty means of giving well. Mysterious as they were to us then, the organizations we have researched and the narratives we have heard from CEOs and Directors alike are now woven into our own stories; I’m sure many of us would be able to recite nine different mission statements from memory, with various names, dates and financial figures to go along with them.  After our first board meeting yesterday, the pool of possible grantees will narrow to a mere two dozen. Tomorrow, we will collectively vote on the twenty-four organizations that have inspired us with their causes and who we have grown—myself included—perhaps more than a little emotionally attached to.

       My group presented first, the sector of Children Youth and Education, and we spoke to a common thread that ran throughout each of our organizations: early childhood development and the importance of long-term mentoring relationships. We were followed by Hunger and Homelessness, which gave a wide-ranging account of the many ways in which food pantries, transitional homes, and collective research initiatives are all working to address a pressing Waco need. It came to light as a shock, at least to my ears, that 1 in 4 children in Waco are food insecure. The team in charge of Culture, Arts and the Environment spoke next, and pointed to an often overlooked reality. Though we often view beatification projects or arts districts as nice add-ons for cities, they are more often than not one of the greatest drivers of economic growth and do much of the work of attracting prospective Wacoans to pick up their roots (wherever they may be) and plant them in our city.

       After a short break, which consisted of hushed excited whispering as to possible future projects from the three sectors that had already presented, we heard from the cohort overseeing the Human Services and Civil Rights organizations. As with many of the institutions represented by other sector areas, a wide variety of services were rendered by these nonprofits, from legal advocacy to job training to provision of immediate needs. Though we may have assumed our different organizations to be varied and distinct, the Health and Wellness group dispelled such a notion as the missions of their organizations sought to remedy the symptoms (i.e. addiction, illness, malnourishment) that have their roots in poverty, food insecurity, and inequality in allocation of resources. So interconnected were our organizations, that as the Community Development group spoke on their research, they realized that a partnership opportunity between one of their nonprofits and another from a different sector was possible—that our class might be able to give to two different organizations to achieve a common end. All of which to say, as Dr. Hogue concluded the meeting, that this entire class is a project—a lesson—in cooperation rather than competition. Good is done not by means of an isolated transaction, but rather through communal transformation.   

       In short, as our first major decision looms along the horizon, I am given comfort by the fact that though we are limited in our scope and in our resources, we are not limited by our vision or by our pride. It will doubtless be, however, a bittersweet meeting.