Category Archives: Impact

Things Learned “Out There”

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By: Kendall Wood, BBA, Psychology 2020

We wrapped up our last class meeting Thursday at 1:45 pm.  This doesn’t mean our interaction as a class is over, though. The best day of Spring 2017 is yet to come!

This coming Tuesday we will hold a reception celebrating the grant decisions that each team made and awarding those grants to members from the organizations!  To me, this feels like Christmas Day and I get to be Santa Claus for the first time in my life. We’ve been anticipating this day all year, and it’s hard to believe it’s here.

Knowing that celebration was soon to come, Thursday’s class was dedicated to much reflection. Before class, Andy asked us to write down 3 things that we learned “out there,” in the field, with real people amidst real life. The discussion that followed was very unstructured, and we each got to share a few of the many life lessons that we gained over the semester.  Some of them are simple and don’t strictly pertain to philanthropy, and some of them are perspective-shifting and have influenced how we plan to give for the rest of our lives. I wrote down my 3 and jotted down more as my classmates shared their own.  This definitely does not encompass all the lessons learned for the entire class, but I connected and agreed with the following 8 lessons learned “out there”:

  1. How to run a meeting with an actual adult. — This one was serious for me. Being in a position of leadership over an older adult was a challenge at first, but the more we did it, the more comfortable I became, and now I’ve gained confidence in my ability speak maturely and act professionally.
  2. No amount of e-mailing or phone-calling will have the same effect as a face-to-face conversation. — Our generation is often inclined to limit our interactions in person, but this kind of work cannot be done without meaningful, face-to-face conversations. I found this to be true with my team meetings as well as meetings with nonprofit executives.
  3. How to ask good questions — Preparation is key to doing this.  Maggie McBride made a good point on this topic today, indicating that we owe it to our classmates to ask good questions because they depend on that information to make important decisions regarding our grant money.
  4. How much work the Waco nonprofits are doing. — I think we were all blown away by the amount of effort that is being exerted over seeing Waco prosper. It is exciting and humbling.
  5. Success comes from giving more than receiving. — Receiving will never be inherently bad, but there is a special joy that comes from giving, and only from that.
  6. Collaboration is the best way to see real impact. — My classmates’ blogs previously explained the incredible results that came from our decision to collaborate.  The impact of our grant money increased beyond what any of us had initially imagined.
  7. We choose our perspective of scarcity vs. abundance. — Viewing the world with the perspective of scarcity results in a lonely and cold life, always believing there’s never enough and that people are only trying to take from you.  However, viewing the world with the perspective of abundance results in a joyful life full of gratitude and warmth because you know that there is fulfillment in pouring yourself out for the sake of others.
  8. How to broaden your horizons in giving. — Many classmates mentioned that they ended up giving to areas of society that they never believed they would.  This just shows the passion of these students to step outside of themselves to see great work done.

The Difference between Tony Stark and My Classmates

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By: Julia Stricklin, BBA 2018

If you’ve been following our class blog, you know that we have finally made it to the most exciting part of our semester! Final decisions have been made, organizations have been notified, and invitations to the check presentation day have been sent. This is also the point in the semester when I look back to the beginning and see how much I’ve learned, grown, and changed. This looking back is what brings me to the title of my post today: The Difference Between Tony Stark and My Classmates.

I will be very honest: before taking this class, the first thing that came to mind when I heard the word ‘philanthropy’ was the scene in The Avengers where Tony Stark declares himself a “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.” This scene, and an admitted lack of prior knowledge about the field, gave me the idea that philanthropists were people like Tony Stark – wealthy elites that threw huge sums of money at innovative projects. I didn’t see this as a bad thing by any means; it is of course a good thing to give money to worthy causes. But after this class, I see that philanthropy and philanthropists are so much more than what we see in Tony Stark. Our class has taught us to be truly engaged in our work as philanthropists, to put forth every effort to ensure that our money is given well. In that pursuit, we have investigated the particular needs of our community, and taken input from organization directors on how our funds would be best put to use. We have not simply taken an elitist view that we know best how to fix wicked problems because we have college educations, or something of the like. Another striking difference between our class and the Tony Stark philanthropist character is how much money we gave. Sitting next to a sum such as $1 million, our $50,000 may look small. But I’ve learned that doing tremendous amounts of good does not necessarily take a tremendous amount of monetary input. Our class’s largest grant was for $14,000, the rest were under $10,000 each, and a notable number of grants required less than $5,000. My final and favorite difference between Tony Stark and my class is our ability to come together. Ironically, just before Tony Stark labels himself a philanthropist, he says, “I don’t play well with others.” Well, that could not be less true of our class. To achieve the best work possible, we found that we had to collaborate. I can surely say that I could not have been as effective in the grant making process if I had gone it alone as an individual, so I am thankful for my small group I was able to work with. Not only that, but our class could not have granted as effectively if our small groups had not worked together as one larger group. After all, a sharing attitude is the best attitude to have in the pursuit of philanthropy.

As we finish our class, I am pleased to realize that Philanthropy and the Public Good has not produced a graduating group of Tony Stark philanthropists, but rather genuine, engaged, and collaborative doers of good work.

Not Easier, but More Exciting

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[EDITOR’S NOTE: Due to a technical glitch, this is posting a week after it was written]

By: Julia Stricklin

We are now in the middle of the semester, and entering the time period when our job gets real. Up to this point, we have been speaking in theoretical terms and studying broad ideas. Yes, we have discussed their applications to this class, but now we are working with real life projects that can and will make an impact on this community. Which is a big thing to step back and think about. At only 19, 20, 21 years old, we have the power to make change in our community. And boy, are we eager to do so.

We had our first Board Meeting yesterday; an informal, but very informative, meeting of our class where we presented the organizations and projects we have chosen to move forward with from Pitch Day. The decisions behind this were by no means easy – most of our groups cut their prospective grantee pool nearly in half, from about eight organizations per group on Pitch Day to four or five organizations each group will pay a visit to. A common theme around this decision was “it’s not that we don’t like ABC organization, just that we’re more excited about the project we could work on with XYZ.” Excitement was indeed in the air during our board meeting. Each group that presented was only allotted 25 minutes to present and discuss with the class, and I know everyone would have gladly gone over their limit if they could have. There are so many things happening in so many different areas in the social sector of Waco, and we probably could have spent at least another day telling each other about what we had found, the organizations we were moving forward with, and the extra time and money we wish we had in order to pursue all of the possibilities presented to us.

Perhaps the most significant thing to reflect upon now is the position we, as a class, are in. Andy brought it to our attention that our group of seventeen – 15 students, one graduate assistant, and one professor – now know more about the broad reaches of the social sector in Waco than anyone else. We have a unique “bird’s eye” perspective on everything going on in Waco due to our wide range of interests we’ve investigated. Now, not only do we have the money and motivation to create change in Waco, but an excellent vantage point from which to do so. We have the ability to think about collaborative grants, to pass an organization one group may have met with on to another group whose interests better align with that organization. Personally, I’m very excited to see what we can do to bring our interests together.

In the next week and half, we will be making our site visits. Everyone is very eager to move into this stage of the semester and get an inside view of organizations we’ve been looking into. I think the title of this post best sums up the kind of work we are beginning to do: not easier, but more exciting. It will not be easy to tackle wicked problems head-on, but we are excited to dive in. It will not be easy to narrow down our choice of projects, but we are excited to get closer with the organizations we will ultimately give a grant to.

Stay tuned for more updates and news about our on-site visits!

Discovering our purpose

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CJ Lemanski, BBA 2020

The past few weeks in Philanthropy have definitely been busy. Today is actually the deadline for chapter 1 of the Briefing Book. The Briefing Book contains personal writing on how philanthropy should work, and also dives deep into some of the issues that my group is focusing on. For me the past few weeks and the overall course has really been incredible; I have learned so much. Before this class all I really knew about philanthropy was that normally a check went from one party to another. Obviously there is way more to it then that, and that is what I feel like I have been learning a ton about recently. That the process of how that money is exchanged is extremely important and should not be taken lightly. The process is very in depth and is deceptively tedious. That when it comes to giving it should be taken very seriously and should be strategic. One of my classmates shared a story during group discussion of a village in Africa where a group was donating mosquito nets to prevent malaria.  There was a big issue because there was a man in that village who made a living by selling mosquito nets to the villagers, and this put him out of business. This is great example of people trying to do really solid work, yet due to lack of effort and research it actually hurt the lives of others. That is why giving has to be done extremely thoroughly.

Also, there is so much amazing work going on in our world that has the ability to do a lot of good, so with that it really takes time and focus to decide where to give to make the biggest difference possible. Also something that really has struck me is how giving is about so much more than just money. The whole idea of philanthropy includes time, presence, energy, and resources. It is not just about money. For giving to be successful it should give all these things in equal parts. Being present and investing time into philanthropy is very important. Building relationships is absolutely essential in successfully giving. Sometimes people do not necessarily need money, sometimes they just need a friend, someone to do life with. Sometimes this is harder than just giving money or writing a check. Being relational in philanthropy may sometimes involve leaving the comfortable world you live in and going somewhere uncomfortable, which is definitely hard for people. We also have been learning that Philanthropy should aim to empower people and should not just be a one and done fix.

I am really excited for the future as we shift out of the learning side of things and start deciding what organizations we want to give to.

A Simple Message

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By: Justin Pittman, BBA 2017

Thanksgiving has always been a time of reflection for me. Momentarily, the busy machinery of life seemingly comes to a halt, giving me an opportunity to remember the blessings that have built and sustained me. These include my family, great food, the roof over my head, and much more. This time of the year always comes and goes quicker than I would like, and I am already lamenting the inevitable finals season during which recognition of all these gifts is usually sacrificed to a single-minded focus on the task at hand.

However, I have a feeling that the spirit of thankfulness during this year’s holiday was a little more prevalent not only for myself but for everyone that has benefited from this class this semester. Just knowing that I was a small part of a process that will end up allocating $60,000 to 11 very deserving and admirable organizations has changed my outlook considerably, and I imagine it has done the same for many of my classmates. Notifying our recipient organizations and hearing their overjoyed responses was also something I know my team and I relished, and doing this furthered our belief that the work we did all semester was more meaningful than we could have ever understood at the beginning.

These past few months have probably been some of the most contentious, hostile, and challenging times that this nation has faced in quite a while. The election season helped awaken my awareness of the political and social realities of our country like never before, and I largely do not like what I’ve seen. With this in mind, I don’t think taking this class could have come at a better time for me. Being allowed to develop my self-awareness and philosophy of giving while working towards making a real-world difference on our community has helped me overlook the pettiness and ugliness that this election has shown me that humanity is capable of. Everyone I have met and worked with throughout this process has been a paradigm of what it means to be a loving, hopeful, and compassionate person. Regardless of what your opinions are on what’s been happening on a macro level in the United States, there is no doubt that amazing things are happening on a micro level within our own community.

Before I started writing this post, I struggled trying to frame my thoughts within an overarching universal takeaway that was both inspiring and revelatory. I wanted some grand truth to pop into my mind and pinpoint exactly what I’ve learned from this experience. However, in my current state of mind, there is just a simple message that I wanted to express through what you’re reading now. This message is nothing more than “thank you.” To everyone who made and will continue to make this program such a success, thank you for having faith in students like me to make such difficult and impactful decisions. Never doubt the power of philanthropy to change lives; I know it has changed mine.

Polishing our Passions

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By: Amy Adams, BBA 2017

This semester is quickly coming to a close, as is our work with the Philanthropy Lab. Our semester has been filled to the brim with learning about how to be mindful and strategic in our giving, and putting this into action through our decision-making process. It has been amazing and inspiring to see how we have gone from broad, general topics that we are passionate about to formal presentations stating what we are going to be doing about it.

At the beginning of the year we were asked about a moment of impact in our lives. This could be anything that sticks out in our memory, which has shaped who we are and what we care about. As we were put on the spot, we were forced to speak from the overflow of our hearts. I noticed then that many of us could not talk about this moment in a brief, concise statement. We wanted to capture the importance and significance of this moment, so we rambled about how much it meant and what we learned from it. These ramble-y, spontaneous sentences formed the basis of what we are passionate about though. And I think, when you find something you are passionate about, you are not immediately inclined to summarize it. Instead, you talk about it with excitement and fervor, and without worrying about the amount of time you are taking.

As our time in the class has gone on, we have channeled this initial energy into certain philanthropies. Within our groups, we investigated different organizations and it was evident when we found the ones that aligned with our passions. After pitch day and throughout the course of the semester, we were asked several times to give updates on the philanthropies we had talked to and our work with them. Once again, we were put on the spot and our passions came flowing out from it. We were able to talk for a long time about the philanthropies that we loved and our heart for them. However, as we got more information these conversations became more structured around concrete facts and critical questions.

Most recently, we had our final board meetings. During this time we presented our final decisions and were able to see exactly where the $50,000 that we had been allotted would go. In this, our work has really come full circle. During these presentations we still loved to talk about the organizations we are contributing to and the work that they are doing, however now we have refined our conversation into well-structured and organized presentations. I think this proves that we have learned how to do philanthropy mindfully and strategically. We are definitely no less enthusiastic about these causes than we were on day one, but now through lots of research and effort we can confidently present decisions that concisely state what we have decided and why.

These board meetings were an amazing way to see the fruits of our labor this semester. However, I think it is even more impactful after reflecting on where we began this semester. The passion we started with has been honed and refined into decisive action, which will become even more real during the check presentation ceremony. We are now looking forward to presenting these organizations with the money that we have decided to give them, and seeing the results of all the effort that has been put in during the semester.

Proud Citizen

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Rebecca Voth BA 2018

I begin each campus tour that I give to prospective students with an overview of the city of Waco. I spend a few minutes hitting the highlights, attempting to convince visitors that this small town is not as bad as it might seem. However, this year has changed my perspective on the city, and for the first time, I feel like a citizen of Waco.

As a junior at Baylor, I have grown to feel like a valued and important part of the Baylor community. The friendships I have formed and experiences I have had here make Baylor a place that will always feel a lot like home. However, until this year, I did not feel like I was truly part of the Waco community. For the past three years, Waco has seemed like more of a place in which Baylor exists rather than a networked community. Even though I have served both in my church and with Baylor’s urban missions group for the duration of my time here so far, I never truly felt like I was an important member of this town. I have always known that I would be here for 4 years and then go off into the world, and there seemed to be little point in trying to make any lasting impact on this city.

This semester, however, after receiving a crash course on non-profits in the area, I can understand the enchantment of this city, and how it is more than just a small town between Dallas and Austin. With each site visit, I felt a little closer to the wonderful citizens who make up this community. I met philanthropists, CEOs, trauma victims and families who all contribute to the wonderful and caring environment of this city. As we, a group of young students with next to zero knowledge of how the philanthropic world works, were welcomed into the doors of the organizations that make a real and tangible difference in the community, my pride in the city increased. I felt valued by the community in a new way.

It was not simply because of the financial power we had to impact organizations, however. The process of learning about all of the incredible causes that are running in Waco, and the wonderful and strong leaders behind them taught me so much about my community. After going through this process, I am proud of my community for all it is doing. My community is changing lives for the better, and I could not be more proud to be a citizen of Waco.

Efficiency and Vision

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By: Sarah Dyer, BBA 2017

In Peter Frumkin’s The Essence of Strategic Giving he outlines a logic model for strategic giving. Frumkin encourages philanthropic givers to think about the direct outputs and long-term outcomes of each gift. As we approach the end of the semester we are making our final grant decisions. It is crucial that we think through what immediate and long-term results our gifts will have. What will our gifts do in the next year? What will they do in 15 years? Is giving to an immediate project better than supporting a long-term vision?

As a group we want to support arts and culture in Waco, especially arts education in impoverished areas. We know that art is crucial for a child’s development and we know that many schools in low-income areas do not have the funding to maintain thriving arts programs. Our group met with several nonprofit organizations, and the question we have been faced with is whether we want to meet an immediate need or fund a long-term plan to support arts and culture as a whole in Waco. I have learned that there is so much value in supporting individuals who have dedicated their lives to arts and culture and passionately believe in creating a better Waco. When arts and culture are thriving, the economy thrives, children develop creativity, and a community is strengthened. We have chosen to give to projects that will meet immediate needs, but we have also chosen to support a long-term vision to create a better Waco.

As I become more familiar with the philanthropic world, I have realized the necessity of funding long-term goals and visions rather than solely immediate projects. We live in a society that is obsessed with quick turnarounds and efficiency. While these things are important, when we lose sight of supporting individuals’ long-term goals we restrict the creativity of nonprofit executives who have a greater vision for their city. This course has taught me many things, but the most impactful has been that the nonprofit world needs a balance of efficiency and vision. When we allow nonprofit executives to dream big and support their goals, we may not see the immediate results we are craving, but the long-term impact on the community can be exponentially greater.

High Risk, High Reward

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By: Annie Armes, BBA ’18

My favorite part of the course thus far has been visiting the sites of the nonprofits we are considering giving a grant to. It was a unique opportunity as undergrad students to have an organization roll out the “red carpet” for us. We enjoyed learning about each organization and getting to see the tangible ways they are serving the Waco community.

After visiting the sites, my group discussed which organizations we believed were making the greatest impact on the Waco community and how our money could be best used. In order to make a decision, we considered the logic model of each project that we would be funding. Although every organization was qualified to receive funding, some stood out to us as unique and dynamic projects.

Narrowing down which grants to go through with was not an easy decision. Thinking through the inputs, short-term outputs, and long-term outcomes of each project helped us visualize the change that could be achieved. My group was lucky to have two fantastic options that we were passionate about and that added up to almost exactly $10,000. It was almost too perfect to turn down.

Interestingly, the two projects we chose are new. One is new in the sense that it is a brand new organization, founded this summer. The other is a well established organization, but our money will be funding a project that has never been tested before. We believe that because of the nature of these projects, our money has great potential to be even more effective. Yes, one might question if funding such a new idea could be risky. But after visiting with the directors, we believe they will use every penny to make a difference in the lives of children.

With these projects, there is an opportunity to transform the trajectory of these children’s lives. Giving even a small amount will serve as such a large reward for the future. My group believes in the organizations we have chosen to fund and trust them to use the money efficiently. In our opinion, the risk is well worth the opportunity of a high reward.

The Excitement of Site Visits

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By: Savannah Newman, BBA 2017

[Editor’s note: Due to a logistical error, this is posting a few days after it was written]

Tomorrow we begin our site visits to the top organizations that our group envisions giving our grants to. During these site visits, our group plans to get vital answers to lingering questions we have about the organizations and the projects they are asking for us to help fund. I am excited about both getting to see these organizations in their home environment, as well as getting to have longer conversations about what they see this money going towards. Each one of the organizations that my group will be visiting has a unique personality, and I am eager to see how each individual organization interacts with us on their home turf.

Just last night, I was asked by a family friend about my class schedule this semester and which of my classes were my favorite. Without hesitation, I said this Philanthropy and the Public Good. There are many reasons that I have loved this class and what we have been doing this semester, but I think the number one reason has been the autonomy over where we want the grant money to go. I feel empowered as a college student to be able to go into meetings with these lifetime non-profit practitioners and have “real life” conversations about where we are possibly going to give real money. This process is real life not a simulation. Alongside the feeling of empowerment, is a sense of duty. I know that these are organizations that are doing good work in the world and my time, energy, and focus this semester has the potential to help these organizations further their missions and to reach their goal.

So, I go into this upcoming week with excitement but also the knowledge that the decisions from this point on are just going to get harder and less black and white. The easy decisions are long gone and the “right” choice is not as clear. This week will be a lot of fun, learning more about each organization and the amazing things that they are all doing in the Waco community, and at the end of it there will be really hard decisions to make moving forward. I am learning though, that this is what choices in the non-profit sector look like. There are so many great organizations that are all doing great things but there is only so much money to go around. I would even say this is decision making for any organization both public and private as well, but this is the part that I have loved about this class. I have loved that the students are the ones getting to figure out what is the right choice through their own discernment.

I look forward to this upcoming week and the things we will be learning and the decisions we will be making knowing we are one step closer to getting to put money in the hands of these organizations.