Philanthropy Curriculum for UVU Student Alumni Students
by Phil Schwartz
ABOUT ME
Simply put, Phil loves UVU. He joined the Wolverine family in August 2015 and has proudly bragged about it to his friends and family ever since. Now, Phil works as the Assistant Director of Alumni Relations and SAA Advisor, focusing on relationship-building, philanthropy, and of course, student success.
Over the past decade, he has led groups of college-aged young adults in service with organizations such as AmeriCorps, the United Way, and the American Red Cross. Additionally, Phil has enjoyed a broad array of experiences working in the fundraising industry with organizations like Project Read, Habitat for Humanity, and most recently the UVU Donor Relations team.
A San Francisco Bay Area native, Phil loves movies, games, music, and all manner of sports. He currently lives in Spanish Fork with two corgi roommates, Kanye and BB-8.
MY PROJECT
As a doe-eyed freshman, Karlee Preston couldn’t define the word philanthropy; in fact, she wasn’t positive the word was in a language she knew. It only took a year of participating in SAA’s Philanthropy Council before Karlee not only could define philanthropy, but could effortlessly articulate the nuisance and ramifications associated with the choice to become a philanthropist. She gives charitably, even as a poor college student, and has led charitable campaigns that have raised thousands of dollars for student scholarships. Karlee is an excellent example of how a philanthropy-centered education can radically shift a student’s university experience for the better.
Utah Valley University’s core themes are Student Success, Engaged, Inclusive, and Serious; I submit that a philanthropy curriculum touches upon each of those themes and furthers the mission of the University. One researcher described student philanthropy as “a teaching strategy designed to engage students actively in the curriculum, increase awareness of social needs and nonprofit organizations, and teach grant writing and grant-making skills.” That succinct description illustrates the value of philanthropy for students through the lens of UVU’s core themes. Philanthropy can be defined as an action and as such serves as a vehicle to student success; it can be hands-on and engaging, it can offer a variety of marketable skills, and it opens doorways to greater understanding, empathy, and inclusion.
FINDING A CAUSE
This assignment is designed to help students develop a critical approach to charitable giving. Not only will students explore their own philanthropic interests, but they will also get a glimpse of the challenge that serious philanthropists face. In the preceding lesson, they will be introduced to the concept of "effective altruism" and will grapple with the different aspects of that theory through this assignment.
FINAL PROJECT
At the end of the course, students will be asked to employ the skills they have learned throughout the entire semester. This may be the most engaging assignment in the curriculum. Students will research UVU departments and programs that could be the beneficiary of private funding and will present their case on what the impact a charitable gift would have and why a prospective donor should give to that cause. Community philanthropists and local donors will serve as the panel that judges student presentations. Currently, my department is seeking private funding to award to the cause of the highest scoring student presentation.
INTERVIEWS
KEVIN WALKENHORST
Senior Director, Alumni Relations and Annual Giving at Utah Valley University
Interviewing Kevin yielded a wealth of information, guidance and resources. As a teacher of leadership and philanthropy at UVU, his experience was particularly helpful, especially in regards to the development of a course syllabus and assignments. He suggested aiming to include a good balance between theoretical understanding of philanthropy and marketable fundraising-related skills. His indelible influence on my project cannot be understated.
JUSTIN FERRELL
Director of Donor Outreach and Alumni Services at Utah Valley University
Justin runs UVU's call center and regularly teaches his student employees about philanthropy. One of the reasons I chose to interview him was that I have seen his students fundraising firsthand, and they demonstrated remarkable skills and understanding of fundraising. Justin shared with me a wealth of resources, many of which he collected over the years from conferences and person research.
LEXIE GRANT
Director of Annual Giving & Alumni Engagement at Utah Valley University
Lastly, I interviewed Lexie Grant; she has great experience running fundraisers and offered an expertise I couldn't find elsewhere. In addition to advising me on the flow of the course, she offered me access to a number of great resources including the "Donor Bill of Rights" and the University of Indiana philanthropy research database.
RESEARCH
My research confirmed to me that teaching philanthropy in an engaged way to college students produces positive results for all parties involved, particularly the students. One researcher concluded that "the role of service-learning in developing philanthropic values and behaviors in students that can influence their postgraduate years through careers, civic activities, and family life” (Hatcher 2015). Other research asserts that "learning by giving" (Olberding 2012) not only only holds great value to students while they are in college, but also leaves a long lasting impression on those same students long after they graduate. Lastly, students that participate in a philanthropy-centric curriculum are more likely to give back charitably to their alma mater (Freeland 2015).
INNOVATIVE HIGHER EDUCATION
The research I studied from the journal "Innovative Higher Education" focuses on the long-term effects of student philanthropy. Much of the data in this study is self-reported by graduated university students and the results demonstrate that philanthropy education is received overwhelmingly positive and is an important part of students’ college experience, at least to those that are involved.
CAMPUS COMPACT
The Campus Compact website offers a wealth of resources for developing a philanthropy-centered curriculum. Along with a variety of relevant scholarly articles, the website gives access to modern philanthropy engagement models and was a great boon to the entire curriculum development process.
NONPROFT AND VOLUNTARY SECTOR QUARTERLY
A study by Freeland in the "Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly" is unique among the sources I selected: rather than directly addressing curriculum and impact of teaching philanthropy, it illustrates the lasting impact on an institution of higher learning by students giving charitably. The research claims that students who give as college students are significantly more likely to give as young alumni.
BEYOND THE CAPSTONE
This project has lasting implications for me and for UVU students beyond the presentation of my project. My UVST degree and accompanying capstone project will lay the groundwork for an impressive case for public administration graduate programs to consider—I’ll begin contacting graduate programs and begin preparing for the GRE as soon as I am graduated.
The curriculum I have designed will be put into place at UVU during the 2019 Spring semester. Students involved with UVU SAA, Foundation Ambassadors, and Philanthropy Council members will all be encouraged to enroll. I will serve as a co-facilitator with my colleague and supervisor Kevin Walkenhorst. While it will be difficult to see all of the fruits of my labor immediately, time will tell the impact that this philanthropy curriculum will have, especially in terms of long-term giving.
Pictured above are some of our Philanthropy Council students; my genuine hope is that this class will offer them the skills and ethical and moral impetus to be happy, successful fundraisers and philanthropists.
"What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal"
Albert Pike
