Binghamton University, College of Community and Public Affairs, Binghamton, NY
Binghamton University proposes to create the “Philanthropy Incubator” in its College of Community and Public Affairs, for master’s level students in Public Administration and Social Work. The proposal builds on existing University-community partnerships, providing opportunities for local nonprofit organizations to receive financial support for programs that sponsor student interns or other field work. This project stands out because it teaches about grantmaking as well as grantseeking, it is interdisciplinary and it involves a professional school invested in partnerships with the community, preparing students for careers in philanthropy and the nonprofit sector.
Binghamton University created the College of Community and Public Affairs in 2006 as part of its vision to bring together departments training students for careers in public and social service. The College includes four departments: Social Work, Public Administration, Human Development and Student Affairs Administration, as well as the Center for Applied Community Research and Development. At present, the Social Work and Public Administration Departments offer masters degrees exclusively. Last fall, the College moved into a new building, constructed in downtown Binghamton (three miles from the University’s main suburban campus). The impetus for the new building was to facilitate interaction between the College’s professional degree programs and the local community (nonprofit organizations, government and grassroots associations). Over the past year, there has been an increased emphasis on service learning, community-based research and other forms of collaboration with local residents.
The Philanthropy Incubator builds on the steps the University has taken to offer professional education that engages with the community. Educating master’s students for careers in professions, such as public administration and social work, requires that students have the opportunity to apply the core concepts of their disciplines in practice settings. The Incubator would introduce public administration students to fundamental ideas about philanthropy, including fund raising and grant making, and their application in practice. Social work students would learn about fund raising and building a case for an organization through proposal writing.
Binghamton University would develop the Philanthropy Incubator using the Department of Public Administration’s two-semester nonprofit management sequence: Introduction to Nonprofit Management and Leadership (offered in the fall) and Issues in Nonprofit Administration (offered in the spring). The fall semester would emphasize fund raising to support the Incubator; the spring semester would focus on the grant making process. The introductory class covers the size and composition of the nonprofit sector, the structure of nonprofit organizations and core management functions. As the course instructor, I would treat the Philanthropy Incubator as a new organization, which would provide a practical example (though not the exclusive one) around which to teach core issues such as governance, strategy, volunteerism and financial management. This approach would be most useful in discussing revenue generation, a major topic. As a course project, I would assign a group of students — particularly those who expect to enroll in the second course in the spring — to develop and implement a fund raising plan for the Philanthropy Incubator. Course reading and lecture time would support this effort. The project would represent 50% of their course grade. I would encourage students to work in collaboration with the Graduate Student Organizations in Public Administration and Social Work to develop a College-wide commitment to the Incubator.
I would organize the spring semester course, Issues in Nonprofit Administration, around philanthropy and its role in nonprofit administration. Course topics would include an introduction to philanthropy (what philanthropy is, its role in nonprofit organizations, donor motivation); forms of philanthropy and their evolution (the historic and current role of foundations, United Way, community foundations and donor advised funds); strategy development; accountability and organizational performance; marketing and communicating success; strategic alliances and the creation of productive, enduring relationships between grantmakers and grantseekers.
Each course unit would align conceptual discussions of philanthropy with practical steps associated with designing a grant making program for the Philanthropy Incubator within the three and a half month time limit the semester provides. For example, the product of the introductory sessions on philanthropy would be development of a statement of purpose; the unit on forms of philanthropy would generate a discussion of types of grantmaking (operations, program support, capital, etc), eligibility criteria and the application process; the accountability unit would determine what kind of grant reporting would be most appropriate. The major milestones for the project would be: development of a statement of purpose (week two); development of eligibility criteria (week three); creation of a funding application (week four); release of the RFP (week five); proposal evaluation tools (week eight); reporting mechanism (week nine); application deadline (week nine); application review, analysis and site visits (weeks ten through twelve); decision making (week thirteen); award ceremony and reflection (week fifteen).
To build a College-wide commitment to the Philanthropy Incubator, the program would limit applicants to nonprofit organizations in which social work students hold field placements or public administration students hold internships. This approach has the potential to deepen the University’s relationship with community organizations serving as placement sites for students and it provides those students with opportunities to learn about the grantseeking process as part of their internships and field placements. This focus will also motivate students to participate in ongoing fund raising efforts to support the Philanthropy Incubator. Approximately 40-50 social work students participating in field education are enrolled in Advanced Social Work Practice with Communities. The Philanthropy Incubator and fund raising in support of social work programs would be integrated as content for the two sections of that course. Approximately twenty public administration students are enrolled in internships each semester and similar content would be added to the Capstone course in which students conduct research projects addressing policy or management issues at their internship sites. To avoid conflicts of interest, organizations with direct relationships with students enrolled in the Issues in Nonprofit Administration course (as staff, interns or board members) would be unable to apply for a grant.
The Philanthropy Incubator offers the potential for relatively modest grants to organizations; however, I would encourage the leaders of applicant organizations to participate in the grantseeking process not only to secure funding but also to advance the project’s educational goals. Towards that end, I would ask the leaders of applicant organizations to prepare funding requests in collaboration with student interns and to be willing to participate in a more complex grantseeking process than they would ordinarily for a small grant. Participation might involve sharing information about governance, strategy or financial performance and meeting with students during or outside of class sessions. One approach the project would consider would be to offer small honoraria ($250) to the leaders of applicant organizations that are finalists for grant awards. They would be designated “leadership mentors” for the program.
At the end of the semester, grant awards would be announced at a ceremony at the University’s Downtown Center. The awards ceremony would provide an opportunity to publicize the Philanthropy Incubator and the programs receiving funds. Given that Binghamton is a relatively small media market, I am confident local television and print media would attend. Finally, I would use the last class session to bring students together from both the nonprofit organizations and social work classes to reflect on the semester, including successes, lessons learned and how to build up the program for the subsequent year.
One final note, my involvement in research about local philanthropy, specifically donor advised funds, further strengthens this proposal. At present I am leading a research project analyzing why people choose donor advised funds or foundations as institutional vehicles for their philanthropy. The project involves close collaboration with the two major community foundations in this region. I have conducted interviews and developed strong relationships with local people who have created donor advised funds or family foundations. I have already received commitments from some of them about participating in the Philanthropy Incubator and meeting with students to share their experience as philanthropists.
