Western Michigan University received a Students4Giving award in 2008 and has continued to operate the course for the past two years. Through a combination of student fundraising efforts, internal administrative support and a $5,000 gift from an anonymous donor, the school will offer its third iteration of its Seminar in Nonprofit Leadership. Dr. Janice Maatman, who teaches the seminar, shared these reflections on her efforts to create sustainability for experiential philanthropy at Western Michigan:
- Public award ceremonies are critical. Each year, Western Michigan has seen dramatic increases in the attendance of its award ceremony, with more than 100 people joining the students this spring. The exposure is important for raising both internal and external awareness of the course and its impact on students, nonprofits and campus-community partnerships. It is worth spending time to think carefully about the agenda, invitations and speakers for the event. The Communications Department is a great partner in issuing press releases and building momentum for attendance.
- Involve the community in the classroom. Inviting community leaders to be co-educators is an important part of raising community awareness about student philanthropy. Western Michigan invited representatives from the United Way and the local community foundation (among others) to speak with the class about pressing community needs and about measuring nonprofit impact. Facilitating direct connections between the community and the classroom creates avenues for many different kinds of support.
- Trust student leadership. Students are passionate advocates for this kind of educational opportunity. Building fundraising into course requirements provides a necessary structure to efforts to replenish the Giving Account. One example of student-driven fundraising involved an approach focused on local businesses for sponsorship of their award ceremony. Together, they developed information materials, identified businesses and then made individual sponsorship requests. Students raised a total of $900 for the celebration and also dramatically increased community awareness about the project.
- Build internal support. It is important to have champions inside of the school—people who understand how student philanthropy enriches the curriculum and who are in positions to influence and engage others in the work. Internal champions at Western Michigan were able to secure a $5,000 institutional commitment and make important connections between the program and external donors.
