Strategic Philanthropy course to present $10,000 in grant funds to local nonprofits
The University of Wiscosnin-Green Bay Strategic Philanthropy course will announce a total of $10,000 in awards to two Brown County area nonprofits at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 8 at the Christie Theatre in the University Union on campus, 2420 Nicolet Drive. The event is open to the public.
The CP Center Children’s Therapy Services for At-Risk Children and the Howe Community Resource Center Home Visitation Services for Ages 3 to 5 each will receive a $5,000 grant during the event, funds that come from Doris Buffet’s Learning by Giving Foundation. The Learning by Giving Foundation partners with universities across the United States, funding classes like the UW-Green Bay Strategic Philanthropy class to donate to nonprofit organizations in the Brown County area. The UW-Green Bay class is the only one in Wisconsin working with the Learning by Giving Foundation to offer this type of course.
The UW-Green Bay students enrolled in Assistant Prof. Lora Warner’s Strategic Philanthropy class work to collaborate and identify community needs and the organizations that address those issues. The students research areas of need within the Brown County community, and present them to their peers. From there they decide which issue the class will focus on for the semester. This year, the class decided to address the achievement gap, a problem that was featured April 27 on the front page of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. The class selected five finalist organizations that are dedicated to lessening the gap, and focusing on children and families in low-income homes. The five were the CP Center, the Community Partnership for Children, Encompass Early Education and Childcare, Howe Community Resource Center, and Ashwaubenon Preschool and Parent Learning (APPL).
This is the second time the course has been taught, after an anonymous donor gave the initial $5,000 grant with the requirement that it be spent on a community need. The Learning by Giving Foundation grant brings this year’s total to $10,000, allowing the class to double its impact, Warner said.
“This kind of class is important,” Warner said. “It’s really a powerful way to give our coming generation the tools and the motivation to do something to impact their communities.”
The Strategic Philanthropy students have chronicled their semester and shared their thoughts on giving via blog (http://uwgbphilanthropy14.wordpress.com/), on Twitter (@UWGBPhlanthropy) and on Instagram (uwgb_philanthropy14).
Warner’s class and three of its community supporters recently were featured in UW-Green Bay’s Annual Report and on the UW-Green Bay homepage. For more information, contact Warner at (920) 465-2404 or warnerl@uwgb.edu.
#14-94
