It’s hard to believe that the semester is over and that the Strategic Philanthropy class has made another great decision of where to donate the big $10,000 grant. After being part of this class as a student last year and a teaching assistant this year, I’m so thankful for the way it has shaped me. The first year I was really impacted by the founders of the course and their outlook on life. Regardless if you are just a college student, you can make a positive difference in your community. As a sophomore, I was inspired by hearing those words and looked more into ways I could give back and make Green Bay my second home. This year, as I took a step back as a teaching assistant, I was inspired by the students. They dove into the material, set their hearts on a cause, and worked to find a worthy organization to receive the grant. There’s nothing more inspiring than seeing individuals grow and stand up for the causes they believe in. My hope is that as time goes on the students will continue to be strategic about their giving, they’ll find those missions that are close to their heart, and they will always take charge and do something in our community or around the globe. Most importantly, I hope all of the students realize that this course is so much more than a grade on a transcript, it’s a hands on service learning project that has lasting impacts on each individual student and the community. Thank you for a great semester: the lessons learned, the laughs shared, and for the impact all of you have had on my outlook on philanthropy and life.
We Have Our Recipient!
Yesterday was our grant award ceremony, and we are excited to announce that Howe Elementary School is the recipient of this year’s Learning by Giving grant! Each of our three finalists were worthy candidates, and it was hard to choose who would ultimately receive the $10,000 grant. Our class made a case of support for each of the finalists, and in the end, Howe Elementary School won the class vote. We are very excited about the program they have developed. With its focus on literacy and ensuring that kids have access to books at home, especially during the summer months, as well as an arts component to complement the focus on reading, this program will have the outcome we decided on at the beginning of the semester: addressing the achievement gap.
We can speak for the entire class when we say that Strategic Philanthropy is one of the most unique, interesting, and important courses we have had the privilege to take during our time at UW-Green Bay. To have the opportunity to learn about different areas of need within our community and award a grant that will help alleviate some of those needs is invaluable, and an experience that will stay with us even as the semester comes to an end.
Special thanks to Dr. Warner, the rest of our class, all of our applicants, and most especially the Learning by Giving Foundation, for making this class possible. It’s been a fun, enlightening, and influential semester!
Thanks for reading!
Halle, Margo, Mohamed, and Taylor
Visiting Our 3 Finalists!
This past week and a half has been quite busy but also incredibly informative, as our class has now completed a site visit for each of our 3 finalists! Choosing from among the three will be a challenge for us. We selected our area of need with a lot of consideration, and these site visits confirmed that addressing literacy (and including a focus on the often-neglected arts) was the right choice. Each of these finalists are deserving of our grant, and we know that whichever one ends up the recipient will use the funds well and for the cause we wanted.
The first visit took place at Eisenhower Elementary School to observe the YMCA’s after school program and learn more about their partnership with the Birder Studio of Performing Arts. It is a unique and promising collaboration that we feel strikes a good balance between focusing on literacy and including the arts. Students in the after school program will have the opportunity to participate in a play, while also learning theater vocabulary and developing their reading skills by reading scripts.
The second visit was to the Howe Community Resource Center and Howe Elementary. This proposal was also unique and had the desired balance of literacy and the arts. Included in the proposal was the construction of two Free Little Libraries at the school, as well as a painted garden bench to be placed where both the students get on and off the school buses, and others get on and off the Green Bay Metro buses. Their proposal also had activities for the summer months, which is when students unfortunately tend to lose or lessen the reading skills they gain during the school year.
The third and final visit was to the Boys & Girls Club. The Boys & Girls Club has recently invested in a curriculum called LitART, and are hoping to buy the remaining parts of the curriculum for older age groups. We observed a small group of 7-9 years old as they participated in the LitART program, which again combines our two targets of literacy and the arts. LitART incorporates several key aspects of reading (vocabulary, comprehension) while also allowing the participants to engage in an activity related to the readings. The group we observed drew a picture of their favorite scene after the book was finished, but activities also include acting out scenes and games/inventions. What we saw at the Boys and Girls Club of Green Bay was a new program with lots of potential and we were glad to see the children engaged!
Now that we have visited each of our finalists, it is decision time this week. And next week Tuesday, May 3rd at 4:00 in the Christie Theater on UW-Green Bay’s campus, we will announce our winner!
We’re getting closer
Our classroom groups are feverishly working to get to Yes! Yes, 
we are getting ready for the award ceremony May 3rd and we can’t wait!
The Advocacy Group is working on writing three separate letters to the editor for the Press Gazette in addition to writing a newspaper article for the importance and reasoning of the choices we made focusing on literacy and the arts. Their press kit contains all their press releases, the newspaper article, a fact sheet with statistics on literacy and the arts for children, and a sheet on how to get involved.
Right now the Non-Profit Liaison Group is working on confirming site visit dates with our three finalists. They have also notified the other organizations who were not selected as finalists. They shared with them what we liked about their proposal and things they thought they could improve upon based on the discussion that was held in class. Thank you notes will be going out after the site visits.
The Event Group is tentatively planning to have hors d’oeuvres prior to the event. A power point presentation containing photos of children with some of their favorite books will be rolling while people arrive. Then, they will arrange for brief speeches from Dr. Warner, one of their group members, and from a representative of the grant recipient. Then, most awaited, the check will be presented!
Grand Award Ceremony Invitation!
On May 3, the collaboration between the 2016 UWGB Philanthropy Class and the Learning by Giving Foundation will finally come to fruition. That day, we will award $10,000 to a local literacy program that uses arts to help engage students for the better. It will take place at UWGB’s Christie Theater at 4:15pm, with the doors opening at 4.
Please join us for the event! We are looking forward to it and would love to see you there!
Poverty considered
We were privileged to have one of our classmates, Mohamed Hassan, from Somalia, share with us how different poverty is viewed from country to country. This discussion comes in conjunction with our spring break reading, The Life You Can Save, by Peter Singer. Mohamed told about his life experiences growing up in a refugee camp in Ethiopia. Conditions such as walking 2-3 hours each day to get water and not having proper health care is things he witnessed. “Children were dying from diarrhea. Simple items such as sugar, salt and clean water can prevent this but was not available,” said Hassan. He compared how poverty is viewed in the United States to how it is viewed in Ethiopia or other Middle Eastern and African countries. “In Ethiopia, the basic needs to live are lacking such as food, water and healthcare,” Mohamed explained. According to Singer, most American poor have one television and a car. Mohamed’s lecture told us how important it is to look beyond poverty as we see it in America and consider the extreme humanitarian needs in countries like Ethiopia. This is not to say that the poor in America are less important, but that extreme needs exist in other parts of the world and we shouldn’t close our eyes to it. “Some people are dying just to put something in their mouths, so use your money wisely to donate,” he concluded.
On another note, the U.S. government’s defense budget totals 21% of the entire federal budget while its’ humanitarian relief efforts total one percent of the federal budget. To meet the unmet need of helping those in extreme poverty, it is necessary to consider personal giving.
Meet Haley!
What is your major(s) and year in school?
Hi! My name is Haley. I am a commuter student from Kaukauna and it is my second semester at UWGB. As a senior, I am double majoring in Public Administration and Political Science.
What are some of your areas of interest or most concern?
Youth literacy education and environmental issues are concerning to me.
What has moved or affected you most so far in class?
In taking strategic philanthropy, the thing that has moved me the most has been how wide spread the issues that happen right here in our own community are also happening elsewhere too.
What are some of your hobbies?
On my free time, I enjoy camping with my family, taking my dogs on walks, and reading.
Meet Hannah!
What is your major(s) and year in school?
I am currently a senior double majoring in Arts Management and an individualized major in Dance Pedagogy.
Where are you from?
I am from Two Rivers, WI.
What are some of your areas of interest or most concern?
Being an Arts Management and Dance Pedagogy major my areas of interest or concern lie in the arts, specifically arts education. I believe that having arts opportunities readily accessible to young and old can make our world in which we live in a better place and will help to pave the way for the future.
What has moved you or affected you most so far in class?
Hearing from last year’s grant recipient really moved me. I knew that homelessness in the Green Bay area was and still is a problem. However, I did not realize that it was such a large problem that many people in the area struggle with. Hearing about school aged children and youth who are homeless really opened my eyes as to what really is happening in Brown County.
Meet Jessica!
What is your major(s) and year in school?
I am a triple major in Political Science, Public Administration, and Environmental Policy.
Where are you from?
I was born in Cape Town, South Africa, but spent most of my life in a small town 15 minutes from Madison, WI.
What are some of your areas of interest or most concern?
The environment and civil liberties are two of my areas of interest and I am especially interested in environmental justice. I currently work with two non profits–Young Americans for Liberty (promoting social and economic freedoms) and Oxfam (an international organization that fights global poverty, hunger, and injustice).
What has moved you or most affected you so far in class?
What affected me the most in class is when the recipient of last year’s grant came in and spoke to our class about their mission and work.
Meet Mark!
What is your major(s) and year in school?
My majors are Philosophy and Arts Management.
Where are you from?
I live in Howard with my wife and our Brittany named Army. I grew up in Oak Creek, WI and my family moved to Butternut, WI when I was 17 and I graduated from Butternut High School.
What are some of your interests?
My interests have changed and become more diverse over time. Hunting and fishing have been displaced with cooking and writing. I still enjoy music and continue to play drums.
What are some social issues or areas of concern that are important to you?
Health issues like Alzheimer’s disease concern me. My mother and grandmother both died due to its effects. It is very strange and disturbing to see their mind fade. The thing I found rather interesting in this class was our discussion on community and how that community seems to be disappearing in lieu of a sort of self-imposed isolationism. It would appear that a great deal of society’s problems stem from this.
UWGB Philanthropy 2016 