Monthly Archives: October 2011

After our discussion on Thursday I am concerned for the direction of our class.  At the beginning we established that we were very afraid of supporting a charity we were not interested in.  When our class came to the decision … Continue reading →

As we began to conclude our discussion of the National Family Legal Foundation and Charles Dunlap, Professor Grimm asked us one final question. “Do you think the NFLF could write a great proposal for our fund?” This question made me, … Continue reading →

“What change is most sorely needed in the non-profit sector?” a student asked Bruce and Karen Levenson, the philanthropists fueling our own student fund. “Leadership,”Bruce Levenson replied. “Non-profits need better leaders, trained leaders.” Expecting the answer to be “more giving,” … Continue reading →

We spent the majority of class on Tuesday trying to amend the decision-making process for our class fund. Prior to Tuesday’s class, we had chosen to use the “thumbs” method for making decisions, in which everyone votes on a particular … Continue reading →

This past week in class we had several readings, all with a very similar theme; philanthropy and grant-making. “What is a Grant?” by Craig Dykstra really interested me, as a business major, by showing me how grants can be seen … Continue reading →

As of class this past Thursday, we finalized the specifics of our requests for proposals. The first main issue that we dealt with was whether or not to focus on one specific age group. I feel that the class made … Continue reading →

“How lovely to think that no one need wait a moment, we can start now, start slowly changing the world. How lovely that everyone, great and small, can make their contribution…how we can always, always give something, even if it … Continue reading →

Last week, we discussed in groups which area we wanted our philanthropy to go towards out of five categories: Unemployment, Poverty, Healthcare, Hunger, and the Achievement Gap. While our group was discussing where we wanted this money to go, we … Continue reading →

After learning about the Hestia Fund, a Massachusetts-based women’s giving circle, it is clear that a strong organizational framework is critical for decision-making in a philanthropic fund. In the interest of promoting camaraderie, the Hestia Fund failed to set a … Continue reading →

According to Grant and Crutchfield, there are six practices high-impact non-profits should be engaged in. Of these six, I believe that the organization that we choose to give to should at least have a grasp on serving and advocating and … Continue reading →