Student Philanthropy Council

The Upstate Institute Student Philanthropy Council (SPC) at Colgate University is pleased to announce that three non-profit organizations in Central New York received grants from a total amount of $10,000. The SPC is student-driven philanthropic foundation comprised of twelve sophomores.

The grants awarded in the 2007-08 funding cycle include:

• The Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School in Utica, New York received a grant of $2,555 to grow their character development program through the purchase of supplemental teachers kits. These additional resources provide new tool sets for MLK’s faculty to teach and reinforce values and behavioral skills in their students.

• It’s About Childhood and Family, Inc. in Cazenovia, New York received a grant of $3,550 to expand their mental health services program into Madison County and surrounding rural areas.  It’s About Childhood and Family program provides parent, family and teacher education/training seminars to low-income and underserved populations “in return” for volunteer efforts within the community.

• The Neighborhood Center in Utica, New York received a grant of $3895 in support of the Somalia Bantu Project, which provides ESL lessons as well as culture transition and community knowledge classes to Somali refugee women. The classes address issues such as receiving healthcare and understanding the school system.

On Thursday April 24, the Colgate students led an awards celebration of this year’s grantees at the Colgate Inn in Hamilton, New York.  The philanthropy program, now in its second year, is supported by the Brennan Family Foundation of Ohio, which has ties to the university through Jay Brennan ’81.  The Foundation made a gift of $50,000 to support the program for five years.  Each year, $10,000 of that grant is made available to the SPC to provide grants to area non-profits.

The 2007-08 SPC supported initiatives that enhance the personal and life skills development for underserved populations in the region.  Grant applicants could ask for grants from $1,000 to $5,000 in their proposals.  Fifteen area non-profits submitted applications.

The students in the Council have worked together since early September, 2007 learning about philanthropy and non-profits through a lecture series in the fall.

Guest speakers, almost all alumni of Colgate, included Jim Smith ‘70, Waldemar A. Nielsen Chair in Philanthropy at Georgetown University; Yee-Ann Cho ’90, Senior Program Officer for Education at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Dorrie Ackerman ’81, Sr. Regional Advancement Director at Colgate University and Sarah Lange ’87, Principal, Legacy Consulting, non-profit consulting group in Boston, and William R. Kenan Professor of Geography and Upstate Institute Director, Ellen Percy Kraly, PhD.

In December, the Council began the hands-on work of a small regional foundation.  The students met to identify the focus of their grant making efforts, draft an RFP, review applications, make site visits and select the final recipients. 

Staff from the Upstate Institute and the Sophomore Year Experience selects Council members through a competitive application.

Upstate Institute Director Ellen Percy Kraly, Phd oversees the year long, non-credit, service- learning program.  Additional support is provided by the Sophomore Year Experience and the Annual Fund.

Student Philanthropy Council 2006-2007

In the spring of 2007, a team of sophomores and juniors worked on the inaugural Upstate Institute Student Philanthropy Council. Under the guidance of director Ellen Kraly and staff member Kate Lucey, the group distributed $10,000 in grants to area nonprofits.  On May 2, they gathered with faculty, friends, and community leaders in the Colgate Bookstore’s Class of 2003 Events Room to present four checks:

• $5,000 to the Utica-based Thea Bowman House Kids with Promise project, providing after-school programs and support for junior high and high school students who do not qualify for county Department of Social Services child care subsidies

• $2,200 to the Hamilton Food Cupboard, which will work with an area farm to bring fresh fruits and vegetables to more than 100 families

• $1,800 to Utica’s Adult Learning Center, which will use photography to tell the story of refugees settling in central New York

• $1,000 to the Sherburne-Earlville School Community/School Connections for Literacy Success project, funding a traveling tutor and creating literacy bags with books, puppets, puzzles, crayons, clay, scissors, and paper for incoming kindergarten students.

“With a little of the money, we hope to continue our field trips to New York, Boston, and Philadelphia,” said Sandra Wright, program director at the Thea Bowman House. “They’re educational trips but they’re also a lot of fun.”

Many thanks went to Jay Brennan ’81 and the Brennan Family Foundation for investing $50,000 in the project — enough for five seminars through 2011.  “One of the most rewarding aspects of serving on the council has been the opportunity to discover the great impact local organizations are making in our community,” said council member Emily Katz ’09 during the awards presentation. “And for many of us, the time has been a valuable first step toward careers in philanthropy.”

Students were accepted to the council only after an application process, coordinated by deans Raj Bellani and Kim Taylor of the Sophomore-Year Experience program.   Cassandra Galante ‘09, Widad Echahly ‘09, Emily Katz ‘09, Ali Wolter ‘09, Erika Scuadroni ‘08, Carrie Wagner ‘09, and Lisa Henty ’08 are among the first students selected to join the council.

The students sat in on a series of discussions throughout the fall semester arranged by Annual Fund Associate Director Sarah Gonzalez Bocinski and the Upstate Institute.  Experts in the field of philanthropy covered topics from the history of philanthropy to best practices of nonprofit administration.   Guest speakers included Jim Smith ‘70, Waldemar A. Nielsen Chair in Philanthropy at Georgetown University; Peggy Ogden, President and CEO, Central New York Community Foundation; Dorrie Ackerman ’81, Sr. Regional Advancement Director at Colgate University and Sarah Lange ’87, Principal, Legacy Consulting, non-profit consulting group in Boston.

In her capacity as the William R. Kenan Professor of Geography, Ellen Percy Kraly concluded the speakers’ series with an overview of the upstate region and led the students in reaching consensus necessary to draft a Request for Proposals for Funding. “We sought to develop a hands-on curriculum on principles of philanthropy in relationship to the needs and characteristics of the Upstate region,”  Kraly stated.

The Student Philanthropy Council sought proposals from non-profit organizations in the central Upstate New York region for strategic initiatives that enhance the health, welfare and capacity of families and communities.  They refined their requirements for grantees by noting that “Successful applicants will propose initiatives that address the needs and issues immediately pertaining to the region and its residents, equip beneficiaries with tangible skills to sustain solutions, and show capacity to implement the initiative within one year.”

In February, Yee-Ann Cho ’90, Senior Program Officer for Education at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, traveled to campus to lead an intensive workshop with the council on grant evaluation.  She also spoke about the exceptional work she is doing at the Gates Foundation—leading the foundation's efforts to replicate successful school models across the country.

Though the seminar is a non-credit course, the students received plenty of credit for their devotion to the process and their attention to detail.  “After Yee-Ann Cho’s very productive visit, the council was ready to become autonomous.  The level of professionalism as they carried out their work was absolutely inspiring to see,” said Kate Lucey.  The group of seven organized its own site visits and held several meetings at which members haggled over deserving nonprofit organizations, culling a list of 15 applicants down to the four grantees in attendance on Wednesday.

The Student Philanthropy Council is one of only a few field-based seminars around the country that educate undergraduate students in the nuances and implications of the grant-making process.  The program was recently featured in an article of The Chronicle of Philanthropy.  (CITE)  Future classes at the university may be proposed as fractional for-credit, adding an additional component: a review of outcomes based on past class awards.