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Students4Giving℠: Inspiring Philanthropy's Future

Portland Community College receives its Students4Giving award.

Campus Compact and the Fidelity® Charitable Gift Fund℠ are delighted to announce an alliance to educate and inspire a new generation of philanthropists in a new era of giving. The project, called Students4Giving℠, provides colleges and universities with the educational resources and initial funding to engage students in strategic grantmaking activities within the context of community-based learning.

Five academic institutions and their participating students will each oversee a $15,000 donor advised fund to be used for future grant recommendations within their communities. Thirty-five colleges and universities nationwide submitted proposals and competed for the chance to participate in the new pilot program. The five participating institutions are Boston University (MA); California State University, Fresno; Portland Community College (OR); the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and Whitworth University (WA).

"I wanted to join the class to understand the inner workings of nonprofits, like business and grant writing. So far I've learned a great deal about both, especially how difficult it can be! I also have come to understand the role foundations play in bringing together resources and areas of need. The class allows us to discover the other side of service that, for me, was overshadowed by direct service through volunteerism." Caroline Cox, student, UNC-Chapel Hill, Students4Giving participant

Financed by Fidelity and open only to Campus Compact members, this pilot program provides each school with a Giving Account® (the Gift Fund's donor advised fund) seeded with $15,000. Students participating in 2008 winter/spring courses in nonprofit management, philanthropy, accounting, and related fields will oversee the accounts and make grant recommendations for supporting local nonprofit agencies.

The Students4Giving℠ program aims to provide a framework for philanthropic education emphasizing community-based knowledge with both grant-making and fundraising dimensions. Students will manage the philanthropic process, including creating a charitable mission statement, researching community issues, assessing the ability of nonprofits to address those issues, and learning to manage charitable funds to achieve philanthropic goals.

The focus is on sustainability, both financial and structural. Students will learn to use a variety of tools and strategies to create sustainable funding for community agencies. In addition, the program aims to create and support campus infrastructure for education focused on the nonprofit sector and the resources that sustain it. The program will thus have a lasting impact on students, their institutions, and their communities.

In addition to administering the program, Campus Compact will serve in an advisory role to the participating institutions and will generate models and other resources for the field.

Learn more about Students4Giving

Please contact Maggie Grove with questions about Students4Giving℠.

Being a part of Campus Compact has let us touch the heart and soul of building better communities while improving teaching and learning for faculty and students. James A. Drake, President, Brevard Community College