A Philanthropy-Based Approach to Teaching Business Students
/Marsha Huber (Youngstown State University)
Shirine Mafi (Otterbein University)
Please note: Instructors are welcome to use or adapt these teaching ideas for their own classes, provided the use is noncommercial and appropriate credit is given.
Objectives
To help students: (1) understand the management and accounting issues that nonprofit organizations face, (2) learn how to critically evaluate grant proposals and presentations, and (3) become aware of the social needs in their community and effective strategies to address them
Abstract
Business students often learn about management and accounting in a way that focuses on dollars and profitability. We decided to take an action teaching approach that instead focused on social needs in the community. In a philanthropy-oriented assignment, classes were given $500-$4,000 to distribute to nonprofit organizations in any way they felt would do the greatest good. To carry out this assignment, students formed 6-8 person teams based on a problem of common concern (e.g., homelessness). Each team then generated a list of 12 potential grant recipients on their topic and confirmed that the nonprofits would submit a proposal if invited. Next, the class wrote "Request for Proposals" guidelines and scored each grant proposal they received using criteria that they had earlier developed. Once the proposals were scored, students chose three nonprofits to receive funds, and they invited each organization to give a presentation to the class. After these presentations, students decided how best to allocate the funds, wrote a reflection paper using concepts from the course, and attended a banquet with the grant recipients to award the donations and celebrate the learning experience.
Description
Business students often learn about management and accounting in a way that focuses on dollars and profitability. We decided to take an action teaching approach that instead focuses on people and directly addresses social needs in the community.
Students in accounting and management classes were given amounts ranging from $500-$4,000 to distribute to nonprofit organizations in any way they felt would do the greatest good. Students were given two ground rules: (1) they had to be deliberate in their decision making process, and (2) they had to be selective (meaning that some nonprofits would be denied funding).
The class began with students identifying areas of general philanthropic interest, such as children with special needs, animal welfare, and homelessness. Based on shared interests, class members then formed 6-8 person teams that each generated a list of 12 potential grant recipients within a given interest area. To centralize this list and provide easy access by all team members, students developed a wiki page for each nonprofit displaying the organization's mission, key contributors, web address, and contact information. Students also confirmed that the nonprofits would submit a proposal if invited. The class then wrote "Request for Proposals" (RFP) guidelines, and the professor sent these guidelines and a deadline to the nonprofits. After the grant proposals arrived, students scored each proposal based on criteria that they developed.
After scoring the proposals, students spent a class session choosing three organizations to receive funds, and they subsequently invited each organization to give a presentation to the class. During this phase of the funding process, students asked each prospective grant recipient to submit financial statements with a budget and to describe the impact that a grant would make. After these presentations, students deliberated on how best to allocate the funds. At the conclusion of the course, the class and grant recipients attended a banquet that celebrated the learning experience.
Presenting $1,000 to Habitat for Humanity
Learning Experiences
This exercise in philanthropy provided business students with learning opportunities not offered by traditional education. For example, introductory accounting students were exposed to nonprofit financial statements and economic measures. In addition, students were given an opportunity to donate a substantial amount of money to make a tangible difference in the local community.
Thus, the project offered a unique opportunity for students to learn and contribute to society at the same time. Here are a few distinctive elements of the learning experience:
During the presentations, students heard from executives of each organization and could see that these individuals were motivated by a desire to do good rather than simply earn money. They also learned about the needs of the community (e.g., that one out of every six local families lived in poverty).
Students learned that being a nonprofit didn't mean being "poor" (one organization actually had a million dollars in its checking account). As the class heard executives tell stories about their struggles and victories, students were introduced to the nonprofit sector in a way that made it come alive and suggested it as a possible field of employment. In fact, one business graduate now works at one of the organizations that participated in the grant process.
Students also learned how nonprofits benefit the local economy (one organization brought over a million dollars' worth of new jobs into the local economy).
An important aspect of the learning experience is that the project was not a simulation — students made real decisions that had positive consequences for certain groups. The project's rules also meant that students had to turn down worthwhile funding requests from some organizations. Indeed, one class felt so bad about denying a funding request that the students collected personal donations to offer the organization.
Instructor Observations
It was exciting to see students become passionate about their philanthropic and civic duty. Students grappled with issues such as whether an animal shelter request should take precedence over funding for human needs. After looking at the financial statements of one large nonprofit, students decided to fund a smaller organization that they felt would benefit more from a grant. Students also decided to reject proposals when the application was not filled out properly (giving them first-hand understanding of how important it is to follow application instructions).
Student Reactions
In some cases, students were so touched by an organization's presentation that they were moved to tears or reported being exposed to a world they didn't know existed. Some students also commented on how they had a renewed appreciation of their own life after learning about the lives of others who were less fortunate.
After the grant decisions had been made, students were required to write reflection papers about the experience. Three themes emerged from their written comments:
(1) Everyone can make a difference.
"We can all make a difference in the world. It is not someone else's job. We are all responsible for our world."
"It was great to see how we could make a difference in these small organizations. I was happy to see how all of us could have a big influence on the lives of those who need help the most."
(2) I understand much better how nonprofits operate.
"The process of assessment allowed me to gain a better understanding of how nonprofits work by studying their financials."
"I learned the different names of the financial statements of nonprofit organizations. I learned how they function and their methods of funding. I was able to relate what I learned in the course to an actual case."
(3) There is value in collaboration.
"Through group collaboration we were allowed to decide which organizations would profit from our contribution. The presentations by the nonprofit organizations made us aware of how our donation would be used and provided a personal connection to those who benefit from the money."
"It was a valuable community service tool for students to learn about local organizations and put some analytic thought into how to best select a charity for donation. This is often an afterthought for non-major donors."
Challenges
The first challenge we faced was fundraising. Initially, we received funding from the Ohio Campus Compact — a statewide coalition designed to promote the civic purposes of higher education. When that funding ended, one professor donated her own funds for the project, and the other professor started an endowed fund at her university in support of the project.
A second challenge was that the class had to remain on a schedule with tight deadlines in order to complete the project. This challenge can be stressful for faculty because it takes time to cultivate relationships with organizations, guide students, and arrange a celebration banquet at the end of the term.
The final challenge was to make sure that core disciplinary learning wasn't displaced by the philanthropy project. Professors with experience teaching traditional and philanthropy-based versions of the same class have reported that students tend to learn more book content in the traditional version than the philanthropy-based version (due to the extra time demanded by the philanthropy project). This difference is especially pronounced with courses taught on the quarter system. On the other hand, students in the philanthropy-based class tend to be more personally invested in the course, develop more leadership skills, work harder, and spend more time learning outside of class.
Civic Impact
The Ohio Campus Compact collected data from 144 courses on 34 campuses receiving support for a philanthropy initiative. Approximately 1,500 students, donating 46,000 hours of volunteer work, completed a survey with the following item:
| How likely are you to do the following? | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Stay involved with the campus community | 27.0% | 43.0% |
| Volunteer after graduation | 47.5% | 75.5% |
| Give donations to local nonprofits | 40.2% | 68.9% |
| Believe you can make a difference in the local community | 57.8% | 85.0% |
| Plan to volunteer or engage in philanthropic activities throughout their lifetime | 45.1% | 74.4% |
Although these results are not specific to our project, they suggest the civic and teaching potential of philanthropy-based educational activities.
Variations and Extensions
In our most recent iteration of the project, students volunteered 15 hours at one of the funded organizations. As a result, students in one class wrote a risk assessment of an organization's accounting system and discovered that the local Special Olympics organization did not have an inventory list of its equipment. Another team discovered an inventory flaw that was reported to the upper management of Habitat for Humanity, which subsequently corrected the deficiency.
It is also worth noting that this project can be adapted for use in a wide range of disciplines. For instance, variations of the project have been used in public relations, management, and marketing courses. To take just one example, students in a management course conducted onsite research and created a multimedia presentation for each organization rather than inviting executives to give a talk. Along similar lines, the activity could be adapted for use with undergraduate or graduate courses in economics, design, social media, or psychology, as well as MBA courses across a variety of specializations.
Additional Resources
We have developed a step-by-step Template for a Philanthropy-Based Course with materials to help other instructors adapt this project for use at their institution. This manual includes a template for wiki pages, a syllabus, invitation letters to organizations, RFP guidelines, scoring criteria, award letters, and rejection letters.