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The Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project

The Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project (MSPP) at Northern Kentucky University is an initiative of the Manuel D. and Rhoda Mayerson Foundation of Cincinnati, Ohio. With this project, the foundation generously provides financial support for faculty to create classes that allow students to invest in the community, enabling faculty to use student philanthropy as a service learning pedagogy.

To read more about the Mayerson Project click the links below:

Program History
The Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project Today
Direct Giving Model
Indirect Giving Model
Goals of the Project
Guidelines for the Project
Mayerson-funded Organizations *download this Word Document
Mayerson Faculty, Courses and Awards *download this Word Document
Funded Agencies since 2000 *download this Word Document

Program History

The seed for the Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project was planted in 1999 during a conversation between Dr. Neal Mayerson, Mayerson Foundation President, and Dr. James C. Votruba, Northern Kentucky University President. Both men shared a passion for finding ways to foster civic responsibility and engagement among college students. Dr. Mayerson agreed to fund a program integrating philanthropy into the college curriculum with the hope of advancing the development of competent student-citizens who seek to play vital roles in their community and who are committed to the pursuit of the common good.

There were many challenges to overcome in developing and fostering this vision. There were no resources, sample syllabi, toolkits, benchmarks, implementation strategies, scholarly writings, or even research on this seemingly unique teaching method. There was no expert to call upon for guidance to learn about what would or would not work based upon prior experiences.

A committee of seven faculty met over the summer of 2000 to design a curriculum that supported NKU's vision of an engaged, learner-centered environment that treats the metropolitan region as an extension of the campus and promotes collaboration between the university and the public it serves.

The committee laid out the following broad parameters that continue to define the project today:

• Faculty from all disciplines are invited to participate in the Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project. No discipline or course has a monopoly on preparing students for civic participation.
• Faculty should use the Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project as a vehicle for teaching the subject matter, not as an add-on. This way, students will come to realize that any academic discipline offers tools and concepts for identifying community needs and thinking about solutions.
• The Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project should afford students the valuable learning experience of engaging in meaningful and memorable interactions and discussions with nonprofit leaders and with classmates.

The Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project Today

In 2007, Citi joined the table to help support the MSPP. While the Mayerson Foundation continues to provide financial assistance to maintain and administer this program, Citi now provides the funds that students can allocate to the community through two different programs. The first, the direct giving program, functions similarly to the Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project of the past, where students investigate a number of different nonprofit agencies and then as a class make a decision as to where the money should go. The second program, the indirect giving program, allows students to review the some of the real proposals that Citi's Community Impact Board receives each year and make funding recommendations to the board about those proposals.

Direct Giving Model

Participating Students in the direct giving program complete the following tasks:

• Identify a community need.
• Form community boards (small work groups).
• Select nonprofits that meet community needs.
• Interact with people in the nonprofit sector (interviews, site visits, in class presentations by nonprofits).
• Issue and evaluate RFPs (Requests for Funding Proposals).
• Engage in a deliberative group decision-making process to select successful applicants who will be awarded a grant.

Indirect Giving Model

Participating students in the indirect giving program complete the following tasks:

• Review proposals submitted to the Citi Community Impact Board
• Familiarize themselves with the corporate philanthropy mission of Citi.
• Develop written evaluations of all proposals that have been submitted regardless of whether or not they are being recommended for funding<./li>
• Deliver a presentation to the Citi Community Impact Board explaining their recommendations for funding.

Depending on the individual course goals, faculty for both direct and indirect classes may require students to:

• Write a funding proposal to submit to the class on behalf of a 501(c)(3) organization.
• Volunteer at a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
• Learn about the history of philanthropy and nonprofits.
• Explore careers in the nonprofit sector.
• Fundraise to find additional funds.

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Goals

• Establish connections between the academic subject matter and the philanthropic process.
• Apply the subject matter to identify and address community needs.
• Provide opportunities for NKU students to interact meaningfully with those in the nonprofit sector.
• Expand self-identity to include a sense of responsibility to the community now and in the future.

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Guidelines

Monetary Awards

Faculty in direct giving classes will be notified at the start of each semester how many dollars their students have to allocate to local nonprofit agencies that semester. Faculty in indirect giving classes will be notified at the start of each semester how many dollars their students can allocate through their recommendations to the Citi Community Impact Board.

Notes

• Community organizations spend considerable time and effort to complete the Requests for Funding Proposal and interact with our students. Thus, the minimum investment is $1,000.
• Any additional funds students raise from donors are tax-deductible and must be submitted in the form of a check payable to the NKU Foundation.
• Faculty must be aware that the funding decisions are student-driven. Students must make the decisions regarding which 501(c) (3) organization to fund.

Conflict of Interest

• Faculty who serve on a nonprofit board(s) must disclose this fact to students to ensure that this nonprofit organization is not among the organizations students consider to avoid a conflict of interest.
• Students must disclose any relationships they have with a nonprofit organization(s) in the event they submit that nonprofit as one to be considered for an award.

Administrative Costs and Other Assistance

• The Mayerson Foundation supports faculty by handling administrative costs and details. Faculty should submit all receipts for any costs associated with the project to the Scripps Howard Center for reimbursement.
• The Scripps Howard Center is available to assist with copying and mailing.

Communicating with 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organizations

The following Word documents are available to facilitate communication with participating nonprofit organizations.

1. Project Overview Letter*
2. Requests for Funding Proposals: I, II, III
3. Cover Letter to Accompany RFP
4. Award Letter
5. Rejection Letter

Project Evaluation

Faculty may incorporate reflection assignments or group reflection exercises into the course.

• At the end of the semester, students complete a questionnaire to help Scripps Howard Center assess what they have gained from the investment experience.
• Three, four, and seven years after participating in a Mayerson course, Scripps Howard Center contacts students who have agreed to be contacted to learn about long-term effects of the experience.

Additional Resources

Guest speakers are available to introduce the Mayerson project to students. Contact the Scripps Howard Center for details.

Online Resources

Academic researchers, students, nonprofit professionals, foundation program officers, and others interested in philanthropy and volunteerism now have free access to the first digital library of primary and secondary sources that supports teaching, learning and practice: Philanthropy Resources Online developed and maintained by the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. The University Library offers the public free and unlimited access to digital images of the actual pages of books, journals and pamphlets relating to philanthropic activity.

Identifying Suitable 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organizations

In order to identify suitable nonprofits, the following steps might be useful; however, faculty members have the flexibility to design the process in a way that is consistent with their course objectives and calendar.

1. Faculty organize students into workgroups, called Student Community Board.

2. Faculty may designate a community need that fits with the subject matter of the course, or they may allow students to identify that need.

3. Faculty or students should compile a list of appropriate nonprofit organizations in a position to address the identified community need.

4. Once a list of potential nonprofits is compiled, the class narrows the list down to between four and eight 501 (c) (3) organizations.

5. Students determine which organizations will be invited to submit a Request for Funding Proposal (RFP).

6. Faculty and/or students determine the RFP to be used and send it to selected nonprofit agencies with a cover letter.

Note: Three RFP formats are on the Scripps Howard Center website. Don't forget to give nonprofit(s) a deadline for submitting RFPs.

7. Depending on the course goals, students may offer to assist the organization in writing the RFP.

8. Faculty or student representatives invite the nonprofit finalists to speak to the class about their proposal and funding needs.

9. Student Community Boards (or the class as a whole) evaluate the proposals and make decisions.

10. Faculty submit one copy of all funded and unfunded RFPs under consideration to the Scripps Howard Center.

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