And the Winners Are...!

We finally made it through class deliberations to the final awards ceremony! After making phone calls to the selected recipients, we held a little reception for everyone. Representatives of each of the non-profits, Youth Homes, Red Willow, and Court Appointed Special Advocates came to receive checks. The funded projects fit under the designated class topics of Mental Health and Youth issues.

Youth Homes was looking to fund a program to provide staff training by a trauma psychologist, who will help those that work with Youth Home kids to recognize and better adapt to the trauma kids may be facing as they enter out of crisis situations. Ana Crites spoke of her visit to Youth Homes, “When we arrived at the site, the staff stressed to us, ‘we don’t expect the kids to be grateful to be here. They’ve just come from a bad situation and our goal is to make them feel safe and that they have people they can connect and depend on’ this is what impressed me the most.

Red Willow, an organization also centering on trauma, healing and resilience is using the grant of under $3,000 to fully fund a veteran’s meditation class for the community for the year. This course in helping to retrain the minds of PTSD veterans, also targets a population of high risk of suicide within our community. In speaking of the Red Willow’s vet program Dominque Cuellar said, “It feels great to be able to give back to those that served the country”.

Finally, CASA or Court Appointed Special Advocates received a $3,000 grant to expand and train new needed volunteers to be paired up with a child going through the court system to advocate on their behalf during an injuring family crisis.

The ceremony died down with people leaving to finish out other finals of the semester, and as we go into the holiday season it was a nice reminder of how we can be empowered to connect and do good for others. It was a pleasure to get to see what they do to serve us here in Missoula.

Bring on the Heat!

Everyone has differing opinions, that much is true. However, whether one decides to respect others' opinion; therein lies the rub. Today's class was probably the most heated and interesting discussion that we have had all semester, in my opinion.


Students were expressing how they felt about certain organizations and their motives, and I was thoroughly shocked, to be frank. We are just not a lively group 8 out of 10 times, and I enjoyed listening to what everyone had to say. For example, some really enjoyed CASA, while others thought that Youth Homes would be a better fit, and I thought it was cool to have the input and to observe those were and were not speaking.


However, as class proceeded, I could see that people were starting to become agitated. Some students' points were being misconstrued, others were not able to push their point across, and I thought an actual argument was going to erupt. But Greg was able to mediate and keep the tension at a tolerable level.


Next, as we debated, I noticed that there were only a few select that actually spoke their minds; I realized that it was the people who usually talk during class. I am not saying that's a bad thing, it was just an observation. Lastly, during the debate, when students tried to defend their organizations, I noticed that they were not really explaining what the group actually does. For example, when we were talking about CASA it was hard to discuss it because I did not really know what they wanted the money for, or how the organization runs. All I knew about CASA was that they are an organization for children who don't have a voice in court. I did not know how they went about helping a child in need, or how they help the kid in the court case, or anything along those lines, which was quite interesting. Now, with Red Willow, the students who did a site visit explained what Red Willow is using the money for, how they are addressing and helping the community need, what they are doing to benefit the veterans and their families, along with police officers and firefighters, and how they make the atmosphere for veterans more comfortable.


All in all I felt like it was a very productive class, those who spoke were able to put their opinions out there, while those who just observed were able to take all those opinions into consideration. It was a great discussion, and I was glad to be a part of it.


- Catherine Roland, student

Garden City Harvest

Learning about Philanthropy has been a very eye opening experience. This class has not only opened my eyes to non profits, but I have been more exposed to tough life decisions. We were split into different groups with the responsibility of conducting an interview with each non profit. My group chose to look deeper into Garden City Harvest, a local non profit in Missoula.     

    

 

 

The day we arrived for the interview, I had no idea what to expect. I was instantly blown away by their professionalism, welcoming atmosphere, passion, and drive for helping the community of Missoula, which clearly has an immense amount of respect for Garden City Harvest. Talking to one of the women who worked at the non profit, we could see that the Garden City Harvest employees love their job. This non profit has the goal to impact people’s lives, which is absolutely beautiful. We were quickly educated on their message, their non profit is meant for so much more than growing food. They have impacted many lives in Missoula. They have educated, inspired, and sparked that desired connection between the earth and people. Something that people thought was long gone, the beauty and respect for the earth.

My group and I were thoroughly impressed by Garden City Harvest. As we departed, they gave us a map of all their community gardens and farms. With a spare hour, we decided to check out one of these gardens.

The garden was wonderful and had the same vibe that Garden City Harvest expressed. We took a walk around and found evidence of hard work, love, and compassion for the earth. The garden wasn’t closed off; it was completely open demonstrating that Garden City Harvest isn’t a shut off non profit. They want people to see what they are accomplishing and share the connection to the earth.

Overall, my group members and I were blown away by Garden City Harvest. We found we were slightly bias in class discussions, because we already had been deeply impacted by a non profit. Nonetheless, I learned very quickly that this project wasn’t going to be happy and cheerful. We were going to have to make difficult decisions that would ultimately impact who was getting the money from this grant. The most important aspect in the end is the impact and reform that this will start in Missoula. That’s the constant thought I have had throughout this process and I learned that from this program.

Divide and Conquer

This week the class split into groups to check out the final contenders for our grant money. Armed with a list of logistical questions and open minds we walked through the facilities and listened to the passions of the people who work for positive change in Missoula. One of the visits was to Youth Homes Missoula. http://youthhomesmt.org/

 

Youth Homes Missoula provides temporary shelter to kids in Missoula who find themselves without a stable place to live. They work to find permanent, safe homes for the kids while they're there, but they do so much more.

 

 

The kids are free to make every space their own;

while the walls (and even ceiling) may look a little crowded with all the pictures, the kids say it makes them feel less alone to see the faces and art of other kids who have come through the shelter.

 

 

Youth Homes doesn't expect kids who come to be "grateful"

Instead, they strive to provide an environment where the kids feel safe.

 

 



The grant money they're asking for would fund

a pilot "trauma intervention" program which, if successful,

would be implemented in all of their area shelters.

 

 

Youth Homes is evolving with the changing needs of the youth in Missoula, and their proposed project demonstrates that shift.

We were impressed!

From Foster kids to Veterans

Our class has had an exciting few weeks!

We're debating on whether or not a project will be more successful over others, or whether it's providing something unique that Missoula is missing. We've received all kinds of applications - from funding for PTSD mediation classes for veterans, to projects addressing job training for young adults aging out of the foster system, to parenting classes for at risk families, after school programs, and trauma training for staff at a local foster home.

As a prospective community health major it's interesting to see the varied ways that these non-profits tackle issues. Trauma counseling is important piece, as certain trauma events in children’s lives put them at higher risk of suicide/mental illness. Having art therapy for healing is another, retraining minds from PTSD veteran sufferers and is a way to combat higher suicide rates among the veteran population as well as tackling the social isolation that can be a major contributor. It’s encouraging to see real and creative solutions coming from our city to strengthen Missoula and make it a more resilient place to live.

This week we narrowed it down to a top ten. In class discussions, we argued or defended certain ones that were close to our hearts. It came down to how we could see funds being used and how well we felt that organization’s goals could address the problem. Does the project address a narrow segment of the population? What does our research show was a gap in Missoula and how does this address those need areas? Does the organization provide a good idea of how they can pull off a program effectively?

We have so much need and so many people doing good work in Missoula. Not being able to fund them all makes the importance of being invested and supporting them when we can very clear. It’s inspiring to witness those in our community seeing needs in Missoula and working hard to solve them.

It's also a great way to see examples of opportunity instead of complacency in problems, to see concrete ways from 'its always been that way' thinking to avenues in which we can be creative with our challenges.

The hardest part is going to be choosing one or two for funding with the 10,000 that we have been given. Every one of these organizations are worthy of funding and attention. There are so many great and unique proposals it's going to be difficult to weed them down!

So It Begins...

This week we are up to our eyeballs in proposals! We have 23 total to consider from nonprofits all over Missoula, ranging from organizations that help children with speech impediments to education programs that operate in outdoor classrooms.

The chose to focus on youth concerns, and suicide prevention and mental health. We're rating each one on multiple metrics, such as clarity of project
goal, health of the organization, potential of providing a unmet need in our city, and use of funds requested. For each proposal we've got a list of criteria and a grid to rate each item from 0 - 5. It's a lot of information to process!

Its a lot more time-consuming than we originally anticipated; this year there were more than the average number of applicants. Every student rates every proposal and once we're done with that, the fun will begin...

It will be interesting to see if we think in similar ways about this, or if there's a lot of diversity in the class in terms of what excites us and makes us think the money will be put to good use.

Gettin' Our Hands Dirty

This week we heard from students about how their service learning projects went, and what they thought. Wow, what a wide range of experiences and take-aways!

Some of our projects:
The Missoula Food Bank http://www.missoulafoodbank.org/
Students volunteered time on Sunday morning to fill lunch boxes for the week.
"It was humbling to think about all the people who need food here in our community" - Brittany

Tangle Free Montana http://tanglefreemontana.blogspot.com/
Students went trekking up a mountain to take down outdated fencing that threatens wildlife and their habitats.
"It was great to see the immediate impact of what we were doing" - Ana
"I want to bring Tangle Free back to Arizona" - Dominic
"I met this girl that just went out there in her free time, just to help. I thought that was great." - Dylan

The Village Senior Residence http://www.villagesenior.com/
Students spent Saturday at The Village chatting with residents, playing board games, and doing puzzles.
"I was nervous about going to the dementia wing because my grandmother had Alzheimer's, but it went really well. I talked with a 102-year-old woman - she had SO MUCH ENERGY! I was able to see how much I could make a difference to them, but I didn't realize how they could make such a difference to me!" - Jennifer

The Roxy (community theater) http://www.theroxytheater.org/
Students volunteered during the Missoula Film Festival.
"It was great to see so many [diverse] people coming together. It's an experience that we need in Missoula." - Sarah
"I realized how important theater is for bringing people together" - Grace

All in all, our class was able to lend a hand to some amazing Missoula organizations and see the impact that just a few hours of our time can have. Such a great lesson.

Transparency

Andrew Carnegie once said, "It is more difficult to give away money intelligently than to earn it in the first place."

In class this week we reviewed two writings on the rise of philanthrocapitalism and together laid out our thoughts about what a healthy "social contract" with philanthrocapitalists looks like. It was interesting to dive a little deeper into what makes an organization "healthy." At the top of the list was:

Transparency: Do they report truthfully about what they do and who they are? Are they accountable and up-front with the public? We also discussed:
Recognizing Limits: Are they open to the possibility of failure and honest about that reality?
Checks and Balances: Do they have third party audits? Do they welcome legitimate questions?
Participation of Beneficiaries: Do those they seek to help have a legitimate voice within the organization? And finally:
Structural Change: Do they put money toward solving the causes rather than merely the symptoms?

As we move into the decision-making segment of this class, it isn't enough to just "feel good" about the organizations that will apply for our grants. We have to take into consideration many factors that will tell us about the long-term health and sustainability of their programs, and know that the money will be managed in a transparent, responsible way. These are some of the questions we will be asking when we start to look at proposals next week.

Trustees Panel

In class on Friday we were able to hear from two local philanthropists, Kira Huck of the Foundation for Community Health http://www.fchwmt.org, and Meredith Printz of the Missoula Community Foundation. http://missoulacommunityfoundation.org

Here are a few of our class's take-aways: 

Kira Huck, who spoke in our class stressed the importance of building relationships and improving the community said, “Philanthropy isn’t just about money, but building relationships with donors to create a meaningful impact.” Huck is an Operations and Programs manager at the Foundation for Community Health. Huck added, “The purpose of philanthropy is to better the lives of people.”

 

One of the most difficult aspects of philanthropy, is saying no to someone. If they propose a specific idea, but it’s not going to be successful, a philanthropist must have the ability to say no. Integrity is key; having strong morals, remaining respectful, kind, and determined is important. 

Connecting donations to projects that reflect their wishes is a very important part of choosing where the money goes. Even if a project is worthy of funding, the person who donated that money might not be 100% behind it, and in the end it is important to match the project with the donor in order to maintain long-term health of the relationship. 

Incredible Opportunity

Hello! Emma here again.

This Learning By Giving class has shown me there are an infinite amount of problems in our world. But, there are also an infinite amount of solutions. Anyone has the ability to change the world. Philanthropists are passionate, driven, and spectacular people who have natural charisma and can easily connect with people. Whether it’s working for a non profit or being the leader of one, every extra hand is key. 
 

           
These are all very important aspects associated with giving. The most incredible portion of our class, is we have the opportunity to choose an issue and find non-profits specifically addressing them. But, we also have the honor to invest in these non-profits and make a difference in the world. Not many students have the early insight into philanthropy this class offers us.

Expecting Exciting Things...

For most people, the first day of college is fast paced, exciting, but very overwhelming. Coming from high school, the University of Montana was a huge change. I attended Lake Oswego High School which is located 25 minutes from Portland, Oregon. I chose the University of Montana, because the moment I walked on campus, I was hooked. My name is Emma Smith and I am a Journalism major. I have always been a big dreamer and when the University of Montana sent me a letter about GLI (Global Leadership Initiative), I knew it was exactly what I needed to fulfill my dream career. I have a passion for helping, connecting with others, traveling, and solving problems. Global Leadership Initiative is a program with the goal of training students to become leaders with the expectations they will enter the world with skills capable of solving local, national, and global issues. 

            I applied for GLI and I was accepted! I ended up in a class called “Can Giving Change the World?” The only thing I knew walking into class was that giving definitely has the power to change the world. Little did I know, giving has so much more power than simply changing the world.

Giving Outside of the Box

Hello! I'm Lenore, a non-traditional student at the University of Montana, and I'll be helping tell the story of our Learning By Giving class this semester. 

When I heard that there was a class at the University of Montana that taught students about the fundamentals of non-profits and fundraising, I was intrigued. But when I heard that there was a class that actually got to give away money I was floored.

The Learning By Giving Foundation's mission to educate the next generation of philanthropists by providing students with actual money to give to actual organizations shows out-of-the-box thinking that has measurable results. Reaching a generation of future (and current!) philanthropists through a hands-on, engaging classroom experience is definitely creative and I'm excited to be a part of this class.

Can't wait to see where this goes...