WEEKLY UPDATES
WEEK ELEVEN
Written Student Interview: Jordyn Smalling
-Why did you sign up for this course?
I have a long history, since I was 15 years old, of working with various non profits locally and globally. I am an art student and heard of the course through my roommate who is in the business school. The chance to learn about the business and mechanical side of non profit work intrigued me, as i hope to continue my work and efforts with various organizations throughout my career as a photographer and artist.
-What are your favorite parts of this course?
I really enjoy the part of the class we are in right now, where we are sharing our personal group research of grant candidates with one another and debating upon issues and values.
-How has this class changed your view of philanthropy?
Yes—now I will more deeply evaluate and research the efforts of a non profit before committing myself fiscally.
-How does it feel to give away real money?
The “real money” aspect of this class has made me take it more seriously than other classes from day one. I feel pressure as a student to do my part and commit my mind and efforts whole heartedly to the Learning by Giving course process because at the end of this, someone will be helped and others won’t be based on our decisions.
WEEK TEN
This week we took a look at One Acre Fund, a successful organization devoted to serving smallholder farms. The measure their success in their ability to make more farmers more prosperous. Their services include: financing for farm inputs, distribution of seed and fertilizer, training on agricultural techniques, and market facilitation to maximize profits from harvest sales. One Acre Fund envisions a future where every farm family is equipped witht the knowledge and resources to achieve bigger harvests, support healthier families, and to cultivate richer soil.
One Acre Fund
Written Student Interview: Thomas Hertz
WEEK NINE
-Why did you sign up for this course?
I signed up for this course to discover a side of business that I have never researched, worked for, or volunteered for in any means. This course has shown me the positives and negatives of the nonprofit sector as some produce a much better impact than others.
-What are your favorite parts of this course?
My favorite part of this course would be in relation to the hands-on experiences we get with real nonprofits in our area. This type of experience is genuine and cannot be simply learned in a textbook.
-How has this class changed your view of philanthropy?
This class has made me judge certain nonprofits for the way they handle their business, as well as it has helped me support other nonprofits where I agree with some or all of their mission, method, manpower, money, and metrics.
-How does it feel to give away real money?
This is an incredible experience in which I have suggested to others interested in pursuing entrepreneurship or philanthropy. This class is a once in a lifetime type of opportunity where I would highly suggest it to anyone interested in nonprofits or entrepreneurship in general.
-What are some of the things you've learned and will take away from this course?
I would say that the main things I have learned throughout this course would be in relation to being able to decide whether a nonprofit is truly as beneficial as it could be. I have also learned that like other businesses, overhead is almost a necessity for success in the nonprofit sector.
"The way we think about charity is dead wrong"
WEEK EIGHT
This week we watched a TED Talk video given by activist and fundraiser Dan Pallotta. Pallota calls out the double standard given to charities where we popularize how much they spend over what they accomplish. He suggests that instead of punishing the non-profits with big goals we should support them so we can help them reach bigger accomplishments.
"Let's change the way we think about changing the world." -Dan Pallotta
WEEK SEVEN
The diversity of this group ranges in age, studies, passions, and so much more. With everything we can bring to the table, real philanthropic change is possible.
This week we started visiting our different nonprofits in order to begin understanding the communication and dialogue between them. We are all so excited to work with these nonprofits throughout Knoxville and learn what we can do to help.
WEEK SIX
Our guest speaker for today’s class was Lance Robinson, the president and founder of Equitas. Equitas is a philanthropic organization working with projects and partners that seek justice, intervention, holistic restoration and advocacy for the vulnerable and oppressed. They build strategic partnerships and collaborations through funding, advising, and advocating.
After Lance introduced us to what Equitas was, he explained how it worked. They use what Lance calls a “both/and approach” to evaluate organizations that needed funding, meaning they take into account both evidence based and relational based information. In terms of allocating funds, Lance said that it can be a really hard to say no to organizations when you have a bleeding heart for justice, but with a strategic focus the process can become easier.
Equitas learned even more about their own process as they got more involved. They shifted their approach using a three phase approach:
Phase 1: Situation Analysis
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Gain knowledge and relational capital
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Gauge how they can become a part of the process
Phase 2: Learning & Granting
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Evolve strategy
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Balance portfolio of prevention, intervention, and restoration products
Phase 3: Sharper Focus
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Widespread implementation of best practices
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Healthy and sustainable growth of organizations
Equitas has contributed in efforts to prevent and alleviate child domestic servitude in Haiti, as well as to prevent and alleviate the sexual exploitation and trafficking of children in South East Asia. Today, they continue to fight for freedom for the oppressed.
WEEK FIVE
-Why did you sign up for this course?
I am an entrepreneurship minor, and I am fairly interested in non-profit. This seemed like a great fit for my interests.
-What are you favorite parts of this course?
I love how hands on it is. I learn really well with real life situations and experiences, and obviously, this class fits into that category very strongly.
-How has this class changed your view on philanthropy?
My views on non-profits have been influenced quite a bit due to this course. This is partially due to the fact that I didn’t have strong opinions on non-profits before this, so it has been easy to develop opinions and views on these organizations and the system as a whole. Dr. Miller has definitely played a strong role in this. I very much respect his work and the experience he has, and I value his opinion in a lot of issues in this field. I think my views have been developed a lot more as I have learned more about the issue as a whole.
-How does it feel to give away real money?
This goes back to how much I love and appreciate real life, hands on work in school. Recognizing what we’re doing and how big it is can sometimes be a little daunting. It feels somewhat powerful to have a bit of control like this, but it is really cool to have the opportunity to bless certain people and organizations in this way.
-What are some things you’ve learned and will take away from this course?
One of the ideas that I will take with me the most from this course is the idea of organizations moving from serving to solving. It is really cool to think about how, for instance, to move from “feeding people under the bridge” to eradicating hunger. This class has cause me to learn how to further “investigate” a non-profit, and really know what they’re doing by looking at their what they stand for, how they intend to accomplish this mission, where they will receive funds and people to work towards their goal, and how they’ll measure whether or not what they’re doing is actually making a difference or not.
Written Student Interview: Josh Tillery
"How low-cost eye care can be world-class"
WEEK FOUR
As a part of our class this week we watched a TED Talk given by Thulasiraj Ravilla who serves as an executive director at the Lions Aravind Institute of Community Ophthalmology, a revolutionary social organization that provides eye care for the needy. The Aravind Institute has helped hospitals around the world build capacity to prevent blindness. This video breaks down Aravind's mission and approach. Ravilla mentions how fulfilling a greater impact involved the following: increased awareness, influencing behavior, creating access, community participation, and growing the market (reaching the unreached). Ravilla goes on to outline just how their original method allowed them to drive treatment costs down while simultaneously bringing quality up---- highlighting why their method should spark a reevaluation of human services.
WEEK THREE
Now that we have narrowed down our proposal choices from nine to five, we get to personally select the proposal we would like to work with! Our proposals have a wide range of focus areas allowing our students to find a proposal and more specifically an organization to study that resonates with them. All five proposals filled with information about their purpose, goals, and needs hung on the walls of our classroom. Based on interests and passions, our students then stood in front of the proposal that they believed would best suit them.
As students finalized their decisions, five teams were formed. We spent the rest of the class in our groups discussing our plans to further study each of the individual organizations our selected proposals consisted of. A common strategy among the groups is to have each member choose an organization we will contact, meet, and gather more information within their proposal. This gives the group more insight on an organizations specific goals and missions. This is a crucial step in our final proposal selection at the end of this semester because each group will present what they have learned from the organizations and overall purpose of their proposal to the class.
In just a few short weeks, these groups will be helping our class make a very important decision. During this time, the class will get to soak up all the information others have learned and give us the proper details needed to make our choice. We look forward to hearing from all the groups soon! Stay tuned!
Written Student Interview: Colbe Earles
WEEK TWO
-Why did you sign up for this course?
I signed up for this course to learn more about the nonprofit world. I wanted to learn about funding and grants and all the little things that make nonprofits work. I am interested in working in the healthcare nonprofit sector and this course was able to provide me valuable insights.
-How has this class changed your view of philanthropy?
I never understood how complex the world of philanthropy was. When I thought about philanthropy, I used to simply think in terms of simply giving money. While this is technically true, philanthropy includes a world of solving, not just serving. It involves metrics and analysis. I now know philanthropy is about solving problems, not just giving money.