Delving Into Venture Philanthropy

By: Orleana

Orleana is participating in Allowance for Good's autumn 2013 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy program.

Last Thursday at ELP, we discussed venture philanthropy. Venture philanthropy is defined as the utilization of techniques from venture capital finance and business of management, combining them to achieve philanthropic outcomes through business world means.  Essentially, venture philanthropy is the financial support of new, non-profit organizations/potentially risky social ventures with promise or a significant goal in mind that requires aid to be recognized. Venture philanthropy allows these young organizations to mature and ground themselves, hopefully achieving self-sustainability after a set amount of years. 

Venture philanthropy is focused around providing financial support for and promoting small, new or underfunded organizations. Venture philanthropy enables emerging nonprofits to flourish through the giving of grants over a period of time. Both old and new organizations apply to receive grants, which, after an inspection by the organization supplying the grants, are given yearly for a certain number of years.

This week we had a great guest speaker, Sejal, come to class to discuss her work with The Springboard Foundation, a volunteer run group that supplies grants to beginning nonprofit organizations, with a focus on after school programs.  While affiliated with a variety of organizations, (having worked in the nonprofit field for the last fourteen years) Sejal is currently the Managing Director of the Springboard Foundation, and during Thursday’s class explained the goals of the Foundation and described its interactions with other nonprofits.

What I thought was one of the more interesting points in our discussion about The Springboard Foundation was its careful maintenance of the organizations they supply grants to. They check in with the organizations to see that the money they give is being spent productively, and making a successful change in the program. The Springboard Foundation definitely puts a lot of time and effort into getting emerging nonprofits running steadily, and I think that making sure the grants that they give are being used to get the maximum results is really important.

Near the end of class, we carried out a group activity where the class split into groups to create our ‘own’ venture philanthropy based foundations. We discussed prospective foundation names, goals, statements, and fiscal requirements, and each group presented our finished results at the end of class. While our projects were pretty small scale, they really made me appreciate all of the planning and hard work that goes into venture philanthropy, (though that could be said about any philanthropy), and the people and volunteers who come together to make it run so that other nonprofits can flourish.

Orleana, bottom right, listens to an ELP guest speaker during the Thursday night class.

Millennials Want Companies That Encourage Philanthropy

By: Turner

Turner is participating in Allowance for Good's autumn 2013 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy program.

At our last ELP meeting we talked about corporate philanthropy. Corporate philanthropy is a way for companies to give back to the community and their employees. At our meeting I learned a lot of things I didn’t know about corporate philanthropy and how some companies help their customers too. Corporate philanthropy is also used within companies to inspire their employees to help others.

During our session we talked about how corporations give back to their employees and customers. And we talked about some of the different ways companies can be philanthropic. Some of the ways companies are philanthropic are that some give their employees days off to do philanthropic work and get paid for it as a regular workday. Some companies will match the donations of their employees if they donate to an organization and encourage them to donate. We also talked about how the most effective way for companies to encourage their employees to help with philanthropy is by donating to a cause that their employees care about. Some companies even let their employees vote on where to donate. I think that it is nice of corporations to give back because it shows that they really care.

We had a wonderful guest speaker this week named Jenna Daugherty from AbbVie, which is a medical supply company. Jenna is the leader of AbbVie’s civic engagement in the community and she also helps to lead strategic projects on behalf of executive management.  At our meeting Jenna talked about corporate philanthropy with us, and the many different types of corporate philanthropy that AbbVie is involved in. For example, they give away free medicine to some of their customers who are in need.  I found it very interesting and was very inspired to hear that some large companies like this are willing to give away their supplies to people who ask for them and it has encouraged me to want to be a philanthropist throughout my whole life.

In the future I am hoping to work at a company that encourages philanthropy in their employees.  After this meeting I learned that companies can be very nice to their employees and get involved in helping causes that they want.

Making Your Money Work For You and Others

By: Aviva

Aviva is participating in Allowance for Good's autumn 2013 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy program.

This past week, we were asked to record our expenses on a personal budgeting worksheet. Before starting, we were to give ourselves an estimate/budget for each category of expenses. Then, as the week progressed, after recording all of the money which we spent, we compared our estimates to our actual expenses. Many people found that they over-estimated in some categories while largely underestimating in others, most often bills which are paid by our parents. I believe that a lot of us learned about the varying amounts of money that go into certain things and learned that we might not be as financially literate as we might think.

To me, financial literacy is about knowing what to do to make your money work for you AND others. In class, I learned about the different things to consider when deciding how to use my money. These included researching the place where I am giving my money to see if it is reliable, and considering the impact of my monetary contribution. An important factor that our class came up with is knowing if an organization to which you are donating has a plan to use your money to its full potential, aka making the greatest impact. 

The lessons I learned from the budgeting worksheet and the discussion about financial literacy will stay with me throughout the future. The most obvious place where budgeting and financial literacy will be put into play will be when I go to college, and don't have my parents with me to help me with managing my money. Financial aid and loans for college also require knowledge on these topics. Farther into the future, when I have my own stable income and decide that I am ready to donate a portion of that income, these lessons will help me make smart decisions about how and where to donate. These lessons have helped me become more confident about my financial future.

Aviva is a Catalyst for Good because she believes that all people have the right to health, education and happiness!

Opening Eyes to New Ways of Giving

By: Clara

Clara is participating in Allowance for Good's autumn 2013 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy program.

This past week at ELP, we had a really inspiring talk about how to give back and make a difference.  I learned a lot about foundations and how they connect those who want to help others with those who need help. We learned about family foundations, as well as about corporate foundations.  These organizations, as well as the individuals involved in them, make a huge difference in the lives of those in need.

During our session, we talked a lot about the reasons for giving back. I feel that giving back is our way of showing that we are thankful for the resources we have, such as health and education. In the past, I have tried to give back as much as possible through volunteering to help people and organizations in need.  However, our discussion opened my eyes to all the ways people can help others.

One way is you can help to start or get involved in a family foundation. I really like this idea and thought it was interesting because it is something you can do with your family. Family foundations tend to focus on issues that mean a lot to them. I think that knowing and acting upon your personal values is very important and family foundations are a key point in doing this.

This week at EPL, we had a very inspiring guest speaker who helped educate us about family foundations. We were very fortunate to have Sharmila Rao Thakkar, who told us about both the family foundation she works and also about how family foundations work in general. Sharmila Rao Thakkar has been working in non-profit for 17 years and she is currently the eyes and ears of the foundation staff at the Siragusa Family Foundation. She really opened up my mind to the possibilities and advantages of working with family foundations. It was amazing to hear (especially from someone who has worked with non-profits for so long) that I can actually make a difference in a community or in the life of an individual, despite the fact that I am only one person. Sharmila is personally opening up doors that lead to opportunities for giving back in our community.

In the future, I am looking forward to learning more about all the different and unique ways I can give back both big and small.  I have learned the difference between temporarily fixing a problem and finding a permanent solution. I am looking forward to being exposed to all the different kinds of solutions that I can personally help to construct and develop in the future!