Life, Lessons, and Learning in Lviv, Ukraine

By: Karin Scott, AfG Program Director

Hi there! I’m so honored to be representing Allowance for Good (AfG) in Lviv, Ukraine over the next two weeks. This partnership between the Society Initiatives Institute (SII) and AfG came about through the Professional Fellows Program at the American Council for International Education. Taras, Founder of SII, came to Chicago in May to work with AfG through this program. You can read more about his experience at AfG here. As part of this program, AfG had the opportunity to participate in a mutual exchange trip to Lviv. Our program includes presenting to youth, leading conversation with members of the civic space, and

Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet

working alongside the SII team. I’m excited to share my experience with you all!

Upon arrival in Lviv, I was greeted by members of the SII team, Taras and Viktor. As well as a Peace Corps volunteer working at SII, Kendra. They as well as another SII member, Vitaliy, gave me a walking tour of the Lviv city centre. The area includes monuments representing the rich history of Lviv, many grand cathedrals dating back to the 14th century, cafes touting the local coffee-centered culture, ornate government offices, and cobblestone streets that are a trap for uncoordinated tourists (like myself).

My first full day in Lviv began in the Sykhiv district, the home district of Taras and where SII runs many of it’s projects. We began at Oriyana, the school where Taras attended elementary and secondary school. The

Part of the group at Oriyana

halls were filled with children between the ages of 7 and 17 years old. Secondary school students filled the auditorium totaling around eighty. Taras kicked off our presentation by having the students introduce themselves in English. Then I gave a presentation about American culture and Chicago, which included pictures of everything from July 4th fireworks to Chicago hot dogs to American football. I was able to give my presentation in English without translation because Ukrainian students learn English starting when they are seven years old. 

After the presentation at the school, Taras led me in a tour of Sykhiv. Surrounded by Soviet-style apartment buildings, Taras explained that Sykhiv was built as a place for working people to live, similar to suburbs in the United States, where people commute into the city. Today, Sykhiv is often referred to as a “sleeping district” where people just sleep because they work in other districts. Thus, there are not many things to do or places to see in the district. SII wants to create a positive civic identity for Sykhiv, rather than the passive “sleeping district” identity that it is known for currently.

Sykhiv recently revitalized their large public park as way to create a space for Sykhiv residents to enjoy and to bring other residents of Lviv to Sykhiv. The park includes a main path as well as open spaces to host community events. SII recently held a festival, Sykhiv Fest To Go, in this area that was very well attended by Sykhiv residents. More activities and festivals have been planned for this space in the spring when outdoor activities can resume. On the edge of this park is a large cathedral deemed Pope John Paul II because of his visit to the cathedral in 2003, a very important moment for the Sykhiv community.

Top: Art piece at the Crimean bakery

Bottom: Mural  by SII to represent the community and 

police working together

After touring the park, we visited the popular Crimean bakery in the area, which was started and operated by Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Crimea. Many of the baked goods are traditional Crimean dishes, which of course we had to taste. One was a pastry filled with sheep meat and onions, which was savory and delicious. Another was a traditional cheesecakes made with marshmallow cream and caramel. The smell of freshly baked bread made me want to stay there all day. On the wall there was an artistic figure of the Crimea region that reads “Crimea is Ukraine.” According to the International Displaced Monitor Centre there are approximately 1.4 million IDPs in Ukraine.

Our final stop was Dzerelo, a rehabilitation center for youth with mental and physical disabilities. The facility was opened in 1993 and is committed to consultation, rehabilitation treatment, education, and counseling of both children with disabilities and their families. SII has partnered with Dzerelo to launch an Inclusive Friendly project. This campaign is to spread awareness about the need for inclusive spaces in Ukraine. Most businesses, restaurants, schools, residences, and other buildings are not accessible for individuals who are differently abled.

At Dzerelo, Taras hosted a conversation about his time as a Professional Fellow in Chicago and the project he launched as a result of this program. The program will occur in three stages, with the goal of creating a strong civic society and positive identity in Sykhiv. Other members of civic society were present, including individuals from Better Sykhiv and Group 100. Taras used the examples of Chicago neighborhoods he visited to explain this concept of civic identity. He explained how Andersonville, Edgewater, Chinatown, and Ukrainian Village utilize their unique identities to make their citizens proud and attract visitors. Taras led the group in a brainstorm about possibilities and weaknesses in Sykhiv. In small groups we brainstormed ways to overcome some of these weaknesses and as a result create a positive Sykhiv identity. I will be continuing this conversation with the SII team by leading a workshop about Asset Based Community Development.

On the second day I worked in the SII office with the team and met two more members, Anna and Olya.

Wall at youth center - "Love what you do, do what you love!"

We prepped for the team retreat, which will occur on Thursday. In the afternoon we visited the Lviv Regional Youth Center where I presented about philanthropy and social responsibility. The audience discussed the challenges of achieving social responsibility in Lviv, as this is a new concept for the community. Other topics of discussion included corporate giving, how to educate others about philanthropy, and where to find resources about philanthropy best practices.

As you can see, my days in Lviv will be full of tours, learning, discussion, and connection. I’m looking forward to sharing more in the days to come!

Lessons in Corporate Philanthropy

By: Tim
Tim is a participant in Allowance for Good's Fall 2015 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy class in the Elmhurst location. 

"I am a catalyst for good because...
I want to improve the world"
Tim, at the ELP Elmhurst class.

Corporate philanthropy is the giving of profits or resources from a corporation to a charitable cause. When asked about philanthropy, most people think about cash.  However, facilities, services, and time are also considered types of philanthropy.

Certain employers offer matching gifts programs.  With matching gifts, a company will match an employee’s cash donation to an eligible nonprofit organization at some set ratio. With grants, the company provides a nonprofit with money to accomplish an agreed-upon purpose.  The company can also provide volunteer grants, in which the time of the corporation’s employees is also donated.

Reasons for corporate philanthropy could come from a commitment to the common good, a sense that the company is making a community investment, or even that it is a good marketing tool. Whatever the reason, research has shown that corporations with sound corporate philanthropy perform better than those without it. Emily taught me that corporations should have a social responsibility toward philanthropy.  She taught me that employees of a corporation play a significant role in corporate philanthropy.  Using matching gifts, employees can make a larger donation to their charity.

Employees can also donate their time and expertise, which can be as valuable as money. If a corporation doesn’t currently have a philanthropy program, the employee can be instrumental in providing rationale as to why corporate philanthropy is important and then assisting the company in setting one up. When I am in the working world, I can see myself becoming involved in philanthropy by providing donations of both time and money. I enjoy working with other people towards a common goal, and employing our unique abilities to accomplish it.

Philanthropy = Love of Humans

By: Nia
Nia participated in Allowance for Good's 2015 Global Philanthropy Summit in June, which focused on Global Engagement.

This summer of 2015, I have done a lot of programs but one I will never fail to remember is the Global Philanthropy Summit I did late June. For starters, the majority of kids my age are not even familiar with the word philanthropy. Right on day one the camp taught us what philanthropy truly is. It’s not just for rich people, and it’s a long term commitment and service to groups and organizations. It’s like community service but a full time and forever impact on the group. That idea made me smile because there is such a great joy that comes from giving back to the world and to do it long term seemed like an impact I know I wanted to give.

Nia, center, discussing with other GPS students.

For some, you might not know that philanthropy means the love of humans. Just the thought to being a part of something that can bring love to humans was something that compelled me in immediately. I truly want to thank GPS for the commitment and ideas they gave to me from this camp.

Not to mention, from this wonderful, and inspiring camp lead me to get my backpack for this upcoming school year. One of the speakers was from CAUSEGEAR which is a low-profit group that helps people with economic problems of their low pay in India. I loved their idea and I loved their backpacks and I went home immediately and bought it so now I have it for this school year.

An organization like that, that was helping people in India really made me think about global engagement. During this camp we talked a lot about how to globally change the world, I mean why be small and change only your neighborhood. Go big or go home! At camp we learned about how to be globally engaged and know that the blessed area we live in, is not at all the norm for the rest of the world. We have a lot, and great resources as well. So we should make a change as big as we can and really help the world.

Any student who wants to come to a camp to learn about how they can make a change and get inspiration from leaders should no doubt sign up as soon as they can. This summit was a great impact on me and I can’t wait to grow up and join the world of philanthropy.

Corporate Philanthropy in Action

By: Arielle
Arielle is a participant in Allowance for Good's Winter 2015 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy: Explorers class.

The Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy course is not my first exposure to Allowance for Good. I spent a week of my 2014 summer in its Global Philanthropy Summit, a sort of crash course in Philanthropy and Social Entrepreneurship. After that week I was hooked. I had always had a passion for philanthropy, inspired by pretty much everyone in my family. My Dad is in charge of Pro-Bono work at his law firm, my Mom works for two public health non-profits, and my Aunt works in marketing for JUF, another non-profit. So, I was familiar with the concept of “giving back,” but I didn’t really know the details because no one sits a child down and explains the who, what, where, how, and why of philanthropy-- except of course AFG.

This past week we focused on socially responsible corporations, ranging from Warby Parker, which donates a pair of glasses for every single one of its products sold, to companies that encourage volunteering or match the donations of their employees. There are lots of ways that a company can fit philanthropy into its mission, and based on the rising popularity of socially responsible companies among consumers, not doing so could be devastating. In addition to these examples, there are still other ways to integrate philanthropy into a company: a corporation could use its brand name or money to raise awareness of an issue (for example, Always’ #likeagirl campaign); donate a portion of its yearly profits to a cause (e.g., Patagonia donates 1% of its profits to saving the environment); or implement specific ways to encourage volunteering, such as allowing employees days off to volunteer, offering the specialized services of the company for free, or providing other incentives (perhaps financial) for employees who volunteer.

After learning about the different ways corporate philanthropy is possible, we put the lesson into action. Our job was to determine how the hypothetical (or maybe future company run by AFG) bicycle company, “GetThere” should integrate philanthropy into its mission plan. The students split up into two groups and were joined by the board members, to make a plan. After going through a variety of ideas, my group settled on a bike safety program. This would involve teaming up with the local governments of our store locations to create bike paths, and providing free helmets to those who need one, but cannot afford one. This plan, if put into action, would have numerous benefits. Not only would there be a safer space for bikers, but the anxiety caused by bikers on the road would be reduced for drivers, and it would make GetThere a more sustainable company. With the danger of biking as transportation reduced, more people would bike, increasing the demand, and therefor the sales. This would also create a brand awareness for GetThere, hopefully bringing more bike-buyers to that store. This past week was a great one, and I am sure this information will come in handy when dealing with corporations.

Arielle, far left, brainstorms with her ELP classmates.

Expanding Philanthropic Outlook and Contribution

By: Nina
Nina participated in Allowance for Good's 2014 Global Philanthropy Summit program. 

How is it possible to continue to give back to society as we pursue different paths in life? On Tuesday, we had the opportunity to explore the answer to this question: social enterprise. We kicked the day off with an informative and engaging presentation by Elizabeth Coston of the Kellogg School of Management, where she introduced us to the 5 categories on the Social Enterprise Spectrum-we then proceeded to categorize a variety of for-profit and non-profit businesses and organizations into each of the 5 sections as follows:

Traditional Non-Profit: NPR, Smithsonian

Income-Generating Non-Profit: The Girl Scouts

For-profit Social Venture: Jail Education Systems

Socially Responsible Business: TOMS

For-profit Business: Home Depot

This presentation exposed me to the different ways in which you can incorporate social impact into a business model, something that is often overlooked, as we tend to classify businesses as either traditional nonprofits or businesses in a very black-and-white view.

In the afternoon, we went to Design for America, where we were given a variety of problems centered around sunscreen to creatively solve, using Design for America’s problem-solving processes. Such issues included a teenage surfer not applying sunscreen, a professional not being heard on the benefits of using sunscreen, and to help an overprotective mother let her children enjoy the summer. One of the exciting parts of this process especially was to see a number of people working collaboratively together even though we were from different schools, had different interests, and brought different ideas and experiences to the table. We completed the day with an art project based on the classic picture book The Giving Tree-we created our own giving trees in which the roots signified people and things that have guided and inspired us, the trunk represented our passion and goal, the branches represented our own values, and the fruit represented our own talents and assets.

Throughout the day, we were exposed to the idea of using what we have been given in life and how we are able to put it to use in order to make the world a better place. We learned that it is possible no matter what we decide to do in life, whether it be an entrepreneur or a computer scientist, an artist or a musician. These GPS experiences have taught me to expand my own views and look at philanthropy in a different light-one that is not limited to simply volunteering time or donating money, but which includes creating a new generation of smart, successful citizens who incorporate philanthropic acts into their daily lives and work.

Different Perspectives = Broader Philanthropic Lens

By: Rebecca
Rebecca participated in Allowance for Good's 2014 Global Philanthropy Summit program. 

We all came into GPS with different expectations of what the experience would be like and different ideas about what philanthropy means to us. On the first day of the summit we were able to bring those different perspectives together to better understand philanthropy through a broader lens. 

After discussing these topics as a whole, our first major activity involve making a video in small groups about what philanthropy means to us and how we engage in philanthropy. The videos ranged from slam poems to skits, all discussing the various definitions and aspects of philanthropy.

Later on we learned about GlobeMed from Alyssa Smaldino. GlobeMed is an organization that runs through universities across the country. Each college forms a partnership with their chapter and a community health organization, supporting them through training, research, fundraising, and volunteering. The Northwestern chapter is paired with one of our global affiliates, Adonai child development centre. Learning about GlobeMed was interesting to me because I became aware of how my involvement with programs like AFG could continue through college. 

Another activity we participated in was creating our own business plans for social enterprises or nonprofits in small groups. This project allowed us to choose social issue that we cared about and think about ways that we could either solve those problems at the source or provide funding to solve them. Ideas included Cows for Care, a restaurant chain that used its proceeds to provide livestock to impoverished communities as a source of food and income, and Dogs for Jobs, a hotdog cart chain that gave jobs to at-risk people (Like felony franks).

These activities were a great introduction to the king of things that we would be doing and learning about for the remainder of the summit, they also allowed us to create our own definition of philanthropy based off of our own talents and experiences. 

The Power of Partnerships

Allowance for Good Program Development Fellow, Liz Coda, has been a part of our team for just over a year now. As she's wrapping up her service to AfG and preparing to graduate college and move to Philadelphia, she reflects on the partnership she built with GlobeMed and what she's learned about working in the nonprofit sector.

I began working as a fellow with Allowance for Good about a year ago, and I’m still learning something new every day in my work here. Building a nonprofit organization from the ground up, creating program content, and interacting with the youth we aim to educate and empower has been a rewarding, enlightening, and often challenging experience. While I’ve taken on several roles and tackled several projects, both small- and large-scale, foundational to the growth of this organization has been creating meaningful partnerships.

Allowance for Good is a young, thriving network of U.S. youth. Although we have successfully engaged hundreds of youth within the Chicagoland area, we’re just beginning to engage youth in other areas of the country. To expand our reach, we paired up with GlobeMed, an Evanston, Illinois-based nonprofit that partners U.S. college students with grassroots health organizations abroad. Our goal was to have the college students help us identify nearby high school students to get involved with the work of both GlobeMed and Allowance for Good. This work with GlobeMed illuminated the following stages of collaboration necessary to grow a successful partnership:

1. Inspiration

Allowance for Good believes in investing in the educational potential of youth globally.  Initially, we identified GlobeMed chapters whose partner organizations were education-focused. This was crucial to our success; rather than just reaching out to as many chapters as we could in hopes of merely growing our network, we wanted to stay true to our mission and align ourselves only with those already supporting global education in some capacity.  In this case, staying true to our mission trumped maximum exposure.

Then we had to reach out to the GlobeMed chapter members we wanted to work with. Overwhelmingly they were enthusiastic and on board with our idea, but some were not as receptive. Ultimately, we realized that we could only work with those who genuinely wanted to build this partnership with us.  If a partnership is not voluntary, it will not succeed. Partners must believe in an organization's mission and want to see that organization thrive.

2. Formalization

Once we had ironed out all the details with the staff of the GlobeMed National Office and the students at the chapters we wanted to work with, we formalized the partnership by drafting a Memorandum of Understanding with GlobeMed. While not legally binding, this document spelled out the expectations of each organization. The goal of this document was to clarify the goals of both organizations.

This partnership proved tricky from the beginning, since both GlobeMed and Allowance for Good support different international partner organizations. Each collegiate GlobeMed chapter has one global partner, and Allowance for Good has two. If the youth involved wind up fundraising, which organization should they support? This has been a challenging question for us, one that we’re realizing does not have a concrete answer.

3. Operation

I entered into this partnership with an idea of how I thought our work with GlobeMed would look. I devised a model that I thought we could replicate with each GlobeMed chapter that we worked with. Throughout the operation of our partnership, however, I’ve learned the importance of being open to change and being able to adapt. In every case, the partnership has looked slightly different.

With the GlobeMed chapter at the University of Rochester, for example, college students set up a global health club at a nearby high school and are incorporating both GlobeMed and Allowance for Good curriculum in the work they do with those students. Another student at the University of Texas at Austin, who connected with Allowance for Good through the GlobeMed network, is working to establish an Allowance for Good chapter at a high school near her university. Successful operation of a partnership means being aware of the needs of each partner and collaborating in order to best serve both organizations’ missions.

4. Termination or Institutionalization

A huge challenge to partnered organizations is turnover. I’ve been growing this partnership between Allowance for Good and GlobeMed for about a year now, but I’m leaving Chicago in just a couple short weeks. Sometimes when key leaders leave an organization, a partnership may be terminated. While we’re fairly confident that the GlobeMed and Allowance for Good partnership can exist without me here (as sad as I am to go!), we recognize that if and when our partnership ends in the future, it will not mean failure. On the contrary, terminating partnerships often means that initial goals have been accomplished.

The most important thing to remember when building a sustainable, long-term partnership is to nourish relationships. All partnerships are not meant to last forever, but if members of each organization are truly invested, they will care enough to pass the partnership along to the next generation of leaders. By investing in the actual people you’re working with, the missions of both organizations will thrive, and the partnership is sure to flourish.

The Roots of a Changemaker

Whether I was aware of it from the beginning or not, a philanthropic sense has been a pillar of my family over generations. Significant international and service-oriented experiences throughout my life led me to launch Allowance for Good. A medical mission trip with my father to Mexico and a high-school choir tour to Puerto Rico provided my first glimpse into a world

beyond national borders. But it was the children in the remote Guatemalan coffee villages who captured my spirit, allowing me to consider how I would go about affecting change both here in the US and abroad. I'm able to give of my time, talent, and treasure today as Allowance for Good takes root. I want youth to know that they have the power, capacity, and ability to invest in the lives of others, giving them a hand to lift themselves out of poverty.

You see, philanthropy is using what you have been allowed in life for positive social impact - be it locally, nationally, or globally. I envision a world where youth are open to balancing personal realities with those outside their own culture and are educated to be active global citizens in the worldwide marketplace. And I believe that becoming a “changemaker” starts at a young age. Through Allowance for Good, I seek to empower youth to start down their path of affecting social change today. In so doing, their commitment will be deepened in their own lives and their impact felt among others around the world.

I want for youth everywhere to know that they don't have to be wealthy or older or wiser to be a philanthropist. A philanthropist can be anyone, and it can be you. All you have to do is be willing to give of your philanthropic portfolio - your time, your talent, or your treasure - to help make our increasingly interconnected world a more sustainable, just, and peaceful place. We have created an opportunity for youth to connect with the reality that they can be a part of the solution.
Rather than dwelling on images of fear, we focus on hope. Rather than emphasizing the insurmountable tasks of providing proper education, clean water, and medicine for all youth everywhere, we offer the chance to be a part of the solution where we are not bound by barriers and borders but open to balancing the realities of others with our own. It is our collective task to reimagine our world - won’t you join me?