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Grantmaking for Philanthropists class awards $2,500 grant to Nourish Wellness

Reviewing a total of 19 proposals from 19 well-deserving nonprofit organizations throughout Lee County and narrowing it down to one organization worthy of receiving a $2,500 grant is not easy.

However, students in the College of Human Sciences Grantmaking for Philanthropists class did just that in the span of one semester. Important discussions were had, and a final decision was ultimately made with just minutes left on the final class day this spring.

In the end, the students’ consensus was to award the $2,500 check provided by the Community Foundation of East Alabama to Nourish Wellness — a pediatric lifestyle medicine center for children and their families that will use the funds to enhance and expand an existing community garden.

Shelby Livingston, care coordinator for Nourish Wellness, accepted the check on behalf of the foundation during a presentation on May 5.

“The community garden is going to be a way to help families and teach them how to grow their own food and meet other people and get to know each other,” said Livingston. “Each time they come in for appointments they have group sessions but now we can plan even more things than before. Over the summer they can work together to grow things, and they are worthy of taking their health back and growing fresh fruits and veggies. We are really grateful — and this grant really opens the door for us to expand our community garden and make it bigger and better.”

Throughout the semester, students enrolled in the CADS 3780 Grantmaking for Philanthropists course are introduced to philanthropic grantmaking institutions where they learn about mission development, needs assessment, proposal analysis and conduct site visits. Using the knowledge learned throughout the course, the class then makes crucial and ultimately several tough decisions when reviewing nonprofit organizations in the grant proposal process.

"It has probably been one of my most interactive and impactful educational experiences while I’ve been at Auburn."

Sarah Margaret Davison, a junior majoring in international studies with minors in Spanish and philanthropy and nonprofit studies

Sarah Margaret Davison, a junior majoring in international studies with minors in Spanish and philanthropy and nonprofit studies, said this was one of the most impactful courses she has taken so far at Auburn.

“I had a couple of friends who really encouraged me to take this course, and I can affirm that after taking it, it has probably been one of my most interactive and impactful educational experiences while I’ve been at Auburn,” said Davison. “There were several points that I took out of this class and one of those things is we have a lot of diverse needs in Lee County, and we saw that across the different organizations that applied for our grant. In our research on local needs, we were able to figure out where our passions were individually and work together as a class of what sectors those were and get to share what we are passionate about so that was really cool.”

Pictured is Dr. Peter Weber

Dr. Peter Weber, associate professor and Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies program coordinator, led the CADS 3780 course.

Reese Banks, a junior majoring in philanthropy and nonprofit studies, added that she enjoyed the proposal review process and how each organization differed in the creation of their proposal.

“I think my favorite part was being able to look at both sides seeing all of the proposals because I think later it makes you a better proposal writer because you see what people do well and what could potentially be improved on,” said Banks. “I also think what was interesting was going through the wide range of proposals and how some appeal to the emotions and how some are more professional. You then wrestle with the vote to consider intellectual value and also how it appeals to the emotions and balancing those two things in a class setting and speaking with peers was interesting.”

Associate Professor and Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies Program Coordinator Dr. Peter Weber has taught the course for the last few years and one of his favorite things is seeing the student’s involvement grow as the semester progresses.

“The class works so well because the students come from so many different backgrounds,” said Weber. “All of those backgrounds bring so many different viewpoints and the decision-making process is always fun for me to watch. Sometimes it’s hard to see when you are in the process but if you look back and see yourself in the first few class meetings, there are maybe two or three people speaking and a lot of silence. Compare that to the last day of class and everybody was talking and passionate about this organization.”

Additionally, Weber said several students that participate in the CADS 3780 course can go on to receive internship opportunities or even full-time employment with a nonprofit organization following graduation.

For more information on philanthropy and nonprofit studies within the College of Human Sciences, click below.

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