Source: Sri Seshadri, seshadris@unk.edu, 308.865.8190
Student Contact: Jean Krejci, krejcijm@lopers.unk.edu, 402.315.0499
Writer: Jillian Stoumbaugh, stoumbaughje@lopers.unk.edu, 303.905.4839
KEARNEY – A philanthropy class at the University of Nebraska Kearney is giving $10,000 to area nonprofit organizations as part of its Helping Humanity project.
The class received the grant from the Learning by Giving Foundation and will distribute the money to nonprofits in Adams, Buffalo and Hall Counties in central Nebraska.
Grants of $2,000 are available to support programs in each of the following areas of focus:
• Support for those in at-risk and abuse situations;
• Help for the disabled;
• Assistance for those suffering from a debilitating disease;
• Supplemental learning; and
• Family support.
The UNK capstone course — Marketing 388, “Philanthropy: Learning to Give” — is in its third year of distributing funds to local nonprofits. The annual class project allows junior- and senior-level students to learn the importance and process of philanthropy.
Capstone courses let students explore across disciplines while demonstrating high-level abilities prior to entering their careers or graduate school.
UNK Marketing Professor Sri Seshadri said students develop a variety of skills by working together on the grant distribution, from communicating, marketing and negotiating to teamwork, decision making and event planning.
“The most important benefit is the heightened self-reflection by each of them as to their personal values and passions, community needs, the challenge of measuring impact and sustainability of their giving,” he said.
“They also think about how they may, in the future, contribute to a community’s social capital through their own personal philanthropic activities.”
The grant application is online at: http://www.unk.edu/academics/marketing/Learning_by_Giving_Grant/
The deadline to submit the application is Nov. 10.
For more information about the application process, contact student Jean Krejci at krejcijm@lopers.unk.edu or 402.315.0499.
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LEARNING BY GIVING FOUNDATION
The Learning by Giving Foundation seeks to advance the next generation’s understanding of philanthropy by providing the financial, technological, and intellectual tools to experience community impact and to make that knowledge widely accessible through an online forum.
