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Nonprofit Program Design and Fundraising

Northeastern University, Boston, MA

Northeastern University values being an active member in our vibrant and diverse neighborhoods of Roxbury, Mission Hill, the South End, and the Fenway, and we are eager to continually enrich the learning experience of our students through community engagement that support the efforts of our partners to create and/or sustain valuable services. As a member institution of the Massachusetts Campus Compact, we are expanding service-learning within our curriculum every year as the way to bridge our civic and academic missions.

Our vision for "Inspiring Philanthropy's Future" will be to build on the collaborative relationship between the Human Service Program, the Center for Community Services and our community partners. The locus of this project will be the "Nonprofit Program Design and Fundraising" course. This class focuses on exploring the relationship between sound program design and successful fundraising at every stage of the program life cycle, from needs assessment through evaluation.

In the Fall of the 2008 students in the "Nonprofit Program Design and Fundraising" will determine collectively what the grant criteria and funding priorities will be for the 2009 spring funding cycle based on the theoretical framework of the course, needs identified in the community and the mandates established by Inspiring Philanthropy's Future (IPF). During the first stage of the course (weeks 1-3) students will develop an understanding of the significant and necessary role of the third sector in society. In the second stage (weeks 4-6) students will identify and select a funding priority based on the community needs identified by students in "Human Services Professions"class. Groups from the "Human Services Professions" course will present findings from their needs assessment projects to inform the "Nonprofit Program Design and Fundraising" course on current issues of concern in the adjacent communities, and a focus area will be selected. During this time students from the "Nonprofit" course will also work in small groups to critique RFP models, and foundation approaches to grant making for funding opportunities that are similar in scope, mission and program areas. During the third stage (weeks 7-10) each group will present their model to the class, instructor and outside evaluators (including members of the service-learning advisory board). The proposal processes will be evaluated and ranked, and the most appropriate group proposal will be selected. When the class has developed its final RFP product, it will be presented to the service-learning advisory board as well as faculty/staff from the Human Services Program, and the Center of Community Service, feedback will be given and necessary modifications will be made. During the final stage (weeks 11-14) the class will design an outreach strategy to insure that the targeted issue based organizations are reached in promotion of the RFP.

The Spring 2009 course will meet the following targets 1) Outreach to potential applicants and facilitate the grant selection process 2) Design and implement a sustainability plan for the fund. Students will be broken into two groups to meet these aims. Outreach for applicants will occur within the first two weeks of the course, during this time students will also organize two funder information sessions intending to provide potential applicants the opportunity to ask questions about the proposal process. Information sessions will be hosted during the fourth week of class. Students will determine if a physical or phone based method will best meet the needs of potential applicants. Grant applications will be due during the week of February 16th at which time the students will begin the initial review process. Students will review proposals and applying the theoretical framework of the course, include questions such as, 1) Is there a clear link between the organization's mission and its program? 2) Does the program respond to real needs in the community? 3) Is the program well conceptualized and executed? 4) Is the program routinely evaluated with appropriate evaluation methods and indicators? 5) Is the organization's fundraising strategy driven by real program needs? 6) Are the programs' outputs and outcomes a reasonable return on donors' investment? 7) Is the program sustainable over time? Upon completion of the initial review process finalists will be selected and student representatives will contact organizations to seek any needed clarity. Students will evaluate charitable giving accounts as a philanthropic tool. Drawing on content from the syllabus and their experience working with the Service-Learning partners, they will develop strategies to manage and grow the Giving Account and make recommendations that will be carried over into subsequent collaborations with internal and external partners.

In future years, the two courses will continue their roles in needs assessment, RFP development and grant allocation, as described above. The "Nonprofit Program Design and Fundraising" course will run each semester with the assistance of a Service-Learning Teaching Assistant trained by the Center of Community Service. In parallel with the project described above students in the "Nonprofit Program Design and Fundraising" course will identify, how we can expand on this initiative through the "Senior Seminar in Human Services" course; a capstone course within the Human Services Program. As well, they will work to identify other courses outside of the Human Service Program that can contribute to the long term educational use of this fund.

The fund will be sustained and grown through a multipronged strategy to include events, foundations, investments, and the utilization of the Northeastern Alumni network. Students will utilize the existing strengths inherent in a university setting. Students will also be encouraged to partner through fundraising with other relevant units on campus and student organizations furthering the mission of Campus Compact to inspire other students to engage in philanthropic ventures. A preliminary list of relevant units include the Human Services Organization; Generation Y; Social Change through Peace Games; Circle K; the student chapter of Strong Women Strong Girls; the Student Government Association; the cultural centers; the Northeastern Alumni Association, and the Foundation Office to implement their sustainability plan. Additional objectives to be embedded into the course for spring 2009 will include students, 1) identifying and soliciting grants from foundations with a shared commitment to campus/community partnerships; 2) working with the Human Services Program, the Development staff of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Alumni Relations to identify potential donors; and 3) work in collaboration with the Human Services Organization to partner with other student groups to develop and implement fundraising events both on and off campus. This effort will be done with the guidance and support of the Human Services Program and the Center of Community Service's Service-Learning program.

To highlight our new initiative funded by the "Inspiring Philanthropy's Future" grant, the Human Services Program and Center of Community Services will host a joint event showcasing student deliverables and funded awards to organizations, while concurrently promoting the importance of philanthropy and civic engagement. This event will serve a secondary function of recruiting students for future classes and for volunteering with our campus and service-learning community partners. This philanthropic fund will be housed within an academic course while being nurtured and managed by two well established units with a history of grant management and partnering with community based programs.