NKU students help award $83,500 to area nonprofits

Northern Kentucky University is one of the nation’s leaders when it comes to incorporating student philanthropy into the classroom.
 
And this past semester, 146 students involved in the Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project were able to assist area nonprofits in receiving $83,500 worth of funds.
 
“I did a study that surveyed NKU alumni who participated in the Mayerson project and found that after they left NKU, they were much more likely to volunteer for nonprofits, make donations to them and to serve on boards of directors for nonprofits,” says Julie Olberding, director of NKU’s Master of Public Administration program.
 
Olberding taught a volunteer management course in the fall, in which her class partnered with Toyota to work as advisors for the company’s funding board.
 
“Ultimately, it makes them better grant writers and grant seekers, because they’ve been on the other side of the table and have been able to see what works and what doesn’t work,” Olberding says.
 
The indirect giving model was used in Olberding’s volunteer management course, but in other classes, grants are awarded to the Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project so that students can make decisions and directly fund initiatives for nonprofits.
 
“I love to go to the ceremony at the end of the semester to learn how other classes did it and what new and interesting ways that they have gotten NKU students to engage with the community, and think about giving back and investing in our region,” Olberding says.
 
“NKU has one of the oldest philanthropy programs in the country, so we’re seen as leaders in the field, and people have looked to us for advice and guidance in starting their own programs.”

Do Good:

• Check out the student philanthropy handbook if interested in starting a similar program at your institution.  

• Support the Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project by donating.

• Engage with local nonprofits by volunteering your time or by donating. 

By Brittany York
Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a project manager for Charitable Words. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.