Voices from the community: The perspective of nonprofit organizations in student philanthropy courses

Abstract

This paper investigates the perspective of community members engaged with experimental learning in student philanthropy courses. While most scholarship explores the impact that student philanthropy practices have on students’ learning process and the overall effectiveness of these courses, this study aims to understand the impact of student philanthropy courses on community partners. We rely on a survey and focus groups to assess the perspectives of both nonprofits that participated in student philanthropy courses and nonprofits that decided against participating. We find that nonprofits see relational and advocacy benefits in participating in these courses, beyond the most obvious potential benefit of being awarded a grant. While we found overall satisfaction with the course, we also identified barriers to participation, which informs a list of practical recommendations. This study points to the possibility to better student philanthropy processes and improve the experience of participating nonprofits.