80 Grants and 40 Seeds
While at ASU, I discovered a passion of mine. I loved to learn about nonprofit management and apply different methods to build capacity for greater impact of positive programs and organizations. In my Assessment and Evaluation course, I was educated by Dr. Peg Bortner to understand the art of creating surveys, asking questions, and interviewing in order to effectively evaluate most programs in the professional realm. From this experience, I became accepted into this innovative course that taught me how to review grants, effectively review programs, and recommend grant funding like a true nonprofit professional!
Undergraduate Years as a Nonprofit Management Major
The project I spent the most time on for this course was my independent research study on recreation and positive youth development. My research question was to understand the benefits of outdoor recreation vs. indoor recreation and how that can affect the development of a child and their relationship with the natural environment. This study, although it was simply a course assignment, quickly grew into a real study that sparked my curiosity!
I interviewed two of college professors in the university's School of Community Resources and Development in order to further understand their experience as professionals in recreation and youth development. I also developed a survey and submitted this to the online community of the Society of Outdoor Recreation Professionals on their LinkedIn page.
After this study, my professor saw how dedicated and passionate I was about understanding program development and its impact on society. She gave me a recommendation to apply for entering a new pilot program that was exclusively available for graduate students. Myself, and a few other undergraduates were accepted into the course for our exceptional display of nonprofit awareness and understanding. Our cohort consisted of 7 graduate students, and 3 undergraduate students from a variety of majors, backgrounds, and experiences.
How I Reviewed 80+ Grants
My course was called Strategic Philanthropy. It was created in partnership with ASU's Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation and the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. The course professor was Dr. Robert Long, who was listed three separate times among the "Top 50" most influential people in the nonprofit sector by The Nonprofit Times.
In partnership with the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, our cohort engaged focused on learning strategic philanthropic practices and implementing innovative responses to hunger, conflict, and poverty. Our course included identifying and recommending more than 80 grants for funding the most innovative nonprofits from around the country, using strategies built on effective philanthropic principles described in Howard G. Buffett’s book, 40 Chances: Finding Hope in a Hungry World.
Course Goals: The course provides an overview of current philanthropic structure and practices, an examination of the evolving nature of strategic philanthropy, and the capacity to apply the approach through an active grant making process. Through readings and analysis, seminar engagement practices, and the grant making process, students will:
It was a pleasure and a great honor to have reviewed so many projects from nonprofits across the country. I worked with my cohort to analyze these grants and collectively create a list of "top 10" to formally recommend to the Howard G. Buffett Foundation for receiving grant funding worth $10,000.
This course gave me an inspirational and edifying experience that is still with me to this day. I enjoyed my class and even began to work with a few folks a year or so later. Changing the world, making friends, and having fun while doing it. That's the dream, and I lived it!
Let's create more change, together!
Sincerely,
Ty Ashley
The Creative Rebel
