Expressing Gratitude Through Philanthropy
by Jeremy Vickers, Associate Vice President, External Affairs
Over the past few years, Baylor’s Philanthropy and Public Good course has engaged some of our brightest and most promising students into the process of doing “the most good”. You might ask yourself, how does one define “the most good” and where would one start in the process of actually doing this work. In our class this fall, we challenged our sixteen students with these same questions while giving them literature, stories, and even a podcast to contextualize the question…oh and we gave them $90,000 to steward and nearly fifty grant applications from local nonprofits to consider!Throughout this semester, our teams of students evaluated organizations, read IRS Form 990’s, heard presentations, poured over scripture, listened to a podcast on racial equity, and considered texts from thought leaders in the field of philanthropy with the goal of representing funds from three foundational partners: Aramark, Philanthropy Lab, and the Baylor/Waco Foundation. On Monday, November 23rd, in the presence of President Linda A. Livingstone and with our funded nonprofits on a video call, these amazing students shared their hearts, expressed gratitude, and gave away $90,000 to seven deserving nonprofits:
- Advocacy Center for Crime Victims and Children, $5,000. The Advocacy Center is an umbrella nonprofit organization of programs that serve to bring about healing to children and adults who are victims of crime and to facilitate change to end violence through advocacy, collaboration and community awareness.
- Care Net Pregnancy Center of Central Texas, $10,000. Care Net Pregnancy Center provides a caring, confidential atmosphere to discuss pregnancy options and sexual health while respecting each individual.
- CASA of McLennan County, $15,000. CASA of McLennan County’s mission is to provide a trained volunteer, a Court-Appointed Special Advocate, for every abused and neglected child in the county so they may ultimately thrive in safe, nurturing and permanent homes.
- Community Cancer Association, $8,500. The Community Cancer Association is a nonprofit in McLennan County that works with local cancer patients and their families to address some of the financial issues that occur as a result of their health condition.
- Esther’s Closet, $25,000. Esther’s Closet is a self-sufficiency program to assist unemployed women in Waco, providing interview and workplace outfits as well as resume writing and equipping women and children to escape poverty.
- Talitha Koum Institute, $21,700. Talitha Koum Institute is a mental health therapeutic nurture center, focusing on the brain development of at-risk children from infancy to 5 years old.
- The Cove, $4,800. The Cove is a teen nurturing center designed to provide a safe space for students experiencing homelessness to access the resources they need to thrive.
We honor and celebrate future givers, new philanthropists in the making, and leaders in communities far and wide. Thank you to our students for stewarding this treasure and honoring seven beloved organizations with funds during this difficult year!
Read more about the ceremony here. To donate to the 2021 course, click here.