PHILANTHROPY AND SERVICE

Lydia Butler November 19, 2014

PROBLEM: SERVICE AND PHILANTHROPY WITHOUT THOUGHT

Problem: Service and Philanthropy Without Thought

• Volunteer rates among students for community service is declining (Moore, Warta, Erichsen, 2014).

• Fraternities and sororities receive incentives for their philanthropic efforts both on the national level as well as the local level (the university) by including a section to document the service and philanthropy efforts in awards packets (Parker, 2012).

DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILEFraternity and sorority members at small, private, liberal arts colleges and universities.

• Private liberal arts students in national or international fraternal organizations• Students in these organizations typically have requirements

regarding community service• They also sponsor or support a philanthropy either locally or

nationally through different events that they hold on campus

• Institutional Setting: Small, private liberal arts institution (5,000 students or less)• Most familiar with this type of institution• Students who attend private-four year institutions have the

highest rates of service participation (Rockenbach, Hudson, Tuchmayer, 2014).

BACKGROUND INFORMATIONLiterature Review

Literature Review

• Community service volunteer rate is declining with college students

• Demographics• Students over the age of 20 are more likely to volunteer than

traditional-aged first year students• African-American, Latino and Asian American students- more likely

to volunteer than Caucasian students• Higher academic achieving students more likely to volunteer• Those that belong to Greek organizations- almost twice as likely to

volunteer • Students who live on-campus more likely to volunteer than those off

campus

• The type of volunteering activity is the single most important factor in a students’ decision to volunteer

• Defining volunteer• Altruism must be central motive• Must be selfless (motive)

(Moore, Warta, Erichsen, 2014)

• Student Philanthropy is a teaching strategy that colleges and universities are increasingly using

• Similar to service-learning courses• Students research problems and understand the grant

writing process(Olberding, 2011)

• Evident that students want to give• Spend time volunteering or on Spring Breaks • HOWEVER, they are rarely taught HOW to give.• Often just see the end result and not the behind the

scenes• Learning that giving doesn’t have to happen later in their

lives. It can occur now. (Strickland, 2008)

Literature Review

• More involvement in service does not necessarily mean students understand the importance of it or the value behind it.

• Acts of volunteerism may look similar on the surface for many students, but the motivation and reasoning for doing that service may be entirely different for each person.

(Rockenbach, et. all, 2014)

Literature Review

• A comprehensive study on Greek Life & Philanthropy• Greek giving is more prevalent in the past (social media, etc). • Incentives for philanthropic efforts

• Awards from the college or university• Recognized nationally or internationally by organization• 25% of participants stated that chapters on their campus includes

philanthropy in chapter programming (Parker, 2012, p. 4)• Primary way chapter engage non-profits (locally) is by raising

money, followed by volunteering either directly or at special events• Recording service hours

• National organization incentives• Questions raised by study

• “It’s good that they’re raising all of this money and recording the hours, but why aren’t the non-profits more involved?” (Parker, 2012, p.6)

Literature Review

DEPARTMENT INFORMATIONWhere will this program fall?

Office of Fraternity/Sorority Life or Office of Student Involvement

• Director/Dean for this area would oversee the program

• Student leaders would also be able to help create the program for internship credit

• Graduate assistants for Fraternity/Sorority life could also help develop the program

• Professors and staff can volunteer to present or cultivate conversation for the students about the importance of philanthropy and service

PROGRAM PROPOSALHow do we get students actively engaged with their philanthropy and service efforts?

“Your path to Citizenship”• Comprehensive engagement workshop series

• Similar to service-learning, but without the “classroom” component

• Four different topics: based on each of the four years of college• Local Impact• Global Impact• Reflections• Citizenship

Year 1- Local Impact• Understanding the importance of community service and

philanthropy on the local level. Establishing that dualistic thinking to go beyond just fulfilling requirements.

• 2 hour Program will take place in October• Members are settled into their organizations, but are still in the

new member phase• Interactive workshop • Speaker- professor or professional about initiative• Pre-test will be administered to all students • Students will break into groups based on similar interests, but

separate from their other chapter members• Define philanthropy and service• Identify 3 ways in which philanthropy impacts are seen on campus• Identify local service impacts from fraternity and sorority community

Year 2- Global Impact• Understanding how and why philanthropy and service is

important on a global scale

• 2 hour program in November of second year of school• These members have now experienced a year of philanthropy

and service in fraternity/sorority life • Non-profit speaker- Keynote• Working together in chapter groups• They have identified the local impact that they can make

through their work• Students will then be asked to work together to create SMART

goals that they can attain in terms of philanthropy and service for the rest of their college careers

Year 3- Reflection• Looking back the previous three years and understanding

all of the work you’ve done and its importance for self-discovery

• 2 hour program in April of third year• Selected students will present their experiences and their

growth with philanthropy and service • There will be two (30 minute) workshops • Workshops will be conducted by faculty and staff (career

services and director of Greek Life)

Year 4- Citizenship• How to continue philanthropic efforts once students become

alumni

• 2 hour program in April of fourth year• Alumni panel of students • First-Year group collaboration for reflection

• Reflection on what philanthropy and service are will also be decided upon and presented from each group

• Developing personal and societal goals• The post-test will be administered• Develop and commit to a plan for after college involvement

THEORY BASED LEARNING OUTCOMESWhat are the students hopefully going to gain from this?

Learning Outcomes• By participating in this program, students will grow intellectually by creating their own meaning out of the work that they are doing with philanthropy and service.

• Throughout this program, students will be challenged in their approach to philanthropy and service by learning from their peers to understand and internalize the importance of exceeded simple requirements.

• By sharing these experiences with students in similar organizations, students will better understand the impact that they can make on a local and global scale.

THEORY IN THE PROGRAM

Perry’s Theory of Intellectual and Ethical Development

• Position 3: Mulitplicity legitimate but not subordinate• Accept that there is human uncertainty not everything that has

been told to them is the “be-all-end-all” truth.• However, they believe this uncertainty is temporary and does

not overshadow the Truth of the world• Uncertainty is tolerated, but only to a certain point.

• Position 4: Late Multiplicity• Double-dualism • Students’ mindsets shifting from “what they want” (position 3)

to the way they want us to think. • Evident in second and third year of program- as educators, we

want students to critically think about the world around them and in parts 2 and 3 of the program, they are asked to do just that.

(“Perry”, 1999)

• Position 5: Relativism • “involves adopting a way of understanding, analyzing, and

evaluating that requires a radical re-perception of all knowledge and values as contextual and relativistic” (“Perry”, 1999, p.12)

• Relativistic thinking becomes the norm for students• See this in parts 2, 3, and 4: Students are critically thinking about

the work that they are doing and how it not only affects/benefits them, but also how it relates on a global scale.

• Position 6: Commitment to Relativism• Perry believed that “relativism one is threatened with unbearable

disorientation and that students had three alternatives: to go limp, become an active opportunist, or transcend the disorientation through commitment” (“Perry”, 1999, p.12)

• Students realize that commitments need to be made to establish their bearings in the relativistic world.

• During part 4 of the program, students will have to decide if they are going to continue with or follow through with the plan they have created to implement philanthropy and service into their lives.

Perry’s Theory of Intellectual and Ethical Development• Seeing duality in the world

• Students are able to understand the difference that they can make

• Making decisions for themselves and helping others

• Teaching themselves and one another

• Understanding their role as college students and developing the intellectual aspect of philanthropy and service

Schlossberg Transition Theory

• 4 S’s• Situation: What is their situation at the time of the

transition?• This can be evident in the first year students going through

the program • These students are just coming into college from all different

backgrounds and because of this, their approach to philanthropy and service may differ drastically

• Self: How is the student’s inner strength in coping with this situation?• Students may be resilient to doing more than just the

minimum requirement• Looking at how student reacts when working with the group

Schlossberg Transition Theory

• 4 S’s Continued• Support: What type of support is the student receiving in

this situation?• Students will be working in groups to answer the questions

posed to them. • Student affairs staff, professors and outside speakers• Hopefully with this support, adaptation to the program will be

more progressive than if the students did not have this structured program.

• Strategies: How will the students cope with this transition?• Students are going to have to learn how to do more than just

fulfill the requirements of their organizations. • Students using the groups as a coping mechanism for service

projects

HOW TO MEASURE LEARNING OUTCOMES

Pre-Testing

Post-Testing

Sources• Moore, E.W. , Warta, S., Erichsen, K. (2014). College students’ volunteering: factors

related to current volunteering, volunteer settings, and motives for volunteering. College Student Journal, 48(3), 386-396.

• Olberding, J. C. (2011). Does student philanthropy work? A study on long-term effect of the “learning by giving” approach. Innovation for Higher Education 37, 71-87.

• Parker, P. (2012) Greek life and philanthropy: a student to determine the links, challenges, and opportunities between Greek life leadership and community goodwill. NP Catalyst, 1-25.

• Perry's intellectual scheme. (1999). New directions for Student Services, (88), 5.• Rockenbach, A. B., Hudson, T. D., & Tuchmayer, J. B. (2014). Fostering meaning,

purpose, and enduring commitments to community service in college: A multidimensional conceptual model. Journal of Higher Education, 85(3), 312-338.

• Schervish, P. G. (2006). The moral biography of wealth: philosophical reflections on the foundation of philanthropy. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 35(3),

477-492. • Schlossberg, N. K. (2011). The challenge of change: the transition model and its

applications. Journal Of Employment Counseling, 48(4), 159-162.• Strickland, S. M. (2008). Learning how to give and how giving happens: the

development summer internship program at the university of Michigan teaches students the business behind philanthropy. Phi Kappa Psi Forum 88(2), 9.