Feature Student: Connor Kirkpatrick

My name is Connor Kirkpatrick! My major is in interdisciplinary studies with a specific concentration in Nonprofit Leadership and Management and I'm from a small rural town outside of Charlotte called Mount Holly, North Carolina. My hobbies tend to change sporadically, but currently I am dabbling in sewing and costume construction, and I'm currently working on costumes for a play and am having a lot of fun with it. Most of the work I do is off campus, but on campus I am a Resident Advisor for Parker Community (Parker Palace!). I am a Youth Advisory Council Member for the National Youth Leadership Council where I help run a campaign around promoting youth leadership and education equity, and I also serve as a hotline advocate and a community educator with the Compass Center, the local domestic violence agency, for going on two years now!
I am in this class because I believe that young people are incredible assets to our communities, but so often they are not given a voice in solving the biggest issues facing our society. As a young person, I am so excited to see opportunities like this class where instead of constantly begging for money for the organizations we care about, as college volunteers constantly are, we are able to flip the script and empower organizations to do amazing work while also challenging traditional notions of philantropy, power, and privilege. I also wanted to learn the ins and outs of philantropy - it has got some great family drama sagas bubbling around! If there was a soap opera about a family philantropy, I'd totally watch it! In the class I serve on the Class Committee where I help facilitate discussions and decisions regarding our grant making process. I write agendas and send out notes after meetings. I've definitely already learned a lot, and it has been amazing being apart of a group of such wonderful, passionate young people who are some really hard workers. It has been such an honor working with them and being challenged by them.

Feature Student: Austin Gragson

I'm Austin, a senior Psychology and Anthropology double major from Kernersville, North Carolina.  Growing up in Kernersville my family received a lot of help from family, loved ones, community members, and even strangers.  Though we struggled financially, my mom instilled a strong sense of service and giving back, even when you might not have much to give back at all.  Coming to Carolina has been an amazing experience for me and allowed me to integrate service into my every day life.  This course has so far has been a "capstone" course for my college career in several ways.  It is the summation of all my service work as I have shifted to very big questions about what is service and philanthropy and how we can channel this class grant into a way to help make big change.  While I have had my individual Psychology and Anthropology capstones, this course has felt as the most influential in my big "send off" into real life.  I have enjoyed our tough conversations about what to fund and why as well as learning to navigate over 20 different opinions into a cohesive and effective grant process.  

Personally, I have been involved with our class's Community committee which is committee to getting the word out about the grant and connecting to the organizations from which we receive grants.  From my past work at nonprofits, this community appeal the most to me as I stride to forge deeper and more meaningful connections to the community I am involved with.  From my work with the Community Empowerment Fund, APPLES Service-Learning, UNC Men's Project as well as schizophrenia research on campus I have become committed to my community and its improvement. This course has allowed me to further this commitment and explore another side of it I haven't seen before. Outside of class, I enjoy making music, scouring the digital library of Netflix, and finding new dogs to pet.  

Back from Spring Break!

Hey Readers!

It has been awhile since we have checked in and updated you on what our class has been up to. UNC-Chapel Hill is currently on its first week back from spring break; many of our classmates had some really fun adventures during their break!

Now that we are back from break, we are already busy and getting back to work with our grant application process.

We sent out an application for grants to nonprofit organizations around the state of North Carolina with a mission to help immigrant and refugee communities. We are still awaiting all of the applications for funding to begin the process of grant-making!

In the meantime, our class has been examining case studies discussing current events on topics in philanthropy. Through these case studies and current events, our class has the opportunity to examine and analyze real-world examples of philanthropy and the positive effects it can have in communities. We have discussed issues varying from ethics to publicity under the topic of philanthropy.

We are using these lessons to help improve the work we do in class. As a foundation board, we are trying to use the lessons we learn from the case studies and apply it to our application process so we can make the best possible impact on our community.

Feature Student: Jenn Morrison

My name’s Jenn Morrison, and I’m a senior journalism major and studio art minor. I’m from Brookeville, Maryland, and growing up outside Washington, D.C. has definitely been an influence in my interest in the nonprofit world.

Now at Carolina, I’m a Buckley Public Service Scholar and member of Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity. UNC has strengthened the commitment to service I had coming in, but it’s also opened my eyes to a lot of issue areas and means of service that I wasn’t exposed to before. Being a journalism major has also allowed me to connect with people I may not have otherwise met, listen to their stories, and gain a deeper understanding of the issues we tackle through service. I’m a firm believer in the importance of effective storytelling for nonprofits and am interested in how communication can drive change, from a well-written grant application to social media campaign.

The writing committee for our class foundation board is a great way to see that in action, as I helped draft the foundation mission statement, RFP and grant application, and now we’re looking forward to reviewing the proposals we receive! Participating on this foundation board is an incredible opportunity as a student to be able to see a side of service that often feels distant from a volunteer’s perspective. It’s brought the idea of philanthropy closer to home and shed light on the role that funding plays in every community.

Feature Student: Lindsey Holbrook

Hi, I’m Lindsey Holbrook. I am a senior at UNC from Wake Forest, NC and am double majoring in English and Exercise Science. In my free time, I enjoy running, baking, hiking, and taking road trips with friends. UNC has a lot of opportunities to do service and I currently teach swim lessons with Carolina Swim Clinic, an organization that offers free swim lessons to community members in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area. Also, I teach a short fitness class to UNC Facility Service Staff members twice a week through an initiative powered by the school of Public Health to increase workplace wellness. With that said, I have done most of my service at Carolina through a service-learning organization called APPLES. My first-year at UNC, I went on an Alternative Spring Break through APPLES to Robeson County, NC to learn more about Rural Communities and the best way to serve these areas. I led that same trip my sophomore year, and spent my Junior year being the APPLES Alternative Spring Break Co-Chair overseeing the successful planning and implementation of each trip. I currently serve as the president of APPLES Service-Learning and this has allowed me to help organize and facilitate meaningful service-learning opportunities throughout campus through APPLES Service-Learning Courses, Internships, Social Innovation Fellowships, and Alternative Breaks.

I decided to apply to this class because Philanthropy is a service component that I really did not know much about. Throughout my service experiences, I have greatly benefitted from philanthropic ventures, but I have never been able to see how that process works or learn how to do it well. I have really enjoyed this class because it has given me an inside look into that process and I feel like I learn something from each class discussion. I am on the Community Committee, and in this position I compile a list of organizations that fit our grant’s focus, send them our request for proposals, and correspond with them throughout the process. This position has allowed me to have the privilege to connect with and learn more about organizations that do such great work. I am really excited to start hearing back from different organizations and learning about the different projects they are pursuing!

Feature Student: Jason Urbano

Hi, I'm Jason Urbano. I'm a senior business major at UNC from Greensboro, NC. I enjoy movies, music, traveling, staying active and trying new things. In addition, I'm currently a senior marshal and senior intern for the Bonner Leaders Program housed at the Campus Y. I've generally done most of my service throughout my time at Carolina within the Bonner Leader Program. My first three years in the program I worked with Blue Ribbon Mentor Advocate, a local organization in the Chapel Hill-Carborro city school system that provides mentorship, academic tutoring, and extracurricular opportunities to underprivileged students of color from 4th grade to high school graduation. There specifically I was a General Program Coordinator for the middle school program offering strategies to improve the grades of affiliates, organizing various enrichment opportunities, and facilitating after school tutorials at local middle schools. Now as a senior intern of the Bonner Leaders Program I help run the entire program, serve as a mentor to UNC students a part of the program, and facilitate various social justice and skills workshops weekly.

I decided to apply to this class because I have been in positions that allow me to directly and indirectly help non-profits achieve results base on their overall mission and goals, but never been a part of a board that will administer funds to non-profits and wanted to experience the entire process. So far, I have enjoyed the class particularly because I am a part of the board committee. In this position I essentially facilitate board discussions, ensure the rest of the committees are working to prepare all of the necessary resources and materials needed to release a grant application, and ensure that decisions are made concisely and efficiently as a board. I'm excited to see what kinds of grant proposals we will receive and eventually fund and it has been a joy being a part of the course thus far.