Through an innovative partnership between the South Cumberland Community Fund and the University of the South, the Philanthropy Internship Program offers current sophomores and juniors the opportunity to learn about community-based philanthropy first hand.
The program is made possible by generous funding from the Civic Engagement Endowment for Community Philanthropy and the McCardell Endowment for Community Philanthropy.
The two-semester Philanthropy Internship Program allows University students to learn about the grants making process, make connections with the wider plateau community, and practice philanthropic giving that supports the work of local nonprofit and government-funded organizations.
In the Easter semester, students enroll in CIVC 310 - Philanthropy: Theory and Practice.
Through readings, research and discussion, students learn about the philosophy and history of, and current trends in, philanthropy in America. Students challenge assumptions about giving and develop meaningful criteria for evaluating organizations and grant-supported initiatives. Through discussions with guest speakers, they are introduced to the work of local nonprofit organizations and broaden their knowledge of the nonprofit sector, specifically with organizations working in our local rural communities. They also learn about the mission and practices of the South Cumberland Community Fund (SCCF), the only philanthropic foundation serving Grundy County, Tennessee. Students shadow the SCCF grants committee during the Fund’s spring grants making round, reviewing applications and attending grantee interviews. Students conduct evaluations of local nonprofits to gauge the organizations’ effectiveness and impact. The course provides the foundation for the Philanthropy Practicum taught in the Fall semester.
In the Advent semester, students participate in the CIVC 410 - Philanthropy Practicum.
In this practicum, students conduct their own grants making process. Acting as a “Board of Directors,” students solicit, review and evaluate grant proposals, conduct interviews and site visits, and make funding decisions based on their evaluations of each grant proposal’s feasibility and impact. Students award up to $30,000 to local nonprofit organizations in the tri-county (Franklin, Grundy, and Marion) area of the South Cumberland Plateau. Throughout the semester, the students continue to journal and reflect upon philanthropic giving as it applies in the local community and how they can impact positive change in the local community through philanthropic support. Prerequisite: CIVC 310.
Throughout their program of study, students reflect upon their personal belief system shaping their own philanthropic practice, and formulate their own goals for philanthropic giving.
For more information, contact Katie Goforth, Director of Community Development.
