Giving away someone else’s money can be fun.
And as students in the “Learning by Giving” class at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy just learned, it’s also a big responsibility.
In the hands-on course, students learn and implement the process of making charitable grants and giving wisely, from deciding which community issues to address and writing requests for grant proposals to conducting site visits at nonprofits, evaluating applications, and deciding where to award real money. This opportunity to make an impact while learning is made possible by support from the Learning by Giving Foundation and PNC Foundation.
Following a rigorous evaluation process, the 2024 class recently selected The Little Timmy Project, a grassroots Indianapolis nonprofit that seeks to improve outcomes for Indiana mothers and infants, to receive a $10,000 grant.
While being pregnant and/or parenting infants can be a joy, it also can bring challenges. Many of those challenges are exacerbated if you’re under-resourced, from an under-represented community, or both. The Little Timmy Project focuses on helping pregnant individuals and parents of young children receive equitable care. The nonprofit fulfills that mission through various initiatives, including a free pantry – The Little Mom Shop – and its Doula Scholarship Fund.
The Little Mom Shop provides necessities without the burden of cost, offering diapers, formula, baby food, clothing and other essentials. It’s a vital resource for families facing financial hardships, enabling them to better care for their little ones during crucial developmental stages. The Doula Scholarship Fund helps address disparities in maternal health outcomes by increasing access to culturally competent maternal and infant healthcare.
“These students were given a tremendous gift – the chance to put what they have been learning in their classes to use in making an actual grant,” said Michael Moody, Ph.D., professor of philanthropic studies at the school. “And they knew from the start that this gift came with serious responsibility. They took the grantmaking process very seriously, including the uncomfortable parts like informing some of the applicants that they weren’t funded.”
“We had a lot of fun along the way too. In the end, they were overjoyed to support a small local nonprofit doing amazing work, knowing that this grant would make an outsized impact in that work.”
