A new approach of thinking about money and giving

Posted on January 29, 2018 by Anne Brock

By Phil Jamieson, president of the United Methodist Foundation for the Memphis and Tennessee Annual Conferences

As did many, I first became aware of Lake Institute on Faith & Giving through a prior relationship with Bill Enright. Bill is a deeply respected pastor and a great lover of the local church.

Several years ago, I saw that he was teaching an Executive Certificate on Religious Fundraising course not too far from me. I jumped at the chance to attend. To my great surprise and delight, Bill invited me to become a part of a newly forming adjunct faculty for Lake Institute. I believe that I accepted the offer on the spot.

Along with teaching in the Executive Certificate program, I have had the opportunity to work with several Creating a Congregational Culture of Generosity seminars. Working with David King and Melissa Spas is always a delight. Like Bill, they too share a deep understanding of and a delight in strengthening the capacity of churches to give and thus better participate in the mission of God.

When I invite people to participate in a CCCG, I usually begin with words like this: Of all the stewardship and giving programs, I do not know of any that compares with the CCCG. It combines innovative research with a profound theological integrity. That is no small feat in the contemporary context. Furthermore, the goal of the seminar is not to fix problems, but to change congregational cultures.

And that starting point makes all the difference. Of course, many attendees at first are hoping for a program that can quickly remedy the problem of decreasing funding. But as the material is presented, most pastors and laity alike realize that there is no easy fix to the issues that many churches are presently facing.

Instead, through careful analysis and a hopeful theological approach, people begin to understand the need for adaptive change. People begin to realize that a commitment to a new approach of thinking about money and giving is necessary in order to release greater generosity.

One of my favorite parts of the workshop is when attendees get the opportunity to tell their own stories of generosity. Being mindful of how much they have been given and how often they have had opportunities to share with others is an exciting way to change the conversation from how little we have to how many future opportunities we have.

Another important aspect of the workshop is the team approach. Having worked in many situations with clergy alone or laity alone, I have seen how easy it is for one to blame the other. In those situations, it is not uncommon to hear clergy say, “If only the laity were more generous…” or laity to say, “If only the pastor understood more about money.”

The CCCG takes folks beyond the blame game and helps all see the importance of a diversity of roles. People often leave the workshop knowing that there will be much work to be done, but with a new commitment of working together, great progress can be made.

I am truly thankful for all the good work of Lake Institute. I am most grateful for the Creating Congregational Cultures of Generosity seminars because of their ability to change the direction of local churches and renew their commitment to God and his great love for the world.

Phil earned the M.Div from Asbury Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from Boston College. He is a member of the Tennessee Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. After serving local churches for 11 years, he taught pastoral theology at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary for 13. He is married to Jan and they are the parents of two children. They are also the coauthors of Ministry and Money: A Practical Guide for Pastors and the 2012/2016 United Methodist Guidelines for Finance Committees. His latest book, The Face of Forgiveness: A Pastoral Theology of Shame and Redemption was published in June 2016.

Learning by doing at Coburn Place

Posted on January 26, 2018 by Abby Rolland

In a previous post, we talked about Dr. Kathi Badertscher and the ties connecting the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and Coburn Place Safe Haven.

What’s another one of those ties? Bachelor’s student Erin Wuertz, who has taken full advantage of her internship opportunity in her time at the school and Coburn Place.

She didn’t originally attend IUPUI, though. She started out at Ivy Tech and then transferred to IU Bloomington to be in the microbiology program, but soon realized it was not what she wanted to do for the rest of her life.

“I was in a science outreach program where I traveled to schools and helped children understand science, and I really enjoyed doing that,” Wuertz said. “I found the nonprofit program at Bloomington, which led me to learning about the philanthropic studies program here. I had a tour with Pamela (Clark, director of student services and admissions) and fell in love with the school.”

For Wuertz, part of the school’s impact on her is a result of the faculty members.

“I’ve enjoyed my classes with Dr. Genevieve Shaker and loved my Learning by Giving class with Dr. Greg Witkowski,” she said. “We had a $10,000 grant to give out; it’s the hands-on learning in this program that pulls you and keeps you.”

Wuertz admits that she does have a favorite professor though.

“I love all of my professors, but Dr. Badertscher is one that stands out,” she said. “My first semester, I took her course Philanthropy and Social Sciences and it seemed like we had multiple assignments focused on domestic violence and philanthropy, which is ultimately the field I want to work in. It aligned perfectly with my goals and was the perfect introduction to philanthropy and getting me sucked in.”

That class connected her to Julia Kathary, the executive director of Coburn Place and school alumna, who came to speak to the students one day. Wuertz stayed after class to speak with Kathary about Coburn Place and explained that she wanted to open a domestic violence shelter.

“A few weeks after that, Dr. Badertscher emailed me and said that Coburn Place needed helped with one of their events, so I went and helped with that,” Wuertz said. “During my first tour, I cried when I saw all they were doing for victims of domestic violence.”

She continued to volunteer every Thursday night (“I just wanted to be there”). During the summer, one of the staff members suggested that Wuertz complete her internship at Coburn Place.

She started as the philanthropy intern, which included administration and marketing work. Since she was obtaining her events management certificate, Wuertz subsequently became the events management intern at Coburn Place.

“I’ve been working a lot on events and how they tie to nonprofit organizations,” she said. “I try to make sure the event is engaging the donors and also ensuring that clients play a role. That’s why I love our Holiday Hand-Out event. You get to interact with the residents and see how your volunteer and intern time makes a difference.”

The staff at Coburn Place has made a large impact on Wuertz as well.

“They have been life-changing for me. They’re all amazing and have opened their hearts and doors to me,” she said.

Wuertz’s path forward is clear.

“After I graduate, I’d like to work in a nonprofit, whether it’s in domestic violence or not,” she said. “I’d like to do the master’s program in philanthropic studies after that, and then open my own domestic violence shelter in a place that truly needs it.”

Next week, we share one more connection between the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and Coburn Place. Don’t miss it!

Abby Rolland is the blog content coordinator for the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

Why women’s philanthropy matters to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Posted on January 24, 2018 by Jacqueline Ackerman

Jacqueline Ackerman is the assistant director for research and partnerships at the Women’s Philanthropy Institute. In this post, she describes the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s investment in research on gender and philanthropy.

In late 2014, a program officer from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Philanthropic Partnerships team approached the Women’s Philanthropy Institute (WPI). She shared with us that WPI’s work aligned with the Foundation’s goals, and that they had some research questions they’d like us to answer. That initial conversation opened the door to a partnership that has lasted more than three years and has transformed WPI and the advancement of research on gender and philanthropy.

Why did the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation invest in WPI?

The Foundation’s two grants (Expanding knowledge, Men’s and women’s giving) to WPI come out of the Giving By All initiative, a Foundation effort to encourage more giving by all segments of society in the U.S. WPI researches one lever for increasing philanthropy: gender. Women, and their potential to give to charity, have been historically overlooked.

Two key questions underlie all of WPI’s research for these grants:

What factors influence women and men to give more, give more intentionally, and give more effectively? This broad question addresses many aspects of giving, such as donor education, household decision-making, life cycle and demographic changes, technology, and newer forms of philanthropy like impact investing.
Giving to women and girls: who gives to these causes, and where and why do they give? What factors influence this giving? How can this giving be increased, and how can more people be engaged in supporting these causes?

WPI is the only organization with both the subject expertise on gender and philanthropy, combined with the rigorous methodological approach that underlies all research at Indiana University, to effectively answer these questions.

What has been the impact of the Foundation’s investment with WPI?

Thanks to the Foundation’s funding, WPI’s research output has increased exponentially. Before this grant, WPI released an annual research report as part of the Women Give series. Now, not only does WPI continue to release Women Give annually, but we have produced a number of additional reports on key topics in the field – and plan at least eight more releases during 2018!

Thanks to the support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, WPI has published research on a variety of topics:

How giving by young women and men today is different than in previous generations, and how women’s changing role in the family influences giving (Women Give 2016)
How women and men experience the “joy of giving” differently (Women Give 2017)
Giving circles and other forms of collective giving, a key way women engage in philanthropy
How women and men engage differently on #GivingTuesday

View WPI’s research

In addition to simply producing more research, the Foundation’s grants have allowed WPI to engage more communities and partners in discussions about how women and men give differently, and how to encourage all people to give more and to give more effectively. WPI has connected with other researchers, data providers, foundations, individual donors, nonprofits, and policy makers thanks to funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

What has been the impact of the Foundation’s investment on the field of philanthropy?

At WPI, our vision is that data and research can challenge assumptions and prompt changes in philanthropic behavior. Turning that vision into action calls for full engagement by donors, fundraisers, and policy makers alike. Thanks to the Foundation’s investment in research on gender and giving, the field of philanthropy is slowly changing to bring all people—both women and men—more fully into their identity as philanthropists.

Learn more about WPI’s research

The research projects linked above were completed with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The findings and conclusions in the research, and the views expressed in this blog post, are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect official positions or policies of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Follow WPI on Twitter @WPIinsights and “Like” WPI on Facebook.

Workshops to examine diversity and philanthropy

Posted on January 22, 2018 by Abby Rolland

First-year Ph.D. candidates Dana Doan and Tiara Dungy have spent much of their adult lives in Vietnam and South Africa, respectively. Both have thought about and engaged with diversity and privilege and they have experienced those ideas.

Studying in Indiana at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy has also provided opportunities for them to continue thinking about diversity in general, and diversity and philanthropy in particular. One of those is through the Dynamic Diversity Initiative.

Doan first heard of the program the summer before she arrived.

“I kept receiving the emails but felt that I wasn’t ready to apply,” she said.

Doan was determined to become involved in and engaged with the local community. She met up with the founder of a volunteer group focused on social justice in Indianapolis. She asked if the founder knew any nonprofits that might be interested to collaborate on a Dynamic Diversity project. Hearing about the Peace Learning Center (PLC), Doan reached out to them.

“I told them about the opportunity and asked if they would be interested to collaborate,” Doan said. “They shared with me about the implicit bias workshop, which sounded like a great fit, and we explored how I could help them with how they evaluate the impact of their workshop. We all agreed it seemed like a good fit.”

PLC would run the workshop and Doan would recruit her colleagues and faculty to work on the evaluation.

Working on the project made her keenly aware of her own privilege. As a result, she asked fellow classmate Dungy to join.

“Tiara had brought up important issues of diversity, bias, and social justice in our fall semester class discussions. So I asked her to partner with me on the project or at least be an advisor,” Doan explained.

Dungy agreed to read over the proposal and decide.

“The more Dana spoke about it though and the passion she brought to it made me think about my own experiences, how our biases cause us to treat people, and how it impacts our actions and everything we do. As a result, I became more and more involved,” Dungy said.

They submitted the proposal together and were awarded a grant to implement the project.

Peace Learning Center will facilitate the half-day workshops for IUPUI faculty, staff and graduate students on February 1 and 9 (participants attend only one workshop). Doan and Dungy will promote and evaluate the workshops, which include activities both before and after the workshops.

The evaluation will involve both qualitative and quantitative methods to learn about the participants’ experiences, how their participation affects them, and what they plan on doing, if anything, about what they learn.

Doan hopes that the workshops encourage participants to do something.

“I hope it gives them tools and inspires them to take action in their school or department. While we hope it will contribute to actions that improve diversity on campus, understanding bias is an individual experience as well,” she said. “I hope each of us learns about steps we can take, whether we are in a position of privilege or not, to ensure diversity and inclusion. Through this workshop, we hope people will be empowered to take actions that result in positive changes on campus.”

Dungy says she hopes people enthusiastically engage with the materials and with each other.

“The more we know about ourselves and our biases and the more we’re willing to learn about other people, the better we can work together.”

Are you an IUPUI faculty/staff member or a graduate student? These workshops (same workshop, two different days) are open to anyone in the campus community.

Abby Rolland is the blog content coordinator for the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

Hooked on the mission

Posted on January 19, 2018 by Abby Rolland

People come to the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy from all different walks of life. Dr. Kathi Badertscher worked as a broker in corporate insurance for 26 years.

“It was really good for a long time; I traveled, met people, and learned a lot,” she said.

About 12 years ago, she began re-thinking what she wanted to do. After serving on several nonprofit boards, volunteering in the community, and reaching a turning point in her insurance career, Dr. Badertscher realized it was time for a change.

“I found the then-Center on Philanthropy in a Google search. I thought ‘this is perfect; I can take a few classes and become a better board member, a more intentional donor, and overall be more systematic in how I approach volunteering and giving,’ ” she said.

Well, a few classes rolled into a dual master’s degree (she also earned a master’s in history in the School of Liberal Arts), which then turned into a full Ph.D. Dr. Badertscher realized that she loved being in class and loved teaching, and the Ph.D. program combined that interest with her passion for philanthropic history and ethics.

Six months out from finishing her Ph.D., an administrative position as director of master’s programs at the school opened up, and with her research, teaching, and management expertise, Dr. Badertscher was the perfect fit. Now, she works with the other program directors on curriculum, advising, and admissions, while assessing how well the program is doing in preparing students for their philanthropic futures.

In addition to her administrative role, she finds new ways to incorporate technology into teaching. Along with teaching History of Philanthropy, Applying Ethics in Philanthropy, and other courses, Dr. Badertscher and Dr. Sherry Wang of Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou, China developed and then co-taught a course through Course Networking titled Philanthropy Ethics, East and West for the first time last fall.

Students in both the U.S. and China learned equal amounts about Eastern and Western philanthropic philosophies.

“They learned how core ideas in philanthropy really are universal and ancient; the students loved the class,” Dr. Badertscher explained.

She will be visiting China this spring, teaching one of Dr. Wang’s classes, and visiting the nongovernmental organizations that several of the students in those courses run.

Even with her roles at the school, Dr. Badertscher finds time to volunteer outside the community. One important role has been her involvement at Coburn Place Safe Haven. Two years ago while presenting at the school’s two-day conference on Indiana philanthropy, she met executive master’s alumna and Coburn Place president and executive director Julia Kathary.

After meeting Kathary for lunch and learning more about the organization, Dr. Badertscher requested a tour. Unbeknownst to her at the time of her tour, Coburn Place had learned of the loss of a significant federal government grant just that morning. Even so, the place impressed her.

“During my tour, I was blown away by the organization. At the end of it, Julia mentioned that they needed board members, but I wasn’t sure it was the right time,” Dr. Badertscher said. “However, I spoke with her several weeks later, and she mentioned they had convened an emergency session of the board and had an effective action plan in place. That really impressed me.”

Hooked on the mission and recognizing smart and dedicated management, Dr. Badertscher joined the board shortly thereafter.

Almost two years later she plays an important role in supporting Coburn Place, including sitting on the board, giving tours, and advocating for survivors of domestic violence. Her dedication to Coburn Place has led Pamela Clark, director of student services and admissions at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, to host jewelry fundraisers for the organization. After one fundraiser, Clark donated the money to name an apartment in Dr. Badertscher’s honor for all the work she has done for Coburn Place.

Dr. Badertscher and Kathary’s connection has sprung another Lilly Family School of Philanthropy connection. After Kathary spoke at one of Dr. Badertscher’s classes, undergraduate student Erin Wuertz decided to begin volunteering at Coburn Place. This has led Wuertz to multiple internships in the field she wants to work in.

Almost three years after finishing her Ph.D. and more than 11 years after enrolling in her first class, Dr. Badertscher loves her new career.

“It’s been amazing; everything just fell into place,” she said. “I admire all of the people here because everybody really cares about something. It’s a great place to be around.”

Dr. Badertscher says philanthropy is going to become more and more important as people realize government can’t solve all social problems and businesses can’t create enough opportunities for everyone, emphasizing the importance of a degree from the school.

“You come away with a deeper understanding of how philanthropy is embedded in every society,” she said. “You can grasp why it exists, what it means, and then build on that to meet your own personal and professional goals.”

She also encourages anyone who is thinking of a career change to follow through with it.

“Life is short, and if you have a chance and the desire to change something in your life, do it and you won’t regret it.”

Interested in learning more about the school’s connection to Coburn Place? We’re featuring undergraduate student Erin Wuertz and her experiences next week.

Abby Rolland is the blog content coordinator for the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.