Student Philanthropy Program
School Application • 2012 – 2013
Dear Esteemed Educator –
On behalf of Mr. Roger Grein, I would like to thank you for taking interest in the Student Philanthropy
Program. Teaching young men and women how to become educated philanthropists – wise givers of their
time, talent and treasure – has been Roger’s goal from the beginning of the high school program in 2008. As
we enter our fifth school year, we are excited to continue to be able to support a diverse student population
in the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area. But we know it would not work without the efforts of
hard-working, motivated and dedicated teachers like you.
The program steps are simple and provide a good deal of flexibility, but still take effort on the part of the
teacher. The process can be adapted to fit a classroom setting or it can be done as an after school program.
It can be done in a semester, or over the entire year. It can be done with 10 students or 100. The basic flow
of our program can found on www.magnifiedgiving.org (click on Student Philanthropy Program and look under
the Resources link.) We are also developing a Teacher Manual this summer, and myself and several mentor
teachers will also be available to work with you to provide on-going support if your school is selected.
Roger trusts that schools and teachers that partner with us will take the gifts that are given and use them
wisely. His hope is that our partner schools learn about philanthropy by investing the money Magnified
Giving’s donors generously share with us. Over time, as your program grows, you and your school will
discover the resources to supplement or replace our financial support – through fundraising, private investors,
and/or by simply students pooling their limited resources together to invest in their community.
Thanks again for your interest in our program. We look forward to seeing how you might implement the
program at your school and hope that we can help you and your students learn how to invest in non-profits.
Sincerely,
Program Director
Program Timeline
Application due date:
Fri., August 10, 2012
Teachers notified/contracts sent
Fri., August 17, 2012
Signed Contracts due
Fri., August 24, 2012
Teacher Meeting/Training (Required)
Wed., September 19, 2012 (4:00 – 7:00 pm – dinner provided)
HINTS TO DESIGNING YOUR PROGRAM and COMPLETING THE APPLICATION
The best programs implement basic strategies and components –best practices. While completing your
application, providing evidence that these can be implemented in your program will be helpful. Once your
application is accepted, there will be time later for fine-tuning your plans with your mentor teacher.
• Strong teacher leadership – A strong teacher is needed to guide a successful program. Make sure your lead
teacher has the time and interest to make this program work for his/her students.
• A focus on education – It would be easy to give students $1000 (or more) and have them simply give it away
– that is not our goal. Be sure you plan time to educate students (basics of philanthropy, a little history, who
are philanthropists, our community’s social needs, the non-profit sector, how agencies get funding, etc.)
While we are working on our Teacher Manual this summer, we will do our best to create a standard
curriculum we are offering to all teachers. In addition, there is a wealth of resources available on the Web
that you can use to educate your students and we have compiled resources that will be shared on our
website. (More information will be shared at the teacher meeting in September.)
• Student leadership – Plan ways to structure your program so that students are empowered to lead. We will
be looking for evidence that students will be given that opportunity through your program.
• Student-centered decision making – Allow the students make as many decisions as possible throughout the
course of the program, at nearly every step along the way. The goal is for the students to take ownership.
• Site visits touch the heart – While not absolutely required for participation, site visits are strongly
encouraged. If site visits are not possible, bringing agency reps into your class is also very effective. However
getting your students out to see the agencies they are considering is the highlight of the year for many
students…and makes the decision-making even more challenging.
• Guest speakers help educate – We have a number of different individuals connected to our program that
are eager to speak to your students. Take advantage of these opportunities. (Details shared in September.)
• Supporting local Non-Profit Agencies – All money needs to be distributed to Greater Cincinnati and
Northern Kentucky non-profit 501(C)(3) organizations. Keep this in mind as you explore social issues.
• Matching grants – Depending on our financial resources each year, we are sometimes able to offer
additional funding to a school through a matching grant. Typically, we have been able to offer an additional
$250 if the students raise $250. If you are able to do some fundraising on your own, please indicate this.
• Making tough decisions – All funding provided by Magnified Giving must be given to one agency; any
money raised by students can be invested as they choose.
• Award Ceremony – Student and adult representatives from your school, along with agency representative
receiving checks must participate in the Award Ceremony in early-May 2013.
• Data gathering – All students must complete an online, end-of-the-year survey.
• Timely reporting – The lead teacher must provide periodic updates as well a report at the end of the year.
This will be addressed through the new website we are in the process of developing.
• Do some research – Look over the steps for the program (see below, or visit www.magnifiedgiving.org/sp)
and think how this would work at your school, in your class or club.
Student Philanthropy Program
Key Steps to Student Success
During the course of the program, students will…
• learn about philanthropy and philanthropic organizations
• discuss the social concerns and needs of their communities
• identify non-profits that meet those concerns and needs
• establish student boards/sub-groups to further explore those needs
• contact agencies in the area of focus they choose
• develop a request for proposal (RFP)
• send out RFPs to the agencies of their choosing
• evaluate the completed RFPs
• visit agencies to see first-hand what they do
• fundraise to increase their grant-making potential (optional)
• discuss the different agencies they are considering
• decide which agency to support
• notify the agencies of their decisions
• present a check to the winning agency
• celebrate their successful completion
• stay connected to the agency to monitor their investment
Student Philanthropy Program
School Application • 2012 – 2013
Please type your responses and return the completed document to tforman@mndhs.org.
Application deadline is Friday, August 10, 2012.
School name:
Your Name:
Your Email:
Cell Phone:
Work Phone:
School address:
City:
State:
Zip:
Principal name:
Principal’s email:
After reading the “Hints” and “Step-by-Step” pages above, please answer the following questions as
thoroughly as possible. We expect that you will not be able to answer all questions completely, but the more
details you plan out at this time, the better. Feel free to call program director Todd Forman at 513/550-0518 if
you need help completing the application.
1. What is your role at your school? (Teaching duties, other responsibilities)
2. If other adults might be involved, please provide their titles and contact information.
3. What grade level(s) would be working with for this project?
4. Approximately how many students would be involved in the program? Would there be any way for the
entire school to get involved in any aspect of the program? (Ex. hearing agency reps, participating in voting,
etc…)
5. Would you implement this program this be a full-year project, single semester, or part of the year?
6. How would you implement this program (class, after school program, other)?
7. Would your school be able to offer any matching funds, or would the students be able to participate in
any fundraising activities to increase the amount of money to grant? Explain.
8. As we develop our program, we are exploring the opportunity for schools to earn additional grant money
by having students engaged in community service with the non-profits they are examining for a potential
grant. Is there any potential for your students to perform a modest number of service hours as part of this
program? (It is not necessary, but could be rewarding to your students in a number of different ways.)
9. Looking over the “step-by-step” list above. As you think begin to plan out our program, explain how you
might address each of the “steps”. If you are unsure about how you will approach certain steps, that is not
a problem…but please share any ideas you have sketched out.
10. To help us better connect with folks at your school, we would like a note of support from your principal,
vice-principal, advancement director, etc… letting us know they are aware of this program and will support
your involvement. Please have them send me an email by the application deadline.
11. Finally, this program takes a great deal of effort and patience to successfully implement, and we want to
make sure that we choose programs and teachers that can dedicate the time to making this work.
If you are new to this program, please send a DRAFT of your application and call Todd at 513/550-0518 to
discuss. He will review it with you and give you an opportunity to make changes before submitting your
final version.
Please send your completed application to tforman@mndhs.org by August 10, 2012 along
with a supporting letter from your principal or other administrator.
(Applications will be reviewed and teachers notified by August 17.)