COURSE OVERVIEW AND REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS
fall 2015
American Philanthropy (PA 5123) Fall Semester 2015
Instructor: Terri D. Barreiro, MBA
Wednesday 4:40 to 7:25 pm
Classroom TBD
Office Hours: Wednesdays from 1:30 PM – 4:00 PM by appointment
Office location: unknown
Contact Information: barre041@umn.edu
612-695-8742 (cell)
Course overview
Philanthropy has become a $250 billion industry in the U.S. The actions of foundations such as
the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are featured in the media regularly. Opinions about the
role of philanthropy in America range from praise for its leadership as the creativity engine for
social change to anger about it’s arrogance and wrongly directed choices for grants.
This course focuses on the theory and practice of philanthropy with a particular emphasis on
individual and foundation giving in the United States. Drawing on the key scholarship of the
field, students will learn alternative models of philanthropy, its history and development,
economic structure, and power dynamics; core components of grant-making and grant-seeking,
as well as its key current debates.
This is not a fundraising or grant-writing course. The class is instead an intensive study of
philanthropy so that students can effectively navigate the field in their public affairs careers. This
course will enable the student to analyze and understand the changing nature of private
philanthropy and its relationship to public policy and nonprofit leadership as well as its
importance to business and society at large. Increased public and public sector demand for
effectiveness, accountability and legitimacy will be reviewed along with the emerging issues and
challenges facing this field. Students will be able to apply knowledge from this class to a variety
of fields, including nonprofit management, fundraising, and grant-making as well as policy
analysis.
Class instruction practice: will include lectures, guest speakers, pre-viewing videos of
materials case study analyses, class discussions, and individual assignments. A presentation &
handout, a mid term and a final paper are required. The course will meet once a week in
seminar format. Full class participation by all students will be expected. Students are expected
to have read the assignment for each class before classes meet.
Course Learning goals: By the end of the course students will be able to:
1. Differentiate between the various traditional, nontraditional and emerging types of
philanthropy and describe the advantages and disadvantages of each.
2. Explain the role that government plays in the field
3. Analyze foundation and individual grant making and predict future behaviors of
philanthropists
4. Demonstrate a working knowledge of how to write a winning proposal and develop
working relationships with a funder
5. Frame their own philanthropic values and practices
6. Identify and discuss current issues and emerging trends in the field
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Reading List Guide
This field has a significant number of books published in the last ten years. However, none of
these are comprehensive textbooks. In addition there are a number of quality guidebooks about
navigating the field which should be part of any grant writer’s library. Therefore the course
reading list is a mixture of texts, articles and how-to guides. The required and optional books are
listed below and available in the University’s bookstore.
Required Reading
Brest, Paul and Hal Harvey Money Well Spent: A Strategic Plan for Smart Philanthropy
Bloomberg Press 2008 ISB # 978-1-57660-312-3
Frumkin, Peter Strategic Giving, The Art and Science of Philanthropy University of
Chicago Press 2006 ISBN 0-226-26626-5
Susan Howlett Getting Funded: The Complete Guide to Writing Grant Proposals , 2011
(Paperback) Continuing Educ. Press, Portland State University ISBN-10: 0984277285
Teitel, Martin. “Thank You for Submitting Your Proposal”: A Foundation Director Reveals
What Happens Next. Medfield, MA. Emerson & Church, 2006 ISBN 1889102253
Optional
Gary, Tracy. Inspired Philanthropy: Creating a Giving Plan and Leaving a Legacy John
Wiley & Sons 2008 ISBN 978-0-787-99652-9
– this is required for those planning to write their own philanthropy plan
Rubenstein, Doris The Good Corporate Citizen, A practical Guide John Wiley & Sons,
Inc, 2004 ISBN 0-471-47565-3
Zunz, Oliver. Philanthropy in America. Princeton University Press 2012
ISBN 978-0-691-12836-8
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