Hawken Philanthropy Board

After meeting with dozens of professionals from a variety of high schools, colleges, and philanthropy oriented fields, Ella and I obtained numerous project ideas and initiatives to present to the Hawken Philanthropy Leadership Board next year. Ella and I thought that it was essential that we identified the top projects that would be both successful and feasible for the board to complete. After hours of feedback and deliberation, we selected seven potential projects that the board will focus on. These projects we identified would ensure that the board is accomplishing its two-fold mission (1. Educating the Hawken Student body, 2. Providing internal/external initiatives to allow students to participate in). Ella and I agreed that the most important project that the board should potentially focus on for next year was establishing and creating the Hawken Philanthropy Week. We believe that students need to understand more about Hawken and the greater Cleveland community in order to truly ...

Throughout our Hawken Project, Ella and I have met with a variety of different professionals working in an academic capacity. We have met with numerous high school staff and college faculty throughout the United States to gain their perspective and learn about what they are doing to help their school. After meeting with a variety of different high schools and colleges, we felt that it was important and necessary that we have conversations with established non-profit foundations. Mr. Biggar was gracious enough to connect us with some of his colleagues from two extremely successful Northeast Ohio Foundations. One of the people Ella and I had the opportunity to meet with was Pam Eichenauer from the Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation. The Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation is a private family owned non-profit with a large endowment of over $175 million. The Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation reviews grant proposals from other non-profit organizations and financially supports awarded n...

On Monday, Ella and I had the opportunity to meet and speak with Ms. Noreen Cameron and Ms. Megan Dietzler from Villanova University. This was one of my favorite conversations with college faculty and staff. At the beginning of our meeting, Ella and I explained our project in depth to both faculty members, and then did a couple of fun icebreaker activities. Once we finished these activities, we had a conversation with both Ms. Cameron and Ms. Dietzler about philanthropy and the importance of giving back. We learned about a variety of different initiatives Villanova offers its current students. Some of these initiatives included school wide service days and service-oriented classes. Villanova wants its student body to have a transformative service experience, and Ms. Cameron emphasized the importance of creating relationships with service partners. In order to do so, prolonged consistency and longevity of service are vital towards fulfilling both of these goals. Ms. Dietzler discussed...

On Wednesday, Ella and I had the opportunity to meet with the entire Hawken Alumni Advancement Office. We spoke with Ms. Guzzi and Ms. Boucher about our project in the morning and Ms. Anderson and Mr. Mallett in the afternoon. Ms. Guzzi and Ms. Boucher are in charge of Alumni giving for Hawken and the Alumni Annual Fund. At the beginning of our conversation, Ella and I gave both Ms. Guzzi and Ms. Boucher information about our project and the intent behind it. Both of them were so moved and excited about our project that it brought tears to their eyes. For me, this moment proved that all the hard work we were doing and the reasoning behind it was worth it. After our brief introduction, we immediately began discussing Hawken Philanthropy and the successful endeavors of the alumni office. We learned a lot about Hawken’s work with fundraising events. I have a new founded respect and understanding of the hard work the entire Alumni Staff do for the Hawken Community.   Later in the day...

              When Mr. Biggar, Ella, and I were establishing our project, we discussed the importance of obtaining firsthand information and statistics from students and alumni. Ella and I had a preconceived notion and assumption that there was disconnect between students and their understanding of philanthropy at Hawken. We were not sure why exactly the students did not seem service minded and philanthropy oriented. We believed that education, lack of meaningful experience, and lack of philanthropic culture were all possible reasons for decreased giving from young alumni. We believe that there is a link between current student attitude and future alumni giving. Early in February, Ella and I created survey questions for both students and alumni. For the alumni, we wanted to understand specifically what things they did and did not like about the school. (Especially what they disliked.) If we understood what people did not...

I have really enjoyed my Hawken Project with Ella. We have learned a lot about boards, philanthropy, and alumni relations. A really unique and great opportunity we have had with this project is connecting with a variety of professionals in various capacities. Overall, we have met with two dozen different alumni, high school staff/faculty, college staff/faculty, board members, and professionals in the non-profit field. An interview I found especially meaningful and significant was with Ruth Andrews and Andrea Brechtelsbauer from WRA’s Advancement Office. During our conversation, we discussed a variety of different aspects of philanthropy. We talked about the importance of service opportunities and learned about a unique activity WRA has for its students. In March, the Advancement Office and a group of senior students create and implement a philanthropy week for the entire school. Throughout the philanthropy week, students are educated about WRA’s rich history with philanthropy through...