Ohio State’s philanthropy week will be held Feb. 27 to March 3. Credit: Courtesy of Elizabeth Ehren
Students seeking to learn more about ways to give back can attend Ohio State’s Philanthropy Week.
Philanthropy Week is aimed toward students with any level of interest in philanthropy. This year’s theme focuses on possible careers and futures within philanthropy — an act or gift done or made for others. Events hosted by the Office of Student Life — such as Careers in Philanthropy, Basics of Fundraising and Ethics in Philanthropy — will occur from Feb. 27 to March 3 virtually on Zoom as well as at a variety of locations on campus, according to the week’s website.
Elizabeth Ehren, a graduate teaching associate who works for the Office of Student Life in student philanthropy, organized this year’s events.
“I really just wanted to again showcase the range of ways that we can see philanthropy happening on our campus and happening in the Columbus community,” Ehren said.
Ehren said many students typically do not know what philanthropy means and what it entails. She said she hopes students who attend events can learn about more ways to become involved in philanthropy.
“I’m just really hoping that folks, kind of see that there are so many different ways to give back, and that maybe also some of what they thought about philanthropy or giving back is challenged a little bit,” Ehren said.
Jessie Hartman, president of the Class Gift Council and fourth-year in psychology, organized one of the events called “Gratitude for Graduates” for this year’s Philanthropy Week. The event includes writing a gratitude note for a graduating senior and learning more about the class gift from 5-7 p.m. Tuesday at the Suzanne M. Scharer Room at the Ohio Union.
“We’ll have some giveaways and some food and writing thank you notes, either to seniors or to any staff members or friends or faculty who have kind of impacted seniors’ experience at Ohio State’s,” Hartman said. “Just trying to thank the people and have seniors and other students reflect on their experience.”
The week will also feature “Careers in Foundation Work: A Panel Discussion” featuring professional speaking on their work in both public and private foundations 7-8 p.m Monday. “Basics of Fundraising” will teach participants the current state of fundraising in the U.S. and tricks to raise money and awareness from 8-9 p.m. March 2, according to the week’s website.
Elissa Rodriguez, assistant director of student philanthropy, said this week allows students to go to as many or as few events they would like and still benefit from it.
“The intent of a week like this is you could go, just taking, maybe an hour out of your week, if you’re just going to go to one session, or a couple of hours if you have the time and interests you more,” Rodriguez said. “But you could really be tapped into something that’s new that you didn’t think was even an option for you career wise, or an interest that you might not have known even existed.”
Rodriguez said students who are interested in networking with a speaker can benefit from Philanthropy Week.
“Maybe even if philanthropy and fundraising isn’t a career path that you’re pursuing, you might just make a really cool connection with a business leader who’s a part of our community,” Rodriguez said. “I think there’s a lot of great networking opportunities for students who really dive in and get involved.”
Ehern said students also have the opportunity to earn an Emerging Leader in Philanthropy Silver Certification or an Emerging Leader in Philanthropy Gold Certification based on how many sessions they attended, which will be helpful for those looking for future jobs.
“For the silver, they can attend two or more sessions, and for the gold, four or more sessions,” Ehren said. “Students don’t need to fill out an extra form or anything to apply for it.”
Rodriguez said she participated in philanthropy as a student through Greek Life and Buckeyethon.
“It’s such an obvious way to contribute meaningfully to our Ohio State community and specifically, it’s a very tangible way to contribute to the community,” Rodriguez said. “I think in the world that we live in, there’s a lot of really intangible problems. We talk about trying to solve and using philanthropy as a tool for advocacy and change. I think it can be really powerful when it’s done well.”
