Philanthropy

The American Heritage Dictionary defines philanthropy as:

1. The effort or inclination to increase the well-being of humankind, as by charitable aid or donations.
2. Love of humankind in general.
3. Something, such as an activity or institution, intended to promote human welfare.

You’ll notice the definition says nothing about wealth or power, and yet few of us would say, I want to be a philanthropist when I grow up. We assume that philanthropy is solely the domain of the rich and famous. But the fact is Martin Luther King, Jr. had it right when he said “Everyone can be great because everyone can serve.” Ohio Wesleyan has been “growing” bumper crops of philanthropists since its founding in 1842. In fact, service is considered one of the core university values…education for leadership and service.

In addition to the numerous choices for substantive service-learning programs, internships, seminars and Colloquium events, it’s hard to graduate without participating in some form of service club, social justice organization, small living unit or event during your four years. In fact, between Derby Days, the Crop Walk, Jell-O Tug-of-War, the Hunger Banquet, Pasta for Life, Bowl for Kids’ Sake, Soups for Shelter, TerpsiCorps, Chi Phi Haunted House, Anchor Splash, and the hundreds of other events that benefit every cause you can think of, you have to work pretty hard to stay uninvolved at OWU. (excerpted from November, 2007 issue of “Opportunity Knocks”)

CROP WALK – Held each year on the first Sunday of October, the Delaware Crop Walk has long been a campus/community event to raise money and awareness for Church World Service. This non-denominational aid organization has been in existence for over 60 years providing global disaster relief, refugee relocation and sustained self-help programs.

BOWL FOR KIDS SAKE – An annual fund-raiser to support the OWU / Willis Big Brothers Big Sisters program. The “all Ohio Wesleyan” event takes place in early spring at the Delaware Lanes bowling establishment. Teams from OWU Service Clubs, Small Living Units, Sororities and Fraternities, Faculty and Staff compete for prizes and trophies while supporting a very worthy cause.

SORORITY AND FRATERNITY LIFE – Every Fraternity and Sorority on campus has annual events to support the work of their respective national and/or local philanthropic organizations or causes. Countless student service hours go into raising thousands of dollars every year for charities such as: Canine Companions, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, St. Jude’s Hospital, Children’s Cancer Research, Delaware Speech & Hearing, Court Appointed Special Advocates, and many more. In addition to philanthropy, many Greek organizations provide service to the community through on-going, long-term relationships with specific agencies, as well as through one-time projects to meet short-term needs. To learn more about Greek Life at Ohio Wesleyan, contact the Assistant Director of Student Involvement for Greek Life, (740) 368-3170.

THE BODO INITIATIVE – The Bodo Initiative (BI) was founded in December 2007 by Lydia Spitalny, (OWU ’09), as a branch of the Education for the Future Foundation. The BI is currently providing the funds for 14 Kenyan students to continue their studies. Lydia started the Bodo Initiative in response to the lack of educational opportunities in Bodo, largely due to poverty. She spent a month in Bodo Village doing research on this topic, and through conversations with parents, students and teachers, decided that something needed to be done to help children access post-primary education. Visit the Bodo Initiative Web site to learn more about this worthy enterprise, and to make a donation.

GHANA STUDENT EDUCATION FUND (GSEF) – Founded by International students, Stan Osei-Bonsu and Nick Oteng, (OWU ’09), the Ghana Student Education Fund was established to provide scholarships for exceptional children who would otherwise not be able to afford an education in Ghana. Typically, the scholarships pay for necessities such as school uniforms and books for the children. The long-term goals for the GSEF are to sponsor more children; to create an infrastructure so that the scholarships will be renewable each year; and to eventually build a GSEF School in Ghana. Sponsors can contact GSEF advisor, Sally Leber at ssleber@owu.edu.

Be an Informed Donor! The following Web sites rate many of the most popular national and international non-profit organizations:

American Institute of Philanthropy – The American Institute of Philanthropy (AIP) is a nationally prominent charity watchdog service whose purpose is to help donors make informed giving decisions. Their Web site provides information about themselves and the charities they rate, and the methods they use to grade charities. Special features focus on top salaries, top-rated groups, and hot topics in America’s most popular causes. Other features include tips for giving wisely; a guide for getting the most for the dollars you donate; tips for online giving; answers to frequently asked questions; useful articles on a variety of topics relating to charitable giving, and more.

Charity Navigator – Founded in 2001, Charity Navigator has become the nation’s largest and most-utilized evaluator of charities. Our team of professional analysts has examined tens of thousands of non-profit financial documents. We’ve used this knowledge to develop an unbiased, objective, numbers-based rating system to assess the financial health of over 5,000 of America’s best-known charities. Specifically, Charity Navigator’s rating system examines two broad areas of a charity’s financial health—how responsibly it functions day to day as well as how well positioned it is to sustain its programs over time. Each charity is then awarded an overall rating, ranging from zero to four stars. The site is easily navigable by charity name, location or type of activity and also features opinion pieces by Charity Navigator experts, donation tips, and top-10 and bottom-10 lists which rank efficient and inefficient organizations in a number of categories.