Experiential Philanthropy in Social Work Education: Assessing Outcomes for Students as Active Learners, Community Members, and Social Activists

ABSTRACT

Experiential philanthropy, or student philanthropy, is a type of service learning that helps students actively learn about community needs and non-profit organizations. This “learning by giving” approach has the potential to enhance various social work competencies identified by social work scholars and associations, such as the Council on Social Work Education. This article examines the outcomes of this approach for social work students, using a multifaceted conceptual framework that recognizes students as active learners, community members, and social activists. It analyzes quantitative and qualitative data from a relatively large number of undergraduate and graduate students (N=219). The results indicate that experiential philanthropy had positive outcomes on various measures for the vast majority of respondents.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Julie Cencula Olberding

Julie Cencula Olberding, MPA, PhD, is Director and Professor, Master of Public Administration and Graduate Certificates in Nonprofit and Emergency Management at Northern Kentucky University. Suk-hee Kim, PhD, COI, MSW, is Associate Professor, School of Social Work, College of Health and Human Services at Northern Kentucky University.

Suk-hee Kim

Julie Cencula Olberding, MPA, PhD, is Director and Professor, Master of Public Administration and Graduate Certificates in Nonprofit and Emergency Management at Northern Kentucky University. Suk-hee Kim, PhD, COI, MSW, is Associate Professor, School of Social Work, College of Health and Human Services at Northern Kentucky University.