Can Student Philanthropy Help to Address the Current Nonprofit Identity Crisis? A Case Study of a Multiyear, Multidisciplinary Project at Northern Kentucky University

Abstract

Since the systematic study of public administration began, many different approaches have been taken to make future public administrators aware of the contexts of public agencies and to prepare them with the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to succeed in such organizations. One of the most recent innovations is student philanthropy, an experiential learning process through which students learn about nonprofit organizations and select one or more to which they award funding. Using survey data from 2000 to 2005, this paper assesses the short-term and long-term effects of Northern Kentucky University’s student philanthropy project and compares the experiences of students enrolled in the public administration discipline versus other disciplines such as art, sociology, education, nursing, and business.

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Notes on contributors

Shamima Ahmed

Shamima Ahmed is an associate professor of political science and the director of the MPA program at Northern Kentucky University. Her areas of interest include human resource management and nonprofit organizations. She has published in State & Local Government, International Journal of Public Administration, Journal of Development Management, Public Personnel Management, and Asian Thought & Society. She received her Ph.D. in public administration and public policy from Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University.

Julie Olberding

Julie Olberding is an assistant professor in the MPA program and Nonprofit Management certificate program at Northern Kentucky University. She teaches courses in organizational behavior and theory, resource acquisition and management, volunteer management, strategic planning, and program evaluation. In addition to student philanthropy, her research has focused on regional collaboration and partnerships among local governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations. It has been published in Public Administration Review and Economic Development Quarterly. Prior to her work at Northern Kentucky, Olberding served as a program manager at the Council of State Governments in Lexington, Kentucky, and as executive director of Citizens for Civic Renewal, a regional civic organization in Cincinnati, Ohio. Olberding earned her Ph.D. from the Martin School of Public Policy and Administration at the University of Kentucky.