Venture Philanthropy Club

The DU Venture Philanthropy Club was formed in 2008-2009 through a generous gift from Denison alumnus David Kuhns ('68) . Our founding members were Fiona Baker, Lydia Boote, Brian Cox, Will Curto, Caitlin Fondessey, Rachel Mattingly, Steven Profitt, and Xerxes Unvala. Membership is open to the Denison community.

Purpose

Our purpose is to effect positive and meaningful change in the lives of others by increasing the capacity of local organizations. We accomplish this by:

1. Investigating pressing community needs and learning about the organizations that attempt to address them.
2. Training ourselves to make timely, effective, and well-administered philanthropic allocations to build in the capacity of local organizations.
3. Offering stewardship and support through direct service to recipient organizations.

• Past Organizations that VPC has funded [doc]

Request for Proposal

This year, the Venture Philanthropy Club is inviting community organizations to submit proposals around issues of Community Empowerment and Civic Engagement in Licking County. To apply, please complete the Request for Proposal form below by November 1, 2011. Questions about the application process can be directed to either Peter Hurford '14 or the Club's advisor Dr. Fadhel Kaboub.

• Request for Proposal 2011 [pdf]

• In our Requests for Proposals, we invite Licking County organizations to identify the way they would use grant funds to build their capacity to serve the community. Students in the Club evaluate the proposals and conduct careful appraisals of the organizations in order to determine which we believe will optimize the use of the funds we can make available.
• In order to evaluate proposals in an informed way, we draw on college and community resources to learn more about the focal issue we've identified. Our process also requires us to develop and exercise the skills of analysis, advocacy and public presentation.
• Once the recipient has been selected by the Club, we pledge twenty hours of support per club member, to assist the community organization with its project. Working alongside community partners allows us to steward our grant, to build relationships with community leaders, and to learn practical skills as we join the effort to create positive change.

More Information

To learn more about Venture Philanthropy Club and how to join, contact Laura Spinelli.