Stanford University lecturer Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen teaches students at Stanford about how to master philanthropy. The author of the book, Giving 2.0, has just released all her teaching notes and syllabi, along with philanthropy library. The idea is simple – by open sourcing her materials, she hopes to inspire more colleges to incorporate courses on philanthropy in their curriculum.
I first heard Laura speak when she launched her book, Giving 2.0, at Stanford two years ago. Her ideas resonated and connected really well with the a lot of my work. At the time, I was working on “Measuring the Networked Nonprofit,” with co-author KD Paine. After the book launch, I asked her if she would consider writing the foreword to our book and she said yes!
In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, Laura shared why she is releasing the curriculum and the basic frameworks. The goals for the Giving 2.0 ProjectU are:
- To provide any college or university educator with everything they need to teach a strategic philanthropy course.
- To pave the way for philanthropy to become a required course for college students and to make it as easy as possible for colleges and universities to integrate it into their curricula.
- To provide any giver—donating any amount of time, money, experience, skills or networks—with free access to research, learning and experience I’ve developed over the last two decades as a strategic philanthropist.
The materials she has released include case studies, course outlines, resources, assignments for four courses:
1) Strategic Philanthropy: This course, taught at the Stanford GSB, is based on applying core business practices to social change.
2) Philanthropy and Social Innovation: This course is designed to educate young, aspiring social entrepreneurs in how to create new models, programs and organizations.
3) Giving 2.0: Philanthropy by Design: This course teaches students to use design thinking principles to create their own social impact plans and engage in real-world grantmaking (sponsored in the past by the Arrillaga Foundation and now by the Learning by Giving Foundation).
4) Disruption for Good: Philanthropy, Technology and Innovation: This course empowers students to use technology to solve social problems.
As a trainer who designs and delivers trainings on topics related to these courses, releasing these materials to all to use and adapt is a gift. Many times as a trainer, I get too much into my own head, and it is difficult to get inspired by other educators/trainers because many are proprietary about their techniques and content. But Laura is sharing her research, resources, and instructional plans. This is a goldmine!
Carve out some time and explore the many useful resources and materials.
