Binghamton University student-philanthropy program awards more than $15K to nonprofits

VESTAL, N.Y. — Four nonprofit organizations, including one in Madison County, will benefit from more than $15,000 in funding that the Binghamton University Philanthropy Incubator program is awarding.

The program involves undergraduate and graduate students within Binghamton University’s College of Community and Public Affairs and in other areas of the school. They learn about the role philanthropy plays in addressing community needs, and how to “effectively” manage and lead nonprofit organizations.

The students raise the grant funds annually through a graduate student-led fundraiser, “Party with a Purpose,” along with support from the Boston, Massachusetts–based Learning by Giving Foundation.

The students make their giving decisions as part of coursework in one undergraduate and two graduate courses, the schools said.

The donations

Undergraduate students in a course called “Philanthropy and Civil Society” are donating $10,000 to two organizations. The Mental Health Association of the Southern Tier (MHAST) will use $7,500 to support the Compeer program, which provides mentors to young people living with mental illness.

In addition, YWCA of Binghamton will use $2,500 as an operating grant to provide general support for the organization.

Graduate students in a course called “Issues in Nonprofit Administration” will award $5,000 to Rise, a local domestic violence prevention organization. Rise will use the funding for general support and to assist the organization with upgrades to its shelter. The graduate students raised the $5,000 through this year’s “Party with a Purpose,” to fund the award, their “largest grant to date.”

In addition, graduate students studying international giving announced a $500 Global Giving Award for the Brackett Refugee Education Fund (BREF), which is based in Hamilton in Madison County. The fund covers school costs for Burmese refugee families living in India, Bangladesh and Thailand, as well as internally displaced people in Myanmar.

Since its inception in 2009, the Philanthropy Incubator program has awarded more than $150,000 to local organizations, Binghamton University said.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com