The Center on Community Philanthropy
The Center on Community Philanthropy is a groundbreaking venture being launched by the Clinton School, focusing its teaching, research and policy-making exclusively on the emerging field of sharing and giving in a community context. Although the Center will join a growing number of university-based programs focused on civic engagement and volunteerism, it is unique in its mission to studying philanthropic concepts and acts emerging from within communities.
Grounded in and committed to building on the strengths, gifts and talents of the American South, the Center will be a place of learning about philanthropy in a way that will be understood and practiced by a new wave of donors, foundation board and staff members, community leaders and policy decision-makers.
Aided by a $300,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Center is currently in its development phase. The Kellogg Foundation grant will aid in the Center’s two-year launch plan at the Clinton School, which will be centered on recruiting scholars and staff; convening an advisory group; designing an evaluation system; and developing partnerships within communities and organizations interested in implementing programs with a community philanthropy focus.
The creation of the Clinton School, the nation’s seventh presidential school, provided the opportunity to establish the Center on Community Philanthropy because of the school’s mission to train leaders for public service, a unique vision apart from traditional schools of public policy and public affairs. The Clinton School, which opened in 2005, is the first program in the nation to offer a Master of Public Service degree.
Clinton School students are already modeling community philanthropy through group projects in low-income, Mississippi River Delta communities in Arkansas’s St. Francis and Phillips Counties. Students are working on economic development, education, environment and youth leadership initiatives.
For more information, contact the Center on Community Philanthropy offices at the Clinton School at 501-683-5217.
The Work of the Center
Foreclosures: Philanthropy, Banks, and Community Explore Options
In February, the Center on Community Philanthropy held a conference on the growing
foreclosure crisis in America with specific focus on Arkansas. The conference brought
together nonprofits, philanthropy professionals and banks to discuss best practices
in tackling the problem. Click here for a packet on the conference. Click here for
a report from the Federal Reserve that was presented at the conference and click
here for a report from the Southern Good Faith Fund.
Click here to view the center’s advisory board
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