82 Counseling and Values ■ January 2007 ■ Volume 51
Research and Theory
© 2007 by the American Counseling Association. All rights reserved.
Philanthropy: A Method for Teaching Counselors to Be Social Advocates in the Age of Modern Behavioral Health Care
William O’Connell and Margery Shupe
Graduate counseling programs are proficient in training direct service provid-ers but less able to teach the business of sustaining a community agency’s services. Modern philanthropy emphasizes social advocacy by investing in change that benefits the local community and respects the diverse cultural experiences of potential clients and stakeholders. Teaching philanthropy in an introductory graduate counseling course provides one avenue to prepare future counselors to both understand the importance of and be actively involved in sustaining a community counseling agency’s mission.
Counselorshelp fulfill a community counselingagencymissionbyparticipatinginassessment,therapy,documentation,treatmentplan-ning,andreferrals(Nystul,2006).Theseareskillsthataretaughtin
counseloreducationprograms.However,thecounselingliteratureindicatesthatcounselingstudentsneedmore-than-effectivecounselingskillstoworkin the modern behavioral health care environment (Favier, Eisengart, &Colanna,2000;Myer,2001;Nystul,2006).Today’scounselingstudentsarechallenged to participate in advocacy activities and understand the nutsandboltsofconductingthebusinessofcounseling(Favieretal.,2000;Lee,1998;Lewis,Lewis,Daniels,&D’Andrea,2003).Inotherwords,inadditionto helping agencies fulfill their mission, counselors must understand theimportanceofsustainingthatmissioninthecommunity.
Inaprofessionalorientationcourseforgraduatecommunitycounselingstudents,wehaveusedanecologicalmodelofthecounselor–clientrelationshiptoteachourstudentsaboutthemultiplesystemsofinfluencesurroundingthatrelationship(O’Connell&Mabry,2004).Whenpresentingthemodeltostudents,wediscusswiththemthefollowingsystemlevelssurroundingtheclient–counselorrelationship:(a)publicopinion,(b)philanthropicgroupsandfundingsources,(c)privateandpublicregulatoryagencies,(d)compli-ancestandards,(e)agencyorganizationandmission,(f)counselingservices,and(g)thereciprocalrelationshipbetweenallthesesystemlevels.Wehaveobservedatheory–practicegapinthegraduatecounselingprogram:toomuch
William O’Connell and Margery Shupe, Department of School and Community Counseling, Xavier Univer-sity. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to William O’Connell, Graduate Counseling, Xavier University, 3800 Victory Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45207 (e-mail: [email protected]).
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theorybeingtaughtinaclassroomandtoolittlereal-worldexperiencestohelpstudentsunderstandhowcommunitycounselingagenciesarefundedandhowcounselorsfunctionassocialadvocatestopromotepublicsupportforcounselingagencyactivities.Fortuitously,ananswertothetheory–practicegaparrivedintheformofachallengebyalocalphilanthropistthatrequiredarethinkingofhowwetaughttheprofessionalorientationcourse.
The Challenge
OuruniversityhasbeendescribedasacommunityofinquirygroundedintheCatholicJesuittraditionanddedicatedtoengagingandformingstudentsintel-lectually,morally,andspiritually,withrigorandcompassion,towardlivesofsolidarity,service,andsuccess(Graham,2002).AlocalphilanthropistnamedRogerGreinapproachedtheuniversitypresident4yearsagoandexpressedhisdesiretofundaprojectthatwouldincorporatephilanthropicalideasacrosstheentirecurriculum.Rogerbelievedthatteachingstudentstheprocessofphilan-thropywouldengagetheminadifferentkindofservicethatwouldstimulatepersonalreflectionanddialogueregardingcivicresponsibility.Hisbeliefwasrootedindecadesofpersonalchallenges,failures,andsuccessesthathadshapedadeep,spirituallife.AbriefsketchofRoger’slifestorymayhelptoilluminatethegoalofthephilanthropyprojectattheuniversity(Grein,2006).
In1937,Rogerwasadoptedfromanorphanageattheageof6months.Atthetimeofhisadoption,hisadoptiveparentswereunawareofhisphysicaldisabilities that manifested in a prognosis by physicians that Roger mayneverwalkortalk.Friendsandfamilyencouragedtheadoptiveparentstoreturnthechildand“getanewone.”Roger’snewmothernotonlykepthimbutalsopatientlytrainedhimtowalk,athomeandinpublic,nomatterhowawkwardorunusualheappearedwhiledoingso.ShealsopersuadedRogertocourageouslyliveinthemainstreamduringanerawhenpersonswithdisabilitiestypicallylivedinvisiblelives.Inaddition,Rogertreasuredthememoryofabaseballcoachwhoinvitedhimtobethewaterboyfortheteamafterhefailedthetryouts.Rogerappreciatedthatthecoachexpectedhimtoworkhardandearnhisplaceontheteam.ThekindmannerwithwhichthecoachreachedouttoRogeralwaysimpressedhim.
DoctorshadalsoexpectedthatRogerwouldhavementalchallengesthatwouldpreventhimfromachievinganeducationinmainstreamschools.Usingthesamedoggedpersistencewithwhichhelearnedtowalk,Rogergradu-atedfromhighschoolandlaterearnedacollegedegree.Hewasfiredfromhisfirstaccountingjobfornot“fittingin.”Ratherthengivingup,hestartedhisownaccountingbusiness.Roger’sroleasaphilanthropistemergedfromhisdeepgratitudeforthepeopleinhislife,includinghismother,coaches,teachers,andfirstcustomers,whoencouragedandchallengedhimtosucceed.Roger’sinterestininfusingtheconceptofphilanthropyacrossthecurriculumatXavierwasbornfromafaithinGod’sabundance,aloveforeducation,andahumbledesiretoplanttheseedofsocialactioninadultstudents.
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Rogerenvisionsasocietywhereconcernedcitizens,whethertheyarecoun-selorsoraccountants,encourageothers,especiallythosewithsocioeconomicdisadvantages, to succeed and achieve their dreams. Roger’s challenge touniversityfacultywastofindawaytointroducetheconceptofphilanthropyinto thecurriculumandprovidestudentswithanexperience thathad thepotentialtoresultinsocialchange.Inthisarticle,wedescribetheconceptofphilanthropy,therelationshipbetweenphilanthropyandsocialaction,andthestrategiesweusedtodesignaprofessionalorientationcoursethatincludesaphilanthropicexperience.
Philanthropy
PhilanthropyhasbeendefinedinavarietyofwaysbymanydifferentgroupsandorganizationsthroughoutAmericanandWesternEuropeanhistory.InthetimeofCharlesDickens,philanthropywasdefinedsimplyascharityorgivingtothelessfortunate,thesick,andthedowntroddentoeasetheirsuf-fering(Nussbaum,2002).Givingintheformofcharitywas,forsomepeopleofmeans,avehicletoassuagetheirguilt.DuringtheriseoftheAmericanIndustrialAge,philanthropywasataskofthewealthytodistributesomeoftheirgoodstothosewhodidnothaveasmuch.Thebeliefamongmanyaristocratswasthatpeopleofwealthwouldgivewhatwasneededtothepoor.Aproblemwiththisbeliefwasthatmanyaristocratshadnoideawhatthepoorneeded;nordidthewealthypossessameansforevaluatingthebenefitsoftheircharitablegiving(Bremmer,1998).
Modernphilanthropyisconnectedtocitizenshipaimedatstimulatingself-improvementthrougheducation,culture,orresearch(Bremmer,1998;Kymlicka&Wayne,1994;Nussbaum,2002).Modernphilanthropistsdescribethemselvesasinvestorsratherthancharitabledonors.Theywanttoseetheirinvestmenttakerootandgrow.Modernphilanthropistsdonotdropthemoneybagandrun.Theycollaboratewithpotentialrecipientsandstakeholderstoassessneed,exploresolutionstoproblems,andmakedecisionstogivewiththeexpectationthatasocialprogramwillnotonlybeaccountablebutwillalsoalleviatesuf-feringandimprovethehumanconditionforagenerationormore.Thisnotionof investmentwiththegoalofself-empowerment iscloselyconnectedtothecounselingliterature’sdescriptionoftheconceptsofsocialadvocacyandsocialaction(Collisonetal.,1998;Lee,1998;Toporek,1999).
Philanthropy isalsopartof thebusinessofcounseling.Manycommunityagenciesoperateasnonprofits, relyingmoreonexternal funding thanclientcopaymentsforservices.Agenciesseekoutalternatefundingsourcesthroughgovernmentresources,privategrants,anddonations(Perrin,2003).Grantsfromthepublicandprivatesectorlaythefoundationfortheworkofthousandsofcounseling-relatedagenciesthroughouttheUnitedStates.Ifcounselorsarriveintheworkplacepreparedtocounsel,butignorantofhowcounselingagencieslocateandcompeteforfundingsources,thenagapbetweentheoryandpracticehasoccurred,andeducatorshaveneglectedtoteachinformationnecessaryforcommunityagencies’futurefunctioning.
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Integration of Modern Philanthropy With the Call for Social Action
Recentpublicationsinthefieldofcounseloreducationhavecalledforcounselorstobecomeagentsforsocialchange(Kiselica&Robinson,2001;Lee,1998;Lewisetal.,2003).Itiscriticalforstudentstobeagentsinbringingaboutbothindividualandsystemicchange.Ifourgraduatesaretobecomechangeagentsinvolvedinsocialactionandsocialjustice,theywillneedcurricularandfield-basedexperiencesthatenablethemtounderstandthedynamicsofsocialandculturalchangethroughexposuretotheresearch-basedscholarshiponhowinnovationsandnewideasarediffusedthroughsocialsystems(Lewisetal.,2003).Modernphilanthropistscollaboratewithpotentialrecipientstoexamineindividualorgroupneedratherthanneedasassessedfromtheperspectiveofthedonoralone.
Philanthropyeducationmayfulfillagoalofbroadeningtheworldviewofcoun-selingstudentstoencompassanunderstandingofculturesandpeopleswhoaredifferentfromthemselves(Arthur&Achenbach,2002).Thisrequiresshiftingthefocalpointfromtargetingjustoneindividualtoemphasizingthecontextual,envi-ronmental,anduniquecharacteristicsofvariouscultures(Gerstein&Moeschberger,2003).Individualneedsshouldnotbeignored;instead,theyshouldbeunderstoodwithinthebroadercontextofhowaculturemightoperateoutofsystemicthinking.Toencourageandbuildanunderstandingofphilanthropymeanscounselingstudentsmustbetaughttoconceptualizethefeaturesoftheentirecommunityagencyhelp-ingsystem.Learningtoenvisionthesystemwillshapehowcounselorsapproachsituationsandimplementsolutionsforchange(Yank&Spradlin,1994).GersteinandMoeschbergerpromotedtheideaofpreparingcounselorstobesocialarchitectswhocanmeetthesystemicneedsoftargetedcultures.Roger’schallengetoXavierUniversityencompassedtheseelementsandfurtherbridgedthetheory–practicegapoftenfoundinteachingcompetenceinsocialandculturaldiversity.
Professional Orientation Course Model
MakinggoodonhischallengetoXavierUniversity,philanthropistRogerGreincom-mitted$4,000incashawardstoschools,agencies,orothercommunityorganizationsonthebasisofdecisionsmadebythegraduatestudentswhowereparticipatinginthephilanthropyphaseofthefirstrevisedorientationcourse.Inotherwords,thestudentsbecamethephilanthropists,distributingRoger’sdonatedfundsastheysawfit.Thefirstrevisedorientationclasswasintroducedinthefallof2003.
Forconsultationoncoursedevelopment,wesoughtassistancefromthelocalHealthFoundation,whichallocates$20millionperyearingrantmoniestomentalhealthagencies,drugandalcoholrehabilitationfacilities,andschools(seehttp://www.healthfoundation.org/about.htmlformoreinformation).Alllargegrantfoundationsuserepresentativeswhofacilitatecommunicationbetweenthefoundationboardandentitiesseekingfunding.Therepresenta-tivefromthegrantfoundationconsultedwithusindevelopingthestepsnecessarytohelpthestudentsmakephilanthropicdecisionsattheendofthecourse.Wedevelopedfourstepsforteachingphilanthropywithinour
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professionalorientationcourseincounseloreducation:(a)valuesexploration,(b)needsassessmentofalocalcommunitycounselingagency,(c)grantproposalwriting,and(d)philanthropicdecisionmaking.ThestepscorrespondtoLee’s(1998)stagesofcounselorself-awarenessforimprovingclientsandsociety.
Participants
A diverse group of 12 individuals attended the newly revised orientationclass:6WhiteEuropean,2WhiteAppalachian,and4AfricanAmericanstu-dents.Ofthesestudents,10werewomen,2weremen,and1wasphysicallydisabled.Theagerangewas25–55.Twostudentsreportedthattheygrewupinimpoverishedfamilies.
Values Exploration
Valuesexplorationwasintroducedtodemonstratethediversityofperspectivesamongstudentsanddevelopagroupmission(Arthur&Achenbach,2002).Inaddition,weanticipatedthatwhileconductinganeedsassessment,thestudentswouldconnectwithpersonswhomighthavedifferingvaluesandprioritiesthatwerebasedonracial,ethnic,gender,socioeconomic,andability/disabilityissues.Discussionofpersonal,group,andsocietalvalueswasanongoingactivityintheclassandwasaimedatimprovingstudents’abilitytodevelophumanitarianvaluesandsocialinvolvement(Henricksen&Trusty,2005).
Webeganthetaskofexploringcollectivegroupvaluesearlyinthesemesterandrefineditovertime.First,studentssharedtheirideasaboutwhattheyvaluedinthecommunityregardingserving,advocating,orapplyingsocialjusticetovariousissuesandclientpopulations.Someofthetopicsdiscussedwereworkingforracialjusticebyadvocatingforparityinthejusticesystem,promotingrehabilitationoverincarcerationfordrugabuse,caringforthedisabled,andpromotingprogramsforself-empowerment.Thestudentsalsoexploredwhichvaluesprovidedacollectiveprioritythatcouldbesustainedthroughthephilanthropyphaseoftheclass.
Bydiscussingvaluesrelatedtocounselorservice,studentsconstructedamis-sionstatementtoguidetheproject.Thismissionstatementwasthenusedasareferencepointinthefinalphilanthropyphaseoftheprocessasstudentsdecidedhowtoawardgrantmoniestooneormoreofthepossibleagencies.Thestudentsusedthemissionstatementtohelpthemunderstandandidentifyhowthevaluestheywerepromotingwerecarriedoutintothecommunitybyvariousagenciesandorganizations.Studentsreevaluatedtheirvaluesandmissionthroughoutthecourse.Asampleofideascontributingtothemissionstatementdevelopedbytheclassincluded(a)facilitatingthegrowthandpromotingthedevelopmentandnurturingofyouthinsociety,(b)promotingsafeandhealthyenvironmentsforpeoplewithmentaldisabilities,and (c)promotingagenciesorprogramsthatencourageadvocacyandthereintegrationintosocietyofunderservedanddisconnectedindividualsorgroups.
Needs Assessment of a Local Community Counseling Agency
Theneedsassessmenttaskprovidedtheimpetusforstudentstobecomemeaningfullyengagedwithanagencythatperformsvaluableservicesforthelocalcommunity.
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Agencieswerecontactedbytheinstructorspriortostudentcontacttoensurethatapotentialsupervisorunderstoodthegoalsofthephilanthropyphaseoftheclass(seeAppendixA).Observationtimehelpedthestudentstoidentifytheneedstheyobservedattheirchosensiteandtobegintounderstandthestructureofnonprofitsandagencies.Explorationofagencystructureandfundingaidedstudentsinlearningtheelementsthatareneededingrantproposals.Inparticular,studentscouldseetheconnectionbetweenthevaluesagencieswereupholdingandhoweffectivelyagenciesweredeliveringservicestotheirparticularclientpopulation.
Inclass,studentscompiledalistofquestionstoaskwheninterviewingthedirectororstaffoftheagency.Whileattheirchosenagencies,thestudentscouldengagethedirectororstaffastheygatheredinformationtowritetheirproposals.Forexample,studentsinquiredabouttheobjectivesormissionoftheagency,howtheagencyisfunded,thevaluestheagencysustainsorpromotesthroughitsservices,howwelltheneedsofclientsarebeingmet,andthemethodsforevaluatingservicedelivery.
Students learnedmanyvaluable lessonswhileat theirchosensites;but inparticular,theygainedanewunderstatingofhowagenciesarestructured.Learn-ingaboutagencysystemscanbeadryexperienceforstudentsinthe“formal”classroom;however,inthefield,studentsweremuchmoreengagedintheprocessofunderstandingtheorganizationalhistoryandstructureoftheagency;howafundingsourceoperatesandgovernsanagency;anagency’s taxstructure,fund-raisingabilityandsources,personnelevaluation,andeffectivenessinthecommunity(asrelatedtothetargetpopulation);andtheroleofthecommunityinthenonprofitsector.Inthisway,theclasshelpedbridgethepreviouslymen-tionedtheory–practicegap.Theselessonswerethentranslatedintothefollowingreflectionquestions:“WhathaveIlearnedaboutthisagency?”and“Now,whatcanIdowiththisinformationtowriteaproposalandgarnerfunding?”
Grant Proposal Writing
Thestudentsintheorientationtocommunitycounselingclasshadneverbeenexposedtograntproposalwriting,norweretheyfamiliarwithhowthisprocessisundertakenandunfolds.Toassiststudentswiththiselementofthecourse,wesoughtoutaprofessionalgrantproposalwriterandevaluatorwhowasemployedbyalargefoundationinthearea.Thisprofessionalwaswellequippedtoentertheclassandleadstudentsthroughanexplanationofthegrant-writingprocess.Thiswashighlybeneficialforthestudentsbecausetheycouldnowseethechallengesmanyagenciesfacewhentheyattempttoobtainmoniesfromfundingsources.Inparticular,manyagenciesdonothaveenoughstafftohandlegrantwriting,norcantheysparetheircurrentstafftoworkonagrant-writingprojectif,perchance,theyweretoloseamajorsourceoffunding.Thisisthegrittyrealityofourworld,becausemanystatesarecuttingfundsformentalhealthservices(Lloyd,2000).
Studentslearnedtoengageincommunityassessment,meaningthattheyac-tivelyidentifiedthetargetareastheirchosenorganizationswereaddressingfortheirconstituentsorclients.Studentslearnedthattheyneededtoformallyassessifthesetargetareaswerebeingaddressedinthedeliveryofservicetotheagency’sclients.Thisassessingoftheagencieswasimplementedthroughthestudents’questioninganagency’sdirectorandstaff.Studentsalsoengagedindocumentingthecurrent
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trendsonbestpracticeswithvariouspopulationsandtreatmentmodalities.Thisinformationwas incorporatedintothegrantproposal,whichexaminedmanyquestions,includingtheidentityoftheapplicant(organizationalstructure,financialstructure,qualificationsofthepersonnel),theabilityoftheapplicanttomeetthepromisesmadeintheproposal,theconsistencybetweenthestudents’goalsandthegoalsoftheproposal,theimpacttheproposedinvestmentwillhaveontheagency’soperationandgoals,andthestudents’desiredoutcome.
Philanthropic Decision Making
Determiningwhichgrantproposalswouldhavethegreatestimpactandwhichproposalswouldhavetoberejectedwasthemostdifficultactivityforthestudentsprimarilybecausethe12proposalssubmittedwerequiteprofessionalinbothap-pearanceandcontent.Examplesofgrantproposaltitlesincludedthefollowing:
• IncreasingHIVawarenessthroughtheuseofOraquickHIVtestingkits• Promotinghealthyrelationshipswithprimarypreventionservicesin
anurbanelementaryschool• IncreasingdiabetespreventioneducationservicesamongurbanAfrican
Americansthroughcollaborationwithlocalhealthserviceagencies
Despiteearlypreparation,whichconsistedofsortingthroughtheircollectivevaluesandwritingamissionstatement,studentswerestillchallengedwhentheyhadtoactuallydecideonwhichagencywouldreceivefunding.Withthehelpofourfoundationconsultant,thisaspectofthecoursewashandledinasystematicmanner.Studentsdevelopedaprioritylistonthebasisofanevaluationgridthatwasprovidedbytheinstructors(seeAppendixB).
Eachstudentusedtheevaluationgridforallproposals.Followingeachstudent’soralpresentationofagrantproposal,peerswouldevaluate10elementsoftheproposalbytakingnotes,askingquestionsforclarification,andthenrankingtheproposalonascalefrom1to3(1wasthehighestranking).Thisprocessprovidedasimplequantitativemeasurefortheclasstouseasaguideasitdevelopedapri-oritylist.Eventually,theproposalswererankedonascaleofimportance(1=the most important to fundto14=the least important to fund)inrelationtothevaluesandmissionarticulatedbytheclass.Thisevaluationprocessledtorichdiscussionandtheapplicationoftheideaswehadbeendiscussingallsemester.
Aftercollectivelyrankingtheproposals,thestudentsthenhadtodecidehowmuchandtowhomthegrantswouldbeawarded.Thefirstissuetoaddresswaswhethertheywantedtoawardonelargeamounttoasingleagencyorwhetherthemoneyshouldbedividedupintosmallergrantstoseveralagencies.Intheend,thestudentsdecidedtoawardequivalentgrantstofourcommunityagencies.Thisdecisionwasbasedoneachagency’sproposalanditsalignmentwiththeclass’smissionstatementandvalues.
Benefits and Limitations
The philanthropy phase of the class proved to be both rewarding andchallenging for the students and for the professors providing instruc-
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tionforthecourse.Theendeavorwasrichwithscholarlyacademicworkandstimulatedthedevelopmentofstudents’criticalthinkingskills.Thefeedbackreceivedfromthestudentswasverypositiveinnatureandfullofgratitudeforhavingexposedthemtothenatureofcivicinvolvementandphilanthropy.Inthecourseevaluations,manystudentsreportedthattheywould“foreverbechanged”bytheexperienceandthattheywoulddefinitelyinvolvethemselvesinthecommunitytocivicallypromotesocialjusticeinthefuture.
Thecivicinvolvementpromotedbytheclasswasreciprocallybeneficialforthestudentsandthecommunity,anditencouragedstudentstobroadentheirself-knowledgeinthefollowingareas:personalvalues,ethics,civicleadership,andcareerdecisionsrelatingtotheirfuturesascounselingprofessionalsinacommunityagencysetting.Thebenefitsofthisprojectwerefar-reachinginthatthestudentswereexposedtotheirpotentialworksettingsinagenciesmuchearlierthanusuallyoccursinatraditionalcounselingprogram.
Theclassroomwasanexcitingplacetobeontheeveningsthatthestudentsmetinthattherewasoftenlivelydiscussionanddebate,bringingtolifetheveryissuesthesefuturecounselorswouldfaceonbehalfoftheirclientswhilework-ingatagencies.Groupdiscussionalsobroadenedanddeepenedthestudents’knowledgeofhowtobeasocialadvocateforunderservedpopulations,andmoreimportant,whatitmeanstobeacitizenintheirowncommunity.
Uponlearningofthereciprocalbenefitofsponsoringastudentandbe-comingacandidateforgrantmoney,agencyadministratorsquicklybecameinterestedinparticipatinginfutureclassprojects.Theagenciesinvolvedbenefitfromparticipationinthreeways:(a)Theneedsassessmentactiv-ityprovidedtheopportunity foranagency toexaminehowwell itwasfulfilling itsmission in thecommunity, (b)eachagencyreceivedadraftof a formal grant proposal for future use, if necessary, and (c) agenciesparticipatinginthisprojectbecamecandidatestoreceiveanin-kindgrantfromalocalphilanthropist.
Onelimitationofusingthismodelforteachingphilanthropyisthetimeittakesfortheprofessortocontactandmakearrangementswiththeagenciesandsitesthatwillparticipate intheneedsassessmentproject.Additionaltime was also required to follow up with site supervisors to ensure thateverythingwasgoingwellforboththestudentandtheagency,aswellastoclearupanyconfusionthatmighthaveexistedabouthowthestudent’stimeshouldbespentatthesite.Theprofessorsarrangingforthisexperi-ence shouldunderstand that theymightnothave total controloverhowastudent’s timeisspent;but, inourexperience, thesiteswereextremelyaccommodating and helpful to our students. Future ideas include usingthiscourseandthegrantwritingcomponenttosegueintothecurriculum’sresearchanddesigncourse,whichisrequiredformaster’s-levelstudents.Thegrantwritingphaseoftheclasswas,byfar,themostchallengingforthestudents;however,theirtechnicalandanalyticalwritingskillsweregreatlyenhancedbytheexperience,whichprovidedapowerfulentréeintothenextlevelofformalresearchwriting.
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Conclusion
Counselor-as-philanthropistisaninnovativetwistoncounselor-as-social-advocate.Counselor-as-philanthropistsupportstheconceptthatthecounselorisinterestedinmorethanjustthenatureoftheimmediatecounselingrelationship,goingastepfurtherbyprovidingameanstoimprovesomeprobleminthecommu-nity(Griffen,1995;Kiselica&Robinson,2001;Lee,1998;Lewisetal.,2003).Theactofcounselingfulfillstheimmediatemissionofacounselingagency.Counselor-as-philanthropist ensures that the mission will be sustained.Counselor-as-philanthropistisameansoffulfillingthecallforsocialactionandadvocacy.Philanthropyisatangiblewaytomakeadifferenceandpar-ticipateinaprojectaimedatself-improvement,communityresponsibility,andmeaningfulcivicengagement.Counselorscannolonger“leaveituptotheadministrators.”ThatkindofattitudeisakintoAmericancitizensassum-ingthatCongressknowswhatitisdoingandisalwaysworkinginthebestinterestofitsconstituents.Aninformedconstituencyputspressureonleaderstolead.Aninformedcounselorputspressureonadministratorstoactinthebestinterestoftheagencyandtheclients.Professionalcounselors-in-trainingneedtobemoreawareoftheirroleinsociety,notonlyasacounselorbutalsoasahumanbeing.Counselorsare,indeed,perchedinanidealpositiontoleadothersandtopromotecommunitywelfarethroughcivicinvolvementandphilanthropicendeavor.
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Appendix A
Graduate Counseling program
DateDear______________________,
I am writing on behalf of _______________________, a graduate counseling student at________University.IwanttothankyouforyourinterestintheGraduateCounselingProgramNeedsAssessment/GrantWritingactivity.Thepurposeofthisletteristobrieflyexplaintheneedsassessmentandgrantwritingobjectives. Theneedsassessmentactivityisdesignedasapre-practicumexperiencetoexposestudentstoahumanserviceagencythatfillsanimportantneedinthecommunity.Theadvantageoftheneedsassessmentactivityisthatthehostsitemaydifferfromtraditionalcounselinginternshipsites in that thesitemaybeareferralsourceorco-providerofservice.Theobjectivesof theneedsassessmentcomponentareto(1)becomefamiliarwiththemissionoftheorganization,sourcesoffundingandcommitmentinthecommunity,(2)becomefamiliarwiththevaryingfunc-tionsofagencystaffandtheroleofdirectserviceproviders,and(3)beinvolvedinsomeaspectofagencyfunctioning,e.g.,attendastaffmeeting,observeagroup,dinewithresidents,etc.Itisidealforthestudenttonegotiatesomelevelofservicewiththeon-sitesupervisorthathelpsthestudentgainanunderstandingofagencymission.Theneedsassessmentactivityoughttooccurforapproximately2hoursaweekoverasixweekperiod. Grantwritingisdesignedtohelpthestudentgainacriticalskillinhelpingagenciescontinuetheirmissioninthecommunity.Agenerousdonorhasgiventhegraduatestudentsthechargeofdecidinghowtoallocateamonetaryphilanthropicgift.Thereforethestudentisaskedto(1)interviewanagencyadministratortogainagreaterperspectiveofagencyfundingneeds,(2)ifpossibleinterviewanagencydirectserviceproviderandagencycustomer,and(3)writeagrantproposalandgiveacopytotheagencyadministrator.Thedistributionoffundsistheresponsibilityofthegraduatecounselingstudentsenrolledinthecourse.Basedontraininginthecourse,thestudentswillgothroughadecisionmakingprocessusedbytheHealthFoundationtoallocatefunds.Therefore, it isnotpossible toguarantee thatagrantwill beawarded toyouragency.However,thereisahighprobabilitygiventhenumberofstudentsenrolledinthecourse. Ifyouhaveanyquestionsaboutthestudent’sresponsibilitiesortheServiceLearning/GrantWritingactivity,pleasecallmeat_______________.
Sincerely,
AssistantProfessorGraduateCounselingProgram
92 Counseling and Values ■ January 2007 ■ Volume 51
Appendix B
introduction to Community Counseling
philanthropy—Grant proposal evaluation Form
NameofProposal:_________________________ Evaluator:_______________
1 2 3Criteria Weak Average Strong
1. Theproposedeffortfocusesonavulnerablepopulationinneedofservices,etc.
2. Theproposalmakesacompellingcasefortheneedinthepresentedproject
3. Theproposalprovidesathoroughoutlineoftheproject,includingkeyobjectives
4. Theprojectidentifiesaplantoaddresstheneedsofthepopulation
5. Theprojectpossessesthepotentialtohaveameasurableimpact
6. Theproposalidentifiestheroles,responsibilitiesandthepersonnelwithintheagencytoimplementtheproject
7. Theproposedbudgetisrealisticandappearsreasonable
8. Theprojectismeaningful
9. Theproposalallowsthepanelanopportunityforanin-depthunderstandingoftheissuesaddressedthroughtheproject
10. Overallimpressionoftheproposal
AdditionalComments:
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