Philanthropy Webquest - Aunt Tilly's Gift

Introduction

Your Great Aunt Tilly, a wealthy woman and respected local philanthropist, passed away after a long illness and short stay in hospice. To everyone’s surprise, she generously gifted $50,000 to all of her grand nieces and nephews … with one stipulation: a portion of your choosing must be donated to charity.

Task

Your task is to determine how much of your inheritance will go to which charity or charities.

Process

First, you will need to clarify what “philanthropy” means.

Next, since your Aunt Tilly was a servant leader and is hoping you will become one too, research the meaning of “servant leader.”

Then choose a philanthropist/servant leader from the Our State of Generosity website [http://ourstateofgenerosity.org/profiles/].

• How did he/she choose which organizations and/or causes he/she wanted to serve?
• What does he/she do to support the organizations? (Think gifts of time, talent and treasure.)

Before you start writing checks, you’ll want to identify what issues you are most passionate about and which organizations you can count on to use your gift wisely. Complete the “Tips for Choosing a Charity” worksheet and “Charity Evaluation Matrix” to clarify your thinking and narrow your list of potential charities.

Next, look at your choices carefully. Which one do you think would be the best one for you to partner with? Why? Is there more than one?

Now that you’ve chosen which charity (or charities), you need to decide how much of your Great Aunt Tilly’s generous gift you want to donate. How will you decide? Share your rationale in an essay.

Lastly, write a letter to the organization(s) of your choice announcing the news of your gift. Be sure to address your letter to an actual person at the organization. Share with them the origins of your gift and why you chose their organization.