Undergraduates Get Professional Experience in Service-Learning Class
02/10/2016
By Katharine Webster
English major Julia Bellefontaine wants to work for a nonprofit arts organization when she graduates later this year, so she jumped at the chance to take a service-learning class in grant writing.
She picked the in downtown Lowell as her community partner from a list provided by Assoc. Prof. Diana Archibald. Bellefontaine will work closely with the gallery鈥檚 executive director on a $2,500 grant application for an educational exhibit, from researching potential funding sources to crafting a winning pitch. She says it鈥檚 exactly the professional experience she needs.聽
鈥淚 really want to go into this kind of writing,鈥� Bellefontaine says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 useful to be a grant writer when working for nonprofit organizations.鈥�
The 15 students in Archibald鈥檚 class 鈥� the first undergraduate course in grant writing 鈥� dressed professionally to meet their community partners in person during a recent class. Some students had found their own agencies, while Archibald found others, selecting small nonprofits without grant writers on staff.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 so exciting to see the students鈥� light bulbs go on. There鈥檚 this point when they realize, 鈥業鈥檓 being taken seriously. Someone鈥檚 counting on me,鈥� and they get terrified and excited all at once and they work hard, because it matters,鈥� Archibald says.
Erin Freeborn, executive director of (http://www.c4rj.com/) Communities for Restorative Justice in Concord, Mass., says her organization, which runs on volunteer passion and small donations, is seeking a grant to expand its services to the Lowell area.聽
鈥淕rant writing is a real, present need in the nonprofit community,鈥� she says. 鈥淭his class is also great for the students. It gives them skills and develops their civic engagement.鈥�
Archibald, who is also the English Department鈥檚 internship coordinator, says community organizations frequently request interns who can help with grant writing, but until now, few students were qualified. Students will benefit from the class, too, because many employers are looking for communications staff with development experience.
鈥淪ervice learning is that perfect balance of meeting students鈥� academic needs while meeting the community partners鈥� needs,鈥� she says.聽
Katie Stoll is a master鈥檚 degree candidate in Community Social Psychology and part-time program coordinator at (https://womensmoneymatters.org/) Budget Buddies, a Chelmsford nonprofit that partners with other community agencies to offer classes for low-income women in managing money, from opening a bank account to paying off debt. Each woman also meets one-on-one with a volunteer coach.聽
Budget Buddies is so successful that communities outside the Merrimack Valley have requested programs, but the nonprofit鈥檚 staff and volunteer program leaders are stretched thin. It鈥檚 seeking a grant of up to $25,000 to expand its reach.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 like to turn any organizations away,鈥� Stoll says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e looking for money to train the trainers, get our materials organized and consistent and figure out how to franchise or consult.鈥�
Stoll took a graduate grant-writing class last semester and wrote a $10,000 proposal to help Budget Buddies work with housing authorities in Lawrence and its border towns. Now she鈥檚 looking forward to mentoring Kelsey Mennella, a senior English major.
鈥淚 just learned all this myself, so I鈥檓 excited to share it,鈥� Stoll says. 鈥淜elsey鈥檚 been very responsive so far. I鈥檓 looking forward to seeing the work she produces.鈥澛�
Mennella says Archibald鈥檚 service-learning classes are building her professional resume and portfolio. Her sophomore year, she took Community Writing I, in which the whole class worked on brochures and posters for the Then Mennella created a public service announcement for 鈥� and added technical and graphic design skills to her repertoire.
鈥淭aking her classes is really broadening my range,鈥� she says.
Senior Bora Chhun, a philosophy major with a concentration in communications, is doubling down on grant writing this semester. He鈥檚 doing a service-learning internship for credit with Lowell鈥檚 , where he鈥檚 helping write a grant for state funding to improve recycling at city schools. In Archibald鈥檚 class, he鈥檚 working with Diana Paskavitz Ross of the Grace Race Fund, a small Chelmsford nonprofit that supports a boarding school in Kenya with 200 students, including 40 orphans. The grant would pay for medicine, equipment and training for the school nurse.
鈥淭he more writing I do, the better my writing will be,鈥� Chhun says. 鈥淚 need to get as much experience as I can before I graduate.鈥�
Ross, who earned her M.Ed. here in 1991, says she expects the learning to go both ways.
鈥淚t鈥檚 cool to come back to campus for this,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e very much aware we may not get any money 鈥� it鈥檚 definitely a bonus if we do 鈥� but it鈥檚 still very exciting to go through the process with a student. I鈥檓 hoping to learn a lot.鈥澛�