Columbus Foundation Fellowship Programs

Hello,

With January begins a New Year and with the New Year comes a renewed and increased desire for AIDS Walk Ohio to get rolling. Through January comes the opening of the website, a big push to register teams, and more and more details being ironed out. My project has been evolving and it is really fascinating to watch how I originally thought it would be to what it is developing into. We are thinking about adding other aspects to the project that would function during a different time frame. Understandably details are still being ironed out with that initiative, but I think it will be a great addition to get more people involved. Also, I have really started enjoying working on the website and learning the behind the scenes of online donations.

In more New Year news, classes have begun again at Ohio State and that means a new schedule. It was nice this semester to be able to create my school schedule around my Equitas schedule. I am hoping it will be a little easier this semester to get work done because I will be coming in on a more regular, part-time schedule for longer stretches of time. Everyone was so accommodating last semester when my schedule was hectic and I could only come in for two hours at a time. It has shown me truly how great the people are that work here and what type of environment I want for after graduation (in just 4 short months!).

Goal update: 1. I feel much more confident approaching coworkers and I think that is in part because I have come to truly understand how friendly and willing to help everyone is here. I know I have said it before but I cannot stress enough how great it is here. 2. While (as far as I know) none of the signs have been sold I am hoping that will change shortly as the website gets its full launch and more email-blasts get sent out to the public. I am confident by the next time we speak I will have a few sold. A new goal I would like to set for myself is working hard on creating relationships. Especially in the fundraising and development world I always hear that it is basically all relationship building. I want to make sure I am utilizing this time to the fullest extent and make as many connections as I can.

Hello all!

This past month has been great here at Equitas Health. I have begun really getting into the nitty-gritty of what it takes to create a new initiative within a already established event. For me the biggest learning curve has been getting other’s approval on things before moving forward. Often times as a student you work alone and can power through a project in a night if you really want to. Even with group assignments, everyone usually divides up parts and then is set free to complete their section as they see fit. That is not always the case in the ‘real world’. Especially as an intern here, I need/want to make sure that everything I am working on gets approved by my supervisor before sending it to anyone else. Luckily my supervisor is fantastic and is always willing to read over my work and offer constructive criticism to help me improve. Heather Llewellyn is the Development & Special Events Manager and has been instrumental in helping me adjust to the work place and getting me up to speed with the rest of AIDS Walk Ohio and our Red Ribbon Project. Figuring out the correct pathway to get products or ideas approved has been my main focus in addition to creating the products or idea. So far I have had a good experience with people looking over my work where it gets to have a lot of eyes on it, but the reviewing and approving process is not unnecessarily long.

            I will be leaving for a few weeks to go home for winter break but I intend to use this time to work from home and  brainstorm to return in 2017 raring to go. We plan to begin pushing the Walk and the creation of teams and fundraising goals as early as the end of this month as well as a big push in early 2017. We have plans to push the AIDS Walk Ohio Red Ribbon Project (AWORRP) in a multitude of platforms to reach as wide of an audience as possible.

            I would like to set some goals for myself before the next time I post: 1. I would like to be more confidant approaching co-workers that I am less familiar with for help or suggestions, and 2. I would like to have at least one of my commemorative signs sold. Wish me luck and I will check back in in 2017! Happy Holidays!

Hello blog readers!

My name is Caroline Mashni and my fellowship placement is with Mid-Ohio Foodbank. I am currently a senior at THE Ohio State University pursuing a double major in Public Affairs and Spanish. Here at OSU I like to stay busy and am involved in the Office of Student Life’s Community Service Cohort, referred to as Pay it Forward, my sorority Alpha Xi Delta, and The Girls Circle Project. In my free time, I like to relax  in the great outdoors and explore Columbus Metropolitan Parks, travel and practice my Spanish, and cheer on Buckeye football.

My experience at Mid-Ohio Foodbank has been incredible so far. Their mission is “to end hunger one nourishing meal at a time and to co-create a sustainable community where everyone thrives”. More than 650 community organizations pair with MOF to distribute the food to community members, which amounted to 66.5 million pounds of food last year. I am so grateful for this opportunity to grow and learn from all of the truly wonderful individuals at Mid-Ohio Foodbank in the coming months. I am constantly amazed at the intelligence, passion, and thoughtfulness of every team member I meet.

For my development and fundraising fellowship project, I will be creating marketing pieces about all of the diverse programs at Mid-Ohio Foodbank. They will be used to inform individuals, government agencies, and businesses about the immense impact of MOF programs and how they can be involved in these efforts to end hunger. I am beginning by looking at Fresh Food programs and how they provide fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs, and dairy products to individuals across MOF’s 20-county service area.

To learn more about Mid-Ohio Foodbank, visit their website: http://midohiofoodbank.org/

Until next time,

Caroline

Hi! My name is Paul d’Hyver and I am a senior at Ohio State studying integrated business and engineering. Over the next couple of months, I will be working with the development team of the Columbus Metropolitan Library Foundation (CMLF).

CMLF just finished a huge capital campaign, where they raised around $20 million as part of their renovation project “vision 2020.” CML has a network of 22 libraries across the Columbus area and as a part of this project, many of the branches will be completely rebuilt or updated and renovated. The Dublin branch has a lot of visitors and high circulation, therefore it will be completely rebuilt and doubled in size. To accomplish this, there is a gap of about $2 million in funds, so this will be my focus during my time here.

Over the next 5 months, I will help to plan the capital campaign to raise the needed funds to finalize the Dublin branch renovation.

The development team is comprised of 9 people and they all have different roles. I will work mainly with the development director and the fundraising manager, although I have already received help and learned information from some of the other team members.

During my first week, I read a lot of information and talked to a variety of people in order to understand all aspects of development at the library at a deeper level, specially concerning the Dublin project.

After catching up to speed, I leveraged existing documents to write a new campaign plan and to begin writing documents such as a committee description. Although I did not have much guidance writing these new documents, I found it helpful to take initiative to give it a try and then submit it for feedback. This helped me learn quicker and showed my manager and director that I am willing to learn and that I can be responsible for the tasks they need me to complete.

For the remainder of my time here, my main tasks will be to update and finalize the campaign plan, create a gift table to ensure we can raise all the needed funds, perform a lot of prospect research, and create profiles for these prospects.

If you want to learn more about the library, go to their website here: http://www.columbuslibrary.org/

Also, here is a picture I took during my first day with a hat they used at a big celebration event called the Celebration of Learning:

Hello all,

My name is Max and I am currently a fellow with the Childhood League Center. So far, my experiences have been awesome. I was seeking this fellowship because I want to learn more about the ins and outs of nonprofits and how they are run. At the same time I wanted to give back to the community. The Childhood League Center is a nonprofit that is giving children with mental disabilities an equal opportunity to education. For every $1 you invest in these kids, we see a $17 return down the road!

My main responsibilities are to seek out new donors and I am currently helping the Childhood league center restructure there strategic management plan. Very cool and progressive things are happening and it is awesome to be a part of it!

Here is a link to the Childhood League Website if anybody wants some more info.

Home 2023

Max

Hi all! My name is Keely Buckley and I am the Columbus Foundation’s Fellow at Equitas Health (formerly AIDS Resource Center Ohio). I will working with their Development team on creating a new initiative for their annual AIDS Walk. This AIDS walk will take place in April and will be one of the biggest fundraisers for the organization.

Currently I am a senior attending The Ohio State University here in Columbus. I am a Psychology major with minors in Nonprofit Studies and History. I would love to pursue a career in the nonprofit field, hopefully in development or community engagement. In my free time I like to stay involved on campus. I am a part of Buckeyes for Life (raise awareness about organ and tissue donation), Gift of Life (campus ambassador for a bone marrow donor registry), Association of Fundraising Professionals, and Alpha Chi Omega. I stay pretty busy but I figure as long as it is all stuff that I enjoy doing, I will not regret it!

I am so excited to work with Equitas during this fellowship. They have recently changed names from AIDS Resource Center Ohio to Equitas Health to better encompass their focus on total health care. HIV/AIDS is not a death sentence anymore and the work that Equitas has done in the past and continues to do is a big reason why. They work primarily with the LGBTQ communities to give HIV/STI prevention materials, primary and specialized care, behavioral health, advocacy work and community initiatives.

The project I will be working on for this fellowship is a new initiative they want to add to the AIDS Walk. We will be adding in honor of/in remembrance of signs along the sides of the AIDS Walk for all three that happen in April (Central Columbus, Dayton, and Toledo) as well as trying to incorporate the name change of the walk for next year from AIDS Walk to A Future without HIV. I am very excited to be working on this project as it will give me a better sense of fundraising, development, and marketing/communications and how those all must work seamlessly together to create an effective project.

If you want to learn more about Equitas or the AIDS Walk please visit their website: http://equitashealth.com/

The Columbus Foundation is currently seeking college or graduate students to fill Fellowships at a wide range of Franklin County nonprofit organizations.

The deadline to submit a student application online is Monday, December 12, 2016. To qualify for a Fellowship, applicants must be a college junior, senior, 2017 graduate or graduate student in the fall of 2017, and be a Franklin County high school graduate or pursuing a degree at a Franklin County college or university.

Selected students will be placed with a nonprofit for the length of the Fellowship Program, from June 5–August 11, 2017, and receive a stipend of $6,000. Highly desired qualifications for Fellows include a strong academic record (preferably a 3.0+ GPA) and strong verbal and written communications skills.

Further information:
Application & Process
Host Sites & Project Details

The Columbus Foundation is now accepting applications from eligible college seniors for the 2016-2017 Fundraising and Development Fellowship Program. This Fellowship serves to link students with meaningful experiences at five area nonprofit organizations. Projects have been selected to allow for the Fellow to have a meaningful contribution to the organization’s needs, while learning a substantial amount about the fundraising and development profession. Through a special partnership with the Central Ohio Association of Fundraising Professionals, Fellows will have access to exclusive networking, continuing education, and select AFP membership resources.

To be eligible for The Columbus Foundation Fundraising and Development Fellowship, the interested individual must be:

• A college senior, graduating May/June 2017
• Enrolled in an accredited central Ohio college or university and be in good academic standing, with competitive credentials
• Interested in the nonprofit sector and fundraising and development

Students should submit their application by Noon on Friday September 30, 2016.

We encourage applicants read the FAQs for further information on the Fundraising and Development Fellowship Program.

Potential host organizations and project details are below:

If you have additional questions, please contact Dan Sharpe .

Hello, hello! So, this is end. The final blog, the final pictures, the final witty (or so I thought) words for my summer. Let’s rewind a few days aallll the way back to August 5th.

Long story short, it was amazing and beautiful and just about everything went according to plan. Now, you may be thinking, “What Ana? What was so amazing?”. Well! The 6th Annual Youth Summit, of course! My final project, the one I had dedicated this summer to, was a complete success and everyone had a blast, adults included.

The morning session was dedicated to thanking all those who helped ETSS create this amazing day for the youth. To name a few, Ramona Reyes, Columbus Board of Education, Councilmember Shannon Hardin, City of Columbus, Dr. Cimbolic, ODU, and many more. To keep the youth involved, I had been going to each site and practicing with 2 selected youth the week of. These selected youth were to speak during the morning session, whether it was introducing a key person, or thanking a sponsor, they all did wonderful and I was/am so proud of them! After the morning session, I was able to help everyone set up for lunch before leaving.

I ran over to the Columbus Foundation and gave my presentation on my summer. It was a nice break to the day and it was great to give a quick run down of all the great projects I had been able to be a part of during the summer with ETSS. After that, I ran back over to ODU (where the Youth Summit’s afternoon session was beginning). For this part of the day, the youth were to be outside from about 12:30pm to 2:30pm. In the past the heat had been a huge factor and discomfort. So! For this year, I made sure to have tents, and water jugs to make the heat bearable. I was able to acquire 4 tents for the youth, 1 giant tent for the DJ and about 8, 5 gallon water jugs. By the end of the day, the youth were throwing water at each other, safe to say we had enough water for them to drink and more, haha. The last event was for the 4 sites to perform their cultural dance and/or song. Peep some pictures below. 🙂

All in all, this summer was the most incredible experience I’ve ever had. I never felt like I was working (except when I did haha) and I never thought twice about staying and extra hour or so to make sure things turned out perfect. I’ve completely fallen in love with this organized and will be returning to work for the after-school program they provide. It’s so crazy a few months ago I didn’t even know ETSS existed and now they’ve sucked me in. And none of it would have been possible with the Columbus Foundation and this fellowship! A million, “Thank you”‘s to everyone who helps make this program possible and never, ever end it!

BTW, check out ETSS for more pictures and future events. 🙂

Well, this is it.

My time as a Columbus Foundation Fellow has officially come to an end, and with that, I think it’s only fair that I reflect a bit on my experiences, in the form of a little list:

1. Don’t be afraid to take on more responsibilities. As an intern, it was difficult for me to find my place within an already tight-knit workplace. But the more people I reached out to, the more friendly faces I created around me, and the more diverse experiences I gained. Asking for more work felt awkward at first, but paid off a thousandfold in the end. If you’re a future Fellow and you’re reading this post–DON’T FEEL BAD ABOUT ASKING FOR MORE WORK!
2. Enjoy the journey. As a rising junior at Ohio State, I’d be the first to admit that I often get very caught up in thinking about “what’s next?!” I often find myself trying to figure out how to best check all the figurative boxes in my life. But this summer, I realized the importance of just taking a step back to really enjoy all the small amazing moments that occur every day. It makes you feel way more satisfied if you focus on what makes you happy each day rather than worrying about what you’ll be doing tomorrow, or how you’ll fix that issue that might pop up in a few weeks.
3. Learn as many new things as you can. Before this summer, I was the friend who calls you when you’re studying at the library because I can’t figure out how to work the TV remote. Let’s just say that technology is… often not my friend. But this summer, I spent my time utterly surrounded by technology, conjuring up spreadsheets and working with Excel more than I ever thought possible. And it was FUN! Stepping out of my comfort zone made me learn that I actually do have skills in the computer realm, and I’m excited to pursue these more in the future.
4. Be nice. One of KIPP’s most famous mottoes is “Work Hard. Be Nice.” While this is a great set of phrases to instill in young students, I think it’s also just a great mantra for everyone in life. Not only should you always give things your best try, but you should also focus on being a good person. It’s an invaluable trait to have in the workplace and just as a human being. And it absolutely shapes the culture at KIPP, where each person is both hardworking and kind, and the type of person you just want to be around.

I can’t believe the fellowship has ended, and I am so grateful to have had this opportunity. Thank you so much to both the Columbus Foundation and KIPP Columbus for being incredibly welcoming, kind, and wonderful mentors, as well as to my fellow Fellows, a truly remarkable and inspiring set of women.

(Pictured below, some Faces of the Fellows from our final luncheon: Anna, Kerigan, myself, Katie, and Kathleen.)