| University | Semester | Year | Course | Department | Instructor(s) | Students Enrolled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvard | Spring | 2013 | Philanthropy and Public Problem-Solving | Kennedy School – Management, Leadership, and Decision Making | Christine W. Letts, Jim Bildner | 28 students |
| Harvard | Spring | 2014 | Philanthropy and Public Problem-Solving | Kennedy School – Management, Leadership, and Decision Making | Christine W. Letts, Jim Bildner | 58 students |
| Harvard | Spring | 2015 | Philanthropy and Public Problem-Solving | Kennedy School – Management, Leadership, and Decision Making | Christine W. Letts, Jim Bildner | 36 students |
| Harvard | Fall | 2016 | Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations | Sociology | Shai M. Dromi | 16 students |
| Harvard | Fall | 2016 | Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations | Sociology | Shai M. Dromi | 19 students |
| Harvard | Fall | 2017 | Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations | Sociology | Shai M. Dromi | 25 students |
| Harvard | Spring | 2017 | Philanthropy and Social Innovation | Harvard Kennedy School – Social Innovation and Public Policy | Chris Marquis | 50 students |
| Harvard | Spring | 2017 | Effective Altruism and Beyond | TH Chan School of Public Health | Nir Eyal | 8 students |
| Harvard | Fall | 2018 | Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations | Sociology | Shai M. Dromi | 25 students |
| Harvard | Fall | 2019 | Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations | Sociology | Shai M. Dromi | 41 students |
| Harvard | Fall | 2021 | Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations | Sociology | Shai M. Dromi | 26 students |
| Harvard | Spring | 2023 | Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations | Sociology | Shai M. Dromi | 30 students |
| Harvard | Spring | 2025 | Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations | Sociology | Shai M. Dromi | 60 students |
| Harvard | Spring | 2026 | Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations | Sociology | Shai M. Dromi | 72 students |
Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations
Taught by Shai M. Dromi
Department of Sociology
Shai Dromi is a cultural and comparative-historical sociologist with research on international humanitarian organizations and movements, transnational advocacy, and political culture. His research looks at the role of cultural beliefs about morality in creating civil society organizations and movements and in shaping the production of social knowledge. He is the author of Above the Fray: The Red Cross and the Construction of the Humanitarian Relief Sector (Univ. of Chicago Press, 2020) and Moral Minefields: How Sociologists Debate Good Science (Univ. of Chicago Press, 2023, co-authored with Samuel Stabler), and co-editor of the Handbook of the Sociology of Morality, vol. 2. Shai’s work has appeared in journals like Sociological Theory and Theory & Society, and received the Altruism, Morality, and Social Solidarity Outstanding Published Article Award, the Global and Transnational Sociology Best Graduate Student Paper Award, an honorable mention for the Theda Skocpol Best Dissertation Award from the American Sociological Association, and the Marvin B. Sussman Prize from Yale University.
Tony Shu – Harvard Philanthropy Lab Student Fall 2018, Harvard Ambassador 2019
Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in Social Impact
“Connor Schoen and Tony Shu, who met as undergraduates at Harvard, cofounded Breaktime with a mission to end young adult homelessness. Through purposeful transitional employment, Breaktime empowers young adults experiencing homelessness to build sustainability in their lives while building resilience in their communities. During the first 8 months of the pandemic, Breaktime employed 25 young adults experiencing homelessness who led the preparation and delivery of over 500,000 meals to people experiencing food insecurity in Boston–all while earning a living wage and developing career-launching job skills. Breaktime is backed by the City of Boston, Liberty Mutual, BlackRock, and hundreds of other partners.”
See full article HERE
Class takes a field trip to Widener Library on campus
- The Library was a gift from the Widener family to Harvard, first opened in 1915
- Widener family remained unusually controlling of the library & shaped the way the library worked. Students examine documents and discuss them in class, and then visit specific areas of the library that demonstrate the continuing influence of the Widener family on the Library
- Great demonstration of donor preference/influence
Class takes a field trip to Harvard Art Museum
- Guided tour
- Discuss “How donor relations affect the art world”
- Hear from Director of Major Gifts & Strategic Initiatives, and the Curator of European Art
Class takes a field trip to Harvard Athletics
- Meet with Assistant Director of Athletics for Alumni Relations and Stewardship
Guest speaker from Harvard College Fund
Students write a final research paper (~15 pages) on a topic of interest to them relating to philanthropy and/or nonprofit organizations
Analytical questions assignment
- Each student must formulate 5 paragraph length analytical questions about reading assignments throughout the semester
Students must complete questionnaire on first day of class during “shopping week” to secure their place in the course
Lots of group assignments throughout the course – amounting to 1/3 of the final grade
- Each group creates and signs a “group contract”
- Each group creates a mission statement – “a memo describing group’s giving goals and philosophy, and its theory of change relating to their subject area”
- Groups submit memos about how they finalized their decisions
Two hours scheduled outside of class w/ student alumni working in NPOs
Through a partnership with the Lemann Program on Creativity and Entrepreneurship (LPCE), student groups will develop their own nonprofit ventures to address the social impact of COVID-19. Student ventures will receive startup seed funding and, upon successful completion of the course, will compete over additional seed money. The course will include a series of guest lectures and workshops on entrepreneurship to support student venture development.
Guest Speakers
- Rebekah Emanuel, Head of Social entrepreneurship, Harvard Innovation Lab
- Caitlin Schmid, Asst Director of Engaged Scholarship, Mindich Program
- Jehan Sinclair, Anti-Black Racism Librarian and Archivist for Harvard Library, Kristine Grieve, Head of Teaching and Learning for Houghton Library, and Kathleen Sheehan, Research Librarian
- Jennifer Downing, Associate Director of Development – Major Gifts at the Harvard Athletics Department.
- course alumni
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