This article was originally written by the Office of Engaged Learning on May 5th, 2025.
WACO, Texas — At a community reception in the President’s Suite at McLane Stadium on May 6, students in Baylor University’s Philanthropy & the Public Good course awarded grants totaling $100,000 to seven local nonprofit organizations, supporting work spanning maternal and child health, immigrant services, housing, healthcare access, child development, and services to teens experiencing homelessness.
Joined by university and community leaders, 21 students presented checks to La Puerta, Mission Waco, Nurse Family Partnership at Baylor Scott & White Waco, Lovely Village, Talitha Koum Institute, Waco Family Medicine, and The Cove.
Since its inception in 2014, Philanthropy & the Public Good, an innovative course housed in Baylor’s Office of Engaged Learning, has empowered students to steward real money, serve as a foundation board of directors, and award tens of thousands of grant dollars to deserving nonprofits following a semester-long learning and due diligence process. Over more than a decade, students have awarded 151 grants totaling $1.41 million to organizations across the Waco community and beyond. This semester’s class of 21 added $100,000 to that legacy, with Waco Family Medicine receiving a grant from the course for the first time.
This semester’s grant awards were as follows:
- La Puerta — $2,000
- Mission Waco — $7,500
- Nurse Family Partnership at Baylor Scott & White Waco — $12,000
- Lovely Village — $25,000
- Talitha Koum Institute — $20,000
- Waco Family Medicine — $16,500
- The Cove — $12,000
In accordance with the course’s practice of trust-based philanthropy, eight other nonprofits received payments of $500-1,000 for their semester-long engagement in the students’ due diligence process, even though they were not ultimately selected for a grant award.
“I am delighted that The Cove has been selected as a grant recipient by this semester’s Baylor Philanthropy and Public Good class,” said Dr. Tim Packer, executive director of The Cove. “It is inspiring to see the hard work and care students put into understanding the needs and opportunities for change that exist in our community.”
The course was led by Andrew Hogue, PhD, the founder of the program at Baylor, and Mark Richards. Hogue reflected on what makes the course distinctive among academic experiences.
“Experiential philanthropy education, for us, is ultimately about formation,” he said. “We ask our students four questions all semester long: What am I learning? What am I doing? Who am I becoming? And toward what ends? We situate those formational questions within another set of questions about how our neighbors and our community flourish. Watching this class move from curious newcomers to confident, compassionate grantmakers was a joy. This group brought a level of seriousness and genuine care for Waco that I won’t soon forget.”
Richards, who came to co-teach the course as an alumnus of it himself, offered his own perspective on the semester.
“There is something profound about handing students real responsibility and watching them rise to meet it,” said Richards. “These 21 students didn’t just learn about nonprofits — they built relationships with the people doing the hard, daily work of helping Waco and Wacoans flourish. I’m proud of the care and rigor they brought to every site visit, every deliberation, and every decision. They’ve set a high bar.”
Hannah Baer, a senior from Appleton, WI, majoring in Baylor Business Fellows, Accounting, and Spanish, offered remarks at the reception on behalf of her classmates.
“This course has been much more than just an academic experience,” she said. “Our understanding of philanthropy has grown beyond the act of donating money, and developed into a true ‘love for humankind’ through ‘voluntary action for the public good.’ This journey has challenged us to become generous, hopeful, curious, and collaborative individuals — and in doing so, this course has not only taught us about philanthropy but has also transformed us.”
Since 2014, Baylor has partnered with The Philanthropy Lab, a national initiative based in Fort Worth that seeks to spark and expand students’ interest and participation in philanthropy. Bethany Cale, an alumnus of Baylor’s first philanthropy class in 2014, now serves as president of the Once Upon a Time Foundation, which houses the initiative.
“Participating in Philanthropy & the Public Good was transformational for me in so many ways as a Baylor student,” she said. “I can still vividly remember our final debate and the weight of making financial decisions that would change lives. It has been so exciting to see the growth of the program and its significant footprint in the Waco community over the years, as well as its impact on hundreds of Baylor students.”
For more information about Philanthropy & the Public Good, please contact Andrew Hogue or Mark Richards in the Office of Engaged Learning at Baylor University.
See original article here.
