About the Course
Professor Bio
Unique Course Components
About the Course
| University | Semester | Year | Course | Department | Instructor(s) | Students Enrolled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Wisconsin-Madison | Spring | 2026 | Philanthropy and Civic Engagement | Civil Society and Community Studies | Cynthia Jasper | 40 students |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison | Fall | 2025 | Philanthropy and Civic Engagement | Civil Society and Community Studies | Cynthia Jasper | 31 students |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison | Spring | 2025 | Philanthropy and Civic Engagement | Civil Society and Community Studies | Cynthia Jasper | 32 students |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison | Fall | 2024 | Philanthropy and Civic Engagement | Civil Society and Community Studies | Cynthia Jasper | 32 students |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison | Fall | 2023 | Philanthropy and Civic Engagement | Civil Society and Community Studies | Cynthia Jasper | 33 students |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison | Spring | 2023 | Philanthropy and Civic Engagement | Civil Society and Community Studies | Cynthia Jasper | 38 students |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison | Fall | 2022 | Philanthropy and Civic Engagement | Civil Society and Community Studies | Cynthia Jasper | 37 students |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison | Fall | 2021 | Philanthropy and Civic Engagement | Civil Society and Community Studies | Cynthia Jasper | 35 students |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison | Fall | 2020 | Philanthropy and Civic Engagement | Civil Society and Community Studies | Cynthia Jasper | 33 students |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison | Fall | 2019 | Philanthropy and Civic Engagement | Civil Society and Community Studies | Cynthia Jasper | 26 students |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison | Fall | 2018 | Philanthropy and Civic Engagement | Civil Society and Community Studies | Cynthia Jasper | 25 students |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison | Fall | 2017 | Philanthropy and Civic Engagement | Civil Society and Community Studies | Cynthia Jasper | 25 students |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison | Fall | 2016 | Philanthropy and Civic Engagement | Civil Society and Community Studies | Cynthia Jasper | 20 students |
Professor Bio
Philanthropy and Civic Engagement
Taught by Cynthia Jasper
Department of Civil Society & Community Studies
Cynthia Jasper, Vaughan Bascom Professor of Women and Philanthropy, is a professor in the Department of Civil Society and Community Studies in the School of Human Ecology at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Dr. Jasper’s research interests include philanthropic education, and topics related to women and their giving. She has authored the publication entitled, “Teaching Civic Engagement Through Student Philanthropy: Theories and Best Practices for Transformative Learning” in the Journal of Nonprofit Education and Leadership. She has also authored a publication entitled, “Women’s Leadership in Philanthropy” for the Encyclopedia of Nonprofit Organizations. She earned her B.S. at Northern Michigan University and her M.S. and Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
Unique Course Components
Unique Course Components
- Films incorporated into the pedagogy (“PBS American Experience”: “The Great Famine”, “A Shot to Save the World,”; “PBS New Heroes”; “Poverty Inc”, “Who Cares” and “Henry Ford”)
- Philanthropy Exhibits
- Students are recommended to “visit” the following online exhibits:
- The School of Human Ecology Design Gallery Exhibits
- The Memory Project – Face of Joy: https://memoryproject.org
- Stitching History from the Holocaust: http://stitchinghistory.org
- Flash Talks
- Students are assigned to a chapter in 2 chosen books from the course readings and present their chapter to the class. Students have 2 mins to give a chapter summary presentation to the class, they cover a few chapters each class.
- Inspiring Philanthropist 2-page paper
- Students pick a philanthropist (living or historical) that they connect with, cannot be a celebrity or famous philanthropist
- Must either know the person, or the person is from Wisconsin, or does philanthropy in the area
- Describe the philanthropist’s background, values, and issue areas they were interested in
- Explain why they chose the philanthropist
- If they know the person, recommend speaking to them directly about their giving and views on philanthropy
- For class discussions covering readings, students submit a quality discussion question about the readings and identify one significant quote from each text to inform the discussion.
- They also do this for guest speaker prep
- Giving Ceremony
- Students present giving goals and “inspiring philanthropists” (also invite their inspiring philanthropists to GC)
- Created committees so student groups are responsible for various aspects of the class
- Evaluation & Ambassador Conference Committee
- Research & Site Visit Committee
- Grant Review Committee
- RFP/Awards Ceremony Committee
- Communication
- Students are recommended to “visit” the following online exhibits:
Guest Speakers
- Q&A with past students
- Diane Ballweg, outside funder, Endres Manufacturing Company Foundation
- Bryan Davis, Franklin Lake Improvement Association, Grant Funding and Nonprofit Management
Media
