Three local nonprofit organizations will receive a total of $10,000 in grants from a class in the College of Human Ecology designed to teach students about philanthropy.

The course, Leadership in Nonprofit Environments (HE 4070), teaches students how to evaluate funding requests, measure the impact of community programs and engage in a group decision-making process. This semester, the students received 26 proposals requesting a total of $101,088. After spending several weeks assessing the proposals, they decided to award the following grants:

"These are difficult decisions, and the students take them very seriously," said course instructor Brenda Bricker, a lecturer and the former director of leadership and undergraduate research in the College of Human Ecology. "At the end of the semester, there are always more worthwhile proposals than there is money to go around."

Bricker leads the class through discussions about specific details of each grant, such as whether the project is sustainable over time, how many people the each project will impact and the needs of the community.

Michael Shores '10, a policy analysis and management major, advocated for the proposal from Alternatives Credit Union. In fact, he was so impressed with their program to ensure low-income families receive their full tax return that he signed up as a volunteer.

"Many of these families qualify for a $1,700 tax credit that they're not receiving because they don't know about it," he said. "When your income is only $16,000 a year, that extra money can make a huge difference in your life."

The grant moneys provided by The Sunshine Lady Foundation, a private family foundation launched by Doris Buffett, sister of investor Warren Buffett, and dedicated to breaking cycles of poverty, abuse and economic dependence through investment in education. The class also partners with the United Way of Tompkins County, which manages the grant applications from community agencies on its Web site. Over the past four years, students in the course have given $50,000 to nonprofit organizations in the Ithaca area.

Sheri Hall is assistant director of communications at the College of Human Ecology.