software reviews and tech

sites. DVP also contacted

campus depart-

ments and other

humane socie-

ties to get soft-

ware recom-

mendations.

The main crite-

ria LCHS was

looking for in

donor software

was adequate

data storage,

smooth user

interface, and

integration with existing soft-

ware to transfer data to the

new software. Through this

extensive research, DVP and

Carlson worked to narrow

down their choice to Donor

Perfect, a software recom-

mended to DVP by another

humane society.

Although LCHS is work-

ing on implementing the new

software, the organization

now has the tools to succeed.

During the 2012-2013

school year, Denison Venture

Philanthropy (DVP) invested

$10,000 and 200 hours of

community service hours in

the Licking County Humane

Society (LCHS).

LCHS is a no-kill animal

shelter that aims to promote

the well-being of all animals

as well as advocate for great-

er population control via

spaying and neutering.

LCHS was one of many

nonprofits in Licking County

to submit a proposal to DVP

this grant process cycle. The

grant was used to purchase a

new donor database software

to help develop and stream-

line communication between

LCHS and its donors. The

goal was to improve the Hu-

mane Society’s efficiency

and ultimately increase the

number of donations.

A new donor software

system was only one of the

many changes for LCHS last

school year. In February

2013, LCHS moved from a

small space to a much larger

operation. The

four-acre fa-

cility allows

LCHS to house

40 dogs and 60

cats, a spay/

neuter clinic,

boarding for

abused animals

confiscated by

the humane

agent, and a

community

dog park. With

all these improvements, it

was crucial for LCHS to find

a better way of maintaining

the donor-shelter relationship.

During the first few

months of working with

LCHS, DVP worked closely

with LCHS executive director

Lori Carlson to determine

which donor software to pur-

chase. DVP members re-

searched different types of

donor software by looking at

Denison Venture Philanthropy awards $10,000

grant to Licking County Humane Society

DVP COMMUNITY BRIEF DENISON UNIVERSITY VENTURE PHILANTHROPY

DVP was founded in 2008 through the generous gift of a

Denison alum. Eight Denison students, supported by one

faculty advisor, were tasked with constructing a different

type of student organization from the ground up. More

than five years later, the 20+members of DVP consistently

return to the group’s Mission statement, excerpted here,

for guidance.

“Our purpose is to effect positive and meaningful change

in the lives of others by increasing the capacity of local

organizations. We accomplish this by:

1) investigating pressing community needs and learning

about the organizations that attempt to address them

(2) training ourselves to make timely, effective, and well-

administered philanthropic allocations to build in the

capacity of local organizations

(3) offering stewardship and support through direct ser-

vice to recipient organizations.”

Connect with the Denison Venture Philanthropy Mission

“This investment should allow the Humane Society to more effectively harness its growing coalition of vol-unteers, adoptive families, organization members, and donors—helping to ensure

long-term success.”

- LCHS director Lori Carl-son, as quoted in the

Newark Advocate

The Licking County Humane

Society moved to a larger lo-

cation in February 2013,

which allows the organization

to accommodate more pets

and offer more services. Pho-

tos courtesy of LCHS.

DVP COMMUNITY BRIEF

DVP brings NYT journalist David Bornstein to campus Last fall, DVP welcomed

acclaimed journalist and New

York Times columnist David

Bornstein to Denison. DVP

teamed up with the Business

and Entrepreneurship Club to

bring Bornstein to campus for

a lecture, titled, “Social Entre-

preneurship and How College

Students Can Change the

World.” The lecture filled the

Slayter auditorium, with over

130 students, faculty, and staff

in attendance.

Throughout his talk Born-

stein emphasized the im-

portance of social entrepre-

neurship in the college genera-

tion. He gave examples of

inspirational students who are

doing work in the field of so-

cial change, and also about the

things all students can do to

enact social change within

their communities.

Bornstein is recognized as

a leader in the field of social

change for his book How to

Change the World: Social En-

trepreneurs and the Power of

New Ideas, which is consid-

ered one of the most important

books on the subject of social

entrepreneurship and non-

profit work.

Bornstein also sat down

with members from DVP and

the Business and Entrepreneur-

ship Club to talk more inti-

mately about the issues of so-

cial entrepreneurship. DVP

members had the opportunity

to ask Bornstein questions

about his process going into

writing about social entrepre-

neurship and his own take on

important issues. Attendees at

the lecture were able to ask

questions as well, making it a

unique experience.

Members of DVP having lunch with David Bornstein.

FALL 2013

In 2011-2012 DVP

supported the Licking

County Coalition for

Housing (LCCH) with a

variety of projects de-

signed to increase the

organization’s ability to

communicate with its

diverse stakeholders.

After co-managing the

RFP and design process,

DVP students handed

over the reigns to LCCH

staff in 2012.

Unexpected oppor-

tunities for LCCH to

serve as an information

hub for county organiza-

tions expanded the pro-

ject into 2013. The new

site—which features user

-friendly design, an ex-

tensive searchable data-

base of low-income

housing in Licking

County, “volunteer” and

“donate” functions, and a

variety of other re-

sources—is set to launch

shortly. Licking County

residents will soon be

able to take advantage of

this critical county re-

source; LCCH and DVP

will continue to work

together in the years to

come to assess the short-

and long-term outcomes

of this investment.

GRANT UPDATE:

Giving new meaning to ‘Home’ page

DVP member spotlight: Kate Kloster

One of the two DVP graduates from the class of 2013 reflects back on her Venture Philanthropy experience

Q: What was your experience with DVP

like? While I didn' t discover DVP until my

junior year, I quickly realized it was one of the

best organizations I could be a part of at Den-

ison. It is consistently such a thoughtful, car-

ing group of students that is supported by sev-

eral wonderful faculty and staff. I was always

impressed by how DVP never settled or just

let itself get into a routine that it would un-

questionably follow. In other words, I felt like

the club was constantly reevaluating itself and

reflecting on how we could improve.

Q: What’s one of your favorite memories

from DVP? One of the highlights of my

DVP experience was conducting an interview

with one of the organizations that applied for

our grant this period. It was really inspiring

hearing them explain their proposal because

they were all so genuinely excited about this

project that was going to help build communi-

ty in Licking County.

Q: What are your post-graduation plans?

After graduation I will be moving back to my

hometown of St. Louis and working for Cassi-

dy Turley Commercial Real Estate Services,

Inc.

Q: Any advice for other DVP members? Don't be afraid to take on a leadership posi-

tion early! You might not feel ready, but

sometimes the best way to learn is to do!

You'll be glad you got involved. I would also

recommend taking advantage of the trips/

workshops that DVP can connect you to - it's

something I didn't really have time for but

wish I would’ve done.

DVP helps Licking County Coalition for Housing launch completely re-vamped site

FALL 2013 DVP COMMUNITY BRIEF

The $5K Sillerman Prize for Innovations

in Philanthropy (recently re-titled as the “Gen-

erous U” award) is an annual contest that

looks for demonstrated success in (1) engag-

ing people in charitable giving, (2) increasing

awareness of philanthropy, (3) creating a cul-

ture of giving on a college campus, and (4)

developing a model that can allow goals 1-3 to

flourish on other college campuses.

DVP was selected as one of five finalists

for this prize in 2012, beating out more than a

dozen other proposals, including some from

graduate schools. The selection as a finalist

resulted in an invitation for two DVP mem-

bers, Peter Hurford ‘14 and Emma Bosley-

Smith ’15 to fly out to Brandeis University in

Massachusetts and give a live presentation to

judges.

DVP’s proposal, entitled “The $10,000

Question: Venture Philanthropy Club Campus

Organizations as Student Philanthropist De-

velopment and a Means of Community Im-

pact,” focused on DVP’s capacity to be a stu-

dent-centered process that empowers students

through shared accomplishment, develops an

investment mindset to push students to inter-

act with big questions in philanthropy, and to

create connections between students, faculty,

administrators, and the community.

Although DVP did not win first place, the

Sillerman Prize was a good opportunity to

share the DVP model with professionals.

Eyes on the prize: DVP selected as finalist for

Brandeis University’s prestigious Sillerman Prize

DVP has the unique opportunity to meet with leaders in venture philanthropy and social entrepre-neurship. DVP members also attend national conferences to learn from professionals and bring new ideas back to campus. Here’s a look at the different activities DVP participated in last year:

IMPACT Conference//

Albuquerque, NM: Four DVP members attended the IMPACT conference to share ideas about civic engagement with other students and attend workshops about service-learning.

bigBANG!//Cleveland, OH:

DVP sent a team of students to network with venture philan-thropy and nonprofit leaders, see noted nonprofit expert Dan Pallotta’s keynote ad-dress, and to share the DVP story.

Social Venture Partners//

Cleveland, OH: DVP met with executives of SVP to under-stand how venture philanthropy works on a professional level and receive feedback on DVP’s grant process.

The Burton D. Morgan Founda-

tion//Hudson, OH: DVP mem-bers visited the foundation to learn about its approach to phi-lanthropy, the grant process, and entrepreneurship. They also met with David Kuhns ‘68 and The Burton D. Morgan Foundation trustee J. Martin Erbaugh ‘70.

PNC Bank//Cleveland, OH:

DVP-ers met with PNC Re-gional President Paul Clark ‘75 to learn about PNC’s ap-proach to corporate philan-thropy.

Otterbein University Com-

munity Impact Summit//Westerville, OH: Three DVP members had the chance to listen to Bad Girl Ventures founder and CEO Candace Klein speak. DVP also got to collaborate with other students to identify so-lutions to local problems.

From left to right: (1) Bad Girl Ventures CEO Candace Klein presents at Otterbein’s Community Impact Summit. (2)

DVP members pose in front of PNC bank in Cleveland. (3) DVP visits with PNC Regional President Paul Clark ‘75.

Emma Bosley-Smith ‘15 pre-

sents in front of the judges.

Stellar Stats This year, DVP students celebrated a

wide array of opportunities,

outcomes, and recognition.

FALL 2013 DVP COMMUNITY BRIEF

Denison’s honor for “extraordinary commitment to excellence, leadership and dedication to Den-

ison and surrounding communities” has been awarded to eight DVP students, 2008-2013.

Presidential Medalists

President Dale T. Knobel awarded the Univer-

sity’s top honors to four DVP students in the

last three years. Fifty percent of the 2012 Pres-

idential Medalists (Nicole Jimenez and Steven

Profitt) participated in DVP during their time on

the Hill. The others: Zack Goldman ’11 and

Kate Kloster ’13.

Distinguished Leadership

Service Awards

Out of 25+ campus service organi-

zations, DVP was recognized with

high honors. Peter Hurford ‘14 won

Outstanding Junior, several DVP-

ers won the President’s Service

Award for doing 100+ hours of

community service, and DVP as a

whole was recognized as a top ser-

vice organization.

Careers

DVP graduates

currently pursue

fields such as

banking, commu-

nity development,

consulting, edu-

cation, and insur-

ance (to name a

few).

Top-Notch Advising

In 2013, Economics Professor and DVP Advisor Fadhel Kaboub received the inaugural Organizational Advisor of the Year Award from the Denison Student Government. In 2012, Dr. Kaboub won the Denison Community Association’s Best

Faculty Advisor Award.

National Fellowships

DVP-ers often win prestigious fellowships, including City Year, the Davis Program for

Peace, Food Corps, the Fulbright Pro-gram, Peace Corps, and

Teach for America.

The Number to Beat

In the first five investment cycles (2008-2013), DVP channeled over $30,000 and 3,000 hours of service to organizations in the Licking County community.

Denison University Venture Philanthropy 2012-2013

Nancy Aguilar ‘14

Ana Boror ‘16

Rex Cao ‘16

Susan Cherry ‘15

Becky Coe ‘15

Emma Bosley-Smith ‘15

Emily Cosco ‘15**

Nitya Daryanani ‘14

Connor Ford ‘14

Taylor Frame ‘14

Bronwyn Frank ‘16

Josh Goldman ‘14

Sarah Hunter ‘15

Peter Hurford ‘14*

Sahila Jorapur ‘15*

Kate Kloster ‘13

Alex Lloyd ‘15

Luchen Peng ‘15

Alana Perez ‘16*

Chelsea Steeb ‘15*

Lydia Strohmeyer ‘14*

Laura Spinelli ‘14*

Abbey Torrence ‘14

Laura Venzke ‘14

Zach Wimmers ‘13

*Leadership Team

**Chair

Faculty and Staff

Advisory Board

Greg Bader

Stephanie Hunt-Theophilus

Dr. Fadhel Kaboub, Advisor

Dr. Laurel Kennedy

Kathleen Powell

Dr. Lyn Robertson

With generous support from:

David Kuhns ’68

The Burton D. Morgan Foundation

and

Denison Campus Governance

Association

DU Alford Center for Service

Learning

Project Startup

Visit us online!

www.denison.edu/dvp

www.facebook.com/DenisonVP