Four Clinton School students will work with the Pine Bluff Area Community Foundation this year to improve its grant-making process in an effort to increase the impact of community projects.
Clinton School students Heath Carelock of New Carrollton, Md., Dustin Choate of Tulsa, Okla., Alyssa Provencio of Derby, Kan., and Moksheda Thapa of Okhaldhunga, Nepal, will evaluate the community foundation’s Giving Tree program, which has granted more than $60,000 to local organizations this year.
The students will conduct surveys with local organizations and research models of effective grant making to create a more collaborative, sustainable process.
“Our commitment to improving our processes led us to apply for the Clinton School practicum team,” said Chris Castoro, executive director of the community foundation. “We are delighted to have been awarded this talented group of students to help us deliver better services to the people of Pine Bluff.”
The Giving Tree program has six endowment funds that generate money to be given to community organizations at the discretion of foundation’s board of directors. The grants are intended for projects that impact the Pine Bluff area and are open to any organization in Jefferson County.
This year, 16 agencies have received grants to help do a range of good, from increasing literacy to expanding arts programming. The median grant award was $3,250. The next award cycle will begin in July 2011.
The project is one of eight group projects students are completing this year in the Clinton School’s Practicum program, one of three for-credit public service projects in the Master of Public Service degree program.
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