University of St. Thomas The Damus Board Video
3, 2, 1. Action. That's so fun. My name is Hannah Christman. I'm a junior here at St. Thomas and I am studying marketing and human resources.
My name is Shuaib Khalif. I'm a junior here at St. Thomas, majoring in operations supply chain.
I wanted to learn how to get involved in my community in a way that practices philanthropy, but I didn't have the money myself to donate, so I wanted to find some kind of program that could help me do that.
Name's Eyo Ekpo, a small business owner here in the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis St. Paul. I was on the dus board my junior year. They start thinking like, oh, this is going to end soon and I need to know what I'm doing. I saw the Damus board opportunities a chance to learn more about the nonprofit World.
I'm Emily Pritchard, the founder and CEO of the Socialites. I was actually on the very first board back in 2009. We heard in the business school that there was a generous donor who had gifted a grant to form a philanthropic board that students could join to, and when selected, you would actually go through the process of what it felt like looked like and meant to be on a foundation or a board. This year we're focusing on housing insecurities and how that relates to racial inequity. We have $30,000 that we get to award to nonprofits of our choice, so it's essentially students practicing philanthropy with donated money from our donors.
We weren't all the same grade, we didn't all have the same majors, we didn't have all the same backgrounds, so understanding who we shared this responsibility with, getting to know each other, where their passions were, whether that be children, the environment, be pets, whatever else it might be. That was how we first started and then saying, okay, is it feasible for us to find one?
About 42 nonprofits applied for the Damus grant this year. We used consensus decision making to review all of them, and then we narrow it down to about 10 organizations.
Going through the applications, it was a fun process. I was able to see different missions of the nonprofits and how they can connect to racial inequity and combat homelessness in the Twin Cities area, and then the Damus board members will split up into groups of two and go on site visits to those 10 respective organizations that made it into the finals. And then after we go through the interviews with each nonprofit, we'll come back and report again on what we learned and additional information.
I feel like it's one thing to read through the applications, but to actually visit them in person was a great experience.
Consensus decision making is a very tedious process. It's not an easy one, but it can be so effective and enriching, and you really ensure that everyone's voices are heard.
My favorite part of this experience was looking forward to Fridays. It was a great way to end the week as board members were able to catch up with each other, talk about nonprofits, and then just enjoy each other's company.
When we get to know people on a personal level like we did from the hibachi place and different networking events that we did to get to know each other, it really helped us become united and really come together on that mission that we wanted to achieve. And it was easier to incorporate both your head and your heart when you are making decisions because you know the people around you and what they care about. Now I consider all the people on the DOIs board my close friends, and I can talk to them about anything, and I know that they would be there for me for whatever I need.
During the final event, we have our award ceremony where we get to actually award the nonprofits with their money, so they will have representatives from their nonprofit come in and speak a little bit, and it'll just be a really awesome opportunity to see how all of the work that we've put into the Damus board throughout this year comes full circle. I always look forward to the students sharing their personal experiences. Each student will introduce one of the nonprofits that they got to be part of and help select, and it always just has the greatest impact, I think hearing directly from them. How did this experience shift something in you? We
Feel that this year's grant winners are fantastic examples of working through adversity to meet the most basic needs of our community members.
Seeing these nonprofits being awarded the generous gift of the donis is fulfilling simply and a hundred percent fulfilling.
My biggest advice is just to be open-minded, come with a open heart to listen to others and also just be yourself and have fun.
I think the generation that is in college right now, it really is a mission-driven generation. What I'm going to do out in the world, the job I'm going to take, it needs to have a greater cause to it. The Damus board is a great way to get started. You get to join a board, you get to come up with the idea, get in the community, learn something new, make new connections. It's one of the most meaningful and impactful experiences I had at St. Thomas, and I was really involved in a lot of other things, but nothing that really had the roots and the cause behind it. Like the D is.
