Students in an annual Philanthropic Leadership class distributed $58,900 in grants to local nonprofits this year at a ceremony held Dec. 3, nearly tripling the awards from last year.

The course, taught by Carla Ingrando in the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, is designed to provide students with instruction and experience in philanthropic leadership with a special emphasis on personal giving and nonprofit board membership.

Grant awardees included the Advocacy Center, the Community Foundation of Tompkins County, the Ithaca Health Alliance/Ithaca Free Clinic, Love Living at Home, Racker, Saoirse Pastures, Shelter Outreach Services, the United Way and Village at Ithaca.

Each year, the class receives a course grant from its partner, The Philanthropy Lab, which allows students to distribute awards to nonprofit organizations following a process that involves research, site visits and discussion. Each student is a member of the NBA 5035 Foundation Board of Directors, and each student has equal weight when voting on grant awards.

MBA and law student Haley Lukas chose to work with the Racker, a local organization that benefits people with disabilities and their families, because she is passionate about disability rights. Over the last four months, Lukas and her team met with Racker representatives and made site visits where they observed children with and without disabilities learning together in a nurturing environment.

“Racker’s mission of inclusivity and holistic services really resonated with our group,” Lukas said. “Telling Racker’s story, highlighting its long-standing collaborations with Cornell and illustrating that Racker’s work touched on every issue area that our classmates cared about – education, financial literacy and therapies involving animals – allowed us to be strong advocates for an organization doing critical work in our local community.”

Bob Brazill, director of community relations and development at the Racker, says the organization is deeply grateful for the generous grant from Cornell’s Philanthropic Leadership class. 

“This award enables us to deliver life-changing tools and resources to our preschool classrooms and clinical teams,” he said. “During the site visits, the students asked thoughtful and well-researched questions, showcasing their dedication to making a meaningful impact.”

Since 2011, The Philanthropy Lab and its donor partners have given over $16 million to build philanthropy education at 33 universities across the U.S. More than 5,000 students have participated in philanthropy courses affiliated with The Philanthropy Lab.

“Drawing from the SC Johnson College of Business student body and beyond, the class is intended to help students gain a greater understanding of the needs of the local community and how they can give their time, talent, treasure and testimony,” Ingrando said. “The Giving Ceremony is a culmination of our class efforts and is an opportunity to acknowledge the important work of local nonprofits and to celebrate what our students accomplished throughout the semester.”

Philanthropic Leadership student Vera Yeh, MBA ’25, contributed to this story.