Beyond the Gift: 

Reflections on My Capstone Project with Philanthropy Southwest

The capstone model is an integral part of the Bush School education in which our technical and interpersonal skills are challenged and strengthened. These projects are driven by the interests of the client and the direction of the student team. My capstone team worked with Philanthropy Southwest, a trade organization representing the interests of foundations in a seven-state region of the Southwestern United States. In this reflection, I examine my experience of working on the capstone project with Philanthropy Southwest by providing an overview of the project, discussing my individual contributions, reflecting on challenges and lessons learned, and assessing the impact of the project. 

Overview and Contributions

The primary focus of my team’s capstone project was to explore the social and economic impact of the foundation giving in the Southwestern United States. Specifically, we utilized grant input data (the foundation providing the grant and the dollar value of the grant) provided by Candid and grant impact data (the recipient organization and its expenditures) from IRS information returns (Form 990/Form 990-PF). This data was used to determine the direct, indirect, and induced economic impact of a grant via the IMPLAN economic impact application. Additionally, a social impact report is developed for the impact of philanthropic giving on adolescents and children who receive preventative mental health care in school - a current federal health objective. This social impact report will provide a deeper understanding of the social impact of philanthropy in the region concerning preventative mental health care in school.

My contributions to the project focused on the economic impact assessment. I served as a co-project manager and the lead of the economic team consisting of 6 out of the 8 team members. I was the primary author of the economic research methodology section which included detailing the data collection, sampling methods, data manipulation, sample weighting, and data analysis for the project. Additionally, I delegated tasks related to sampling, data collection, and data analysis to the economic team members. 

Challenges and Lessons Learned

The challenges faced by our capstone team provided learning opportunities related to teamwork, time management, and managing expectations. One of the greatest challenges we faced was gaining access to our initial sample set of grants from Candid. Because our client has a long-standing relationship with the nonprofit data organization, we hoped to utilize the high-quality data set to increase our confidence levels for the research project. The data from Candid served as a starting point for our data collection by providing key information about the grantmaking organization and recipient organization, allowing us to collect the appropriate expenditure data. Unfortunately, the timeline for receiving the sample from Candid was longer than initially expected which affected the rest of our data collection and analysis timeline. 

To address this challenge, I focused on keeping the rest of my team up to date with the available information I had to manage expectations while we waited. I prepared clear process guides and standard operating procedures to ensure our team was prepared as soon as the data was received. Once the data was received, our teamwork and time management skills were crucial. Through clear communication and delegation, we were able to process over 1500 records in less than a month which allowed us to remain on track for our data analysis timeline. Overcoming this challenge and others allowed our team to succeed in meeting the needs of our stakeholders.

Impact and Future Direction

Though we have not yet finished the final report, this capstone project will provide valuable insights into the social and economic dynamics influenced by philanthropic activity in the Southwestern United States. Specifically, it is our goal to provide insights that Philanthropy Southwest can use to promote the positive work of foundations and by foundations to showcase the impact within their particular sector or region. Our report will include an analysis of the economic impact based on states, state subregions, foundation types, and giving priorities thus allowing a detailed discussion of the intricacies of impact at different levels. Additionally, our analysis will be utilized by future capstone teams to expand upon the social impact analysis using the model developed by our team. 

Conclusions & Takeaways

In conclusion, my capstone experience with Philanthropy Southwest has been an insightful experience that honed my leadership, critical thinking, research, and analysis skills. Working alongside my team, we delved into the social and economic impact of philanthropy in the Southwestern United States, overcoming challenges such as data access delays with strategic planning and teamwork. Our contributions will provide insights for Philanthropy Southwest and pave the way for future capstone teams to expand on our analysis.