University of Notre Dame students awarded $58,000 to five local nonprofits through this year’s Philanthropy and the Common Good class. The award ceremony Dec. 9 was led by Jonathan Hannah, term assistant teaching professor of political science and assistant director for operations of the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture.

Philanthropy and the Common Good is an experiential learning course in collaboration among the Department of Political Science, the Hesburgh Program in Public Service and the Potenziani Minor in Constitutional Studies. The primary sponsor, The Philanthropy Lab, helps fund similar courses around the country.

“Teaching this course and having this experience with our students is truly an honor and a privilege,” Hannah said. “They exemplify everything it means to be Notre Dame students, and I know they will go on to impact their communities and the world by working with and for nonprofit organizations.”

Students in this class engage and learn from local nonprofit organizations in the South Bend region by conducting site visits and requesting funding proposals. Students spend time analyzing the proposals and work as a board of directors to award real grants.

At the award ceremony, students presented checks to the nonprofit recipients, and Notre Dame President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., delivered remarks.

“This event is a culmination of everything that we have been working toward this semester,” said Maya Tuviera, a Notre Dame sophomore who was assigned to Our Lady of the Road.

“At Notre Dame, we shouldn’t just be striving toward giving people the opportunity to survive. Here, it’s about human flourishing and how we can best achieve that and work as a community to do that. I am proud of everything that has happened, and I am happy to see these funds go to great causes in this community,” she said.

The students awarded grants to the following nonprofits that are making significant strides in addressing critical community needs:

• Center for the Homeless — $5,000

• Christ Child Society — $6,375

• Dustin’s Place — $13,625

• Our Lady of the Road — $15,000

• Dismas House — $18,000

“It’s such a great gift to participate in this project,” said Jonathan Schommer, executive director of Our Lady of the Road.

Schommer, who worked directly with Tuviera and other students throughout the class, said the funds will go toward the organization’s work to ensure people experiencing homelessness have survival supplies and other critical resources needed during the winter months. He praised the class for its ability to foster stronger connections between Notre Dame and the South Bend region.

“This class is a really great example of the connection between Notre Dame and the community,” Schommer said. “It’s a tangible way for our nonprofits to partner with the University to work toward the common good in our community.”

Since its inception in 2019, the Philanthropy and the Common Good course has awarded more than $400,000 in grants to local nonprofits. At the ceremony, Hannah announced that the course will be offered again in the fall 2025 semester for its seventh iteration.

The course was supported by several University offices, including the Office of Public Affairs, de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture, Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government, Department of Political Science and Sheedy Family Program in Economy, Enterprise and Society, and by 1976 alumnus Brian Hegarty.

Originally published by Colleen Wilcox, Office of Public Affairs, at publicaffairs.nd.edu on Dec. 15.