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Internship Portfolio
Coburn Place Safe Haven
May 16th 2017 – August 2nd 2017
PHST-P 490 11065
Erin Wuertz
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Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS.............................................................................................................................................. 2

UNDERGRADUATE INTERNSHIP INFORMATION FORM ……………………………………………………………………………………….3

INTERNSHIP LEARNING CONTRACT & PLAN ………………………………………………………………………………………………………..5

LEARNING CONTRACT .................................................................................................................................... 5
LEARNING PLAN ........................................................................................................................................... 6
LEARNING OUTCOMES………………………………………………………….………………………………………………...…….6
PRODUCTS……………………………………………………………………………………………………...............................7

STUDENTS INTERNSHIP EVALUATION .................................................................................................................... 8

SUPERVISOR'S INTERNSHIP EVALUATION ....................................................................................................................... 10
REFLECTION #1……………………………………………………………… ............................................................................................. 12
REFLECTION #2 …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………….16
REFLECTION #3 ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………….19
REFLECTION #4 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………….22
PRODUCTS/EXAMPLES OF WORK …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….26
FINAL REFLECTION PAPER …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………31
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FORM 1 Undergraduate Internship Information Form

This form is to assist you in identifying internship opportunities to fulfill the requirement for PHST P490.
Name __Erin Wuertz_____________________________ Date 06-27-2017__________________
Phone(s) _812-558-4256__________________________ Email ewuertz@umail.iu.edu________
Credit Hours completed to date __105_____ Credit Hours in PHST completed to date _12_____
Expected graduation date _May 2018______ Faculty Advisor _Pamela Clark___________________
When would you prefer to do your Internship? You will be involved for 150 hours and typically this is 10
hours per week for 15 weeks; special accommodations can be made to align with your schedule.
Fall Semester ______ Spring Semester ________ summer ___X_____
What type of nonprofit organization do you prefer? Check all that apply. Keep in mind your minor area
of study, your personal interests, and your future employment and career goals.
__X__ Community/Corporate Foundation _____ Grassroots Community Organization
_____ Environmental Organization _____ Research/Policy Organization
_____ Faith-based Organization __X_ Advocacy/Social Justice Organization
__X__ Health or Human Service Organization __X__ Youth Serving Organization
_____ Arts/Cultural Organization _____ Immigrant or International Organization
_____ Social Entrepreneurship _____Membership Organization
Other ideas ______________________________________________________________________
What size of nonprofit organization do you prefer? Or, it may not matter to you.
__X__ Small (less than 5) __X__ Medium (less than 20) ___X__Large (more than 20)
What functional areas are of most interest to you? Rank each as low, medium, or high.
Low_ Membership Services Med_ Communications/Newsletter
High_ Volunteer Recruitment/Recognition Med_ Program Implementation/Service delivery
High_ Fundraising/Donor Relations Med_ Web design/Social Media
High_Advocacy/Education Strategies High_Grant Making/Grant Writing
Other ideas _____________________________________________________________
*********
After your first meeting with your Faculty Advisor, list the names of three nonprofit organizations you
plan to explore, or next steps you will take to talk with others about Internship opportunities.
My dream is to open a domestic violence shelter one day. I chose three different domestic violence
shelters to research and volunteer at before deciding where I would request my internship take place. I
looked into; The Julian Center, Alternatives and Coburn Place Safe Haven. I volunteered at all three
places but kept coming back to Coburn Place. Coburn Place is a leader in domestic violence advocacy,
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how they handle the sensitive subject and how they go above and beyond to take care of their clients. I
really enjoyed volunteering there and was invited to be their summer intern.
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FORM 2 Internship Learning Contract & Plan

PART I • THE LEARNING CONTRACT
Student's Name: Erin Wuertz____________________________________________________________
Nonprofit Organization Providing Internship: Coburn Place Safe Haven___________________________
Address: 604 E 38th St___________________________________________________________________
City,State, Zip: Indianapolis, IN 46205______________________________________________________
Site Supervisor's Name: Julie Henson_______________________________________________________
Title: Community Engagement Director__________ Phone (_317_) _923-5750____________________
Email: julie@coburnplace.org_____________________________________________________________
Date of Internship: Beginning _05/16/2017______________ Ending 08/02/2017_______________
Anticipated Weekly Schedule: Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday 9am to 3:30pm_______________________
Site Supervisor: I have discussed ideas and negotiated with the student to identify appropriate tasks as
indicated in the "Learning Plan." I agree to provide the Intern with an orientation to the organization
including information on human resource procedures, responsibilities, and safety issues relevant to the
organization. I agree to meet with the Intern regularly and to be available for conversations and advice
for the duration of the Internship. I agree to host a site visitation by the Faculty Advisor if feasible and
to evaluate the student and the Internship at the end of the term.
Signature __Julie Henson________________________________ Date__07/05/2017_____________
Faculty Advisor: I have discussed ideas with the student and have negotiated with the student the
appropriate academic work as indicated in the "Learning Plan." I agree to be available to meet with the
student three times, to evaluate the student's Final Reflection Paper and to discuss the Internship with
the Site Supervisor when appropriate.
Name ______________________________________ Phone (_______) _________________________
Signature _________________________________________________________ Date _____________
Student Intern: I concur with this "Learning Plan." I agree to complete work assignments promptly and
to the best of my ability. I agree to familiarize myself with and adhere to the organizational policies and
procedures and to the appropriate standards of ethical conduct. I agree to bring problems, concerns,
and questions to the attention of my Site Supervisor and/or Faculty Advisor.
Signature _Erin Wuertz___________________________________________ Date __07/05/2017______
PART II • THE LEARNING PLAN
Meet with your Faculty Advisor and Site Supervisor to discuss and complete your "Learning Plan." The
more detailed and definite this plan is, the more productive the Internship is likely to be as a learning
experience. But all parties must understand that the written plan is necessarily open-ended and
incomplete. In any learning situation, plans are subject to modification and improvement. Adjustments
can occur at any time but the Intern is the responsible party for documenting changes and explaining
the rationale for the changes. Any substantial change must involve consultation with all three parties.
You may wish to produce a rough draft of your Learning Plan to review and discuss with others before
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producing the final version. You may construct your Learning Plan in any way you want, but this form
should be the cover sheet. Depending on the length of your Internship, the Learning Plan should be
finalized and submitted before you complete approximately 25% of your Internship. This Internship may
be terminated by the mutual agreement of the Faculty Advisor, the Site Supervisor, and the Intern.
The following are requirements for the Learning Plan to be considered complete:
1. List three learning outcomes for your Internship - what you expect to learn before the end of
your Internship. It may be helpful for you to refer to the learning outcomes for a major in Philanthropic
Studies.
2. List at least two strategies for each learning outcome - specific actions you propose to take or
tasks you will complete as an Intern with the organization.
3. Describe, if relevant, any products that you are responsible for creating as part of your
Internship (e.g., a newsletter, a public presentation, a brochure).
4. Plan to meet at least three times with your Faculty Advisor throughout your Internship. If you
are going to work outside of Indianapolis, you should plan alternative ways (e.g., e-mail, phone) to meet
during your Internship.
5. As you prepare your Learning Plan, be as careful, thorough, and specific as possible. If helpful,
include due dates for the tasks.
6. Revisit the Learning Plan with your Site Supervisor, and modify as appropriate during the
Internship.

Learning Outcomes
Understanding the role of nonprofit organizations in society. Specifically, those with a domestic violence
focus.
• Take tours of various non-profit organizations in the Indianapolis area.
• Create assessments after the tours of each organization.
• Research a different non-profit each week. This includes; looking at their website, using Guide
Star, and studying their social media accounts.
• Schedule 30 minute meetings with each staff member to better understand their role here.
Learn more about Grants; Grant writing, what grants to apply for, how to find grants to apply for.
• Work with the Vice President of Mission Advancement on various grants in order to better
understand the process and why Grants are necessary.
• Complete a grant writing workshop.
• Write a few online grants to get comfortable with grant writing.
Learn more about community partnerships, how they are made, found and kept.
• Work with the Community Engagement Director and her advancement team to better
understand their process of choosing who to partner with and when.
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• Edit and post Super Service Challenge Videos where I create short videos of the groups
volunteering at Coburn to better understand why they are here and why they want to better their
community.
• Managing corporate partnership portfolios to better understand existing partnership.
• Manage 3rd Party binder to see what types of individuals and organizations want to partner
with Coburn Place and how they partner with them
Products:
• Birthday Post Card
• Coburn Place Post Card
• Community Education Binder and Spread Sheet
• 3rd Party Binder
• Garden Flyers for Residents
• Wish list Wednesday Posts on Twitter
• Nonprofit Research Project
• Direct Services Board
• Community Education Board
• 3 Grants (Kohls, Vera Bradley and Foodsco.)
• Giveaway for Residents
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FORM 3 Student's Internship Evaluation

Student's Name ___Erin Wuertz___________________________________________________________

Name of Nonprofit Organization__Coburn Place Safe Haven____________________________________

Site Supervisor's Name _Julie Henson_______________________________________________________

Internship Dates: Beginning _05/16/17_ Ending _08/02/17__ Semester or Summer Session _Summer 2_

Briefly describe your responsibilities as an Intern:

As an intern at Coburn Place my responsibilities ranged from filling in spread sheets to planning
activities on my own for the residents. Largely, I was responsible for developing an understanding of the
history, mission and services of Coburn Place. I worked directly with the staff in order to enhance the
services offered to residents of Coburn Place. I worked closely with the Advancement Team to help raise
awareness of Coburn Place within the community. I provided support to the Advancement Committee
as well as the Young Professionals Committee. I was responsible for communicating the mission, vision
and services of Coburn Place in a clear and engaging way as well as maintaining confidentiality according
to Coburn Place policy. I took initiative and practiced sound judgment in order to ensure timely project
completion.

What contributions did you make to the organization during your Internship?
This summer I made several contributions to Coburn Place. I worked closely with the
Advancement Team as well as Direct Services Team in order to better serve the organization and help
them in any way I could. I helped to build an assessment of local shelters by taking tours of several and
figuring out what their needs were. This will go into a large master assessment that can be used by not
only Coburn Place but all local shelters and nonprofits so that we can better work together to achieve
each other’s missions. In this I also did research on several nonprofits including their websites, social
media sites and financial information to research in what areas Coburn Place could improve their
following. I was in charge of making and editing Super Service Challenge videos which evolved me
working with volunteer groups to create an engaging short video telling why this corporate group
decided to volunteer at Coburn Place. These were then submitted to the Super Service Challenge
website for a chance to win grant money for Coburn Place. I was also in charge of organizing and
keeping up with Community Engagement. I organized the Community Education binder that they had
already created to reflect this year’s numbers for reporting and I created a spread sheet for last year and
this year for this information in order to better look ahead and see who has volunteered in the past and
how we can improve these numbers. I took lead on the summer social media campaign on twitter.
Taking over the Wishlist Wednesday posts to reflect Coburn Place’s real needs as well as finding a new
platform for us to schedule posts from. I worked closely with the direct services staff members helping
them with various admin responsibilities that other regular volunteers cannot do due to privacy policies.
I also planned a giveaway for the residents, creating a signup sheet and procuring various items that the
residents would enjoy. Everyone that signed up to be in the drawing won something, this was a great
accomplishment. I was also able to start a garden recipe sheet for residents. Each week I chose
something that was ready for harvest from the garden, I then created a flyer and included a recipe on
the flyer. These flyers were handed out to each resident. Creation of a 3rd party binder was also
something that I took on. I researched 3rd party events dating back to 2015 and put them all in one place
including how much these events made as well as the contact for these events. This will help Coburn
Place in the future to reach out to those that have done a 3rd party event in the past to make their event
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annual or to host another event. This summer I also took on three grants to complete for Coburn Place. I
have completed a grant proposal for Kohls, Vera Bradley and FoodsCo. These grants would mainly help
with Coburn Place’s annual fundraiser Coburn Fest! which is in October. In conjunction with these grants
I have also reached out to several organizations and individuals for silent auction items for Coburn Fest!
I was also able to interview each staff member and collect data that will be helpful to keep the staff
running smoothly as well as collecting ideas for how Coburn Place could do things better and what
Coburn Place is excelling at in the eyes of its staff. I believe I have contributed a great deal to Coburn
Place. I have learned so much from them and will miss being their intern immensely.

Would you recommend this organization to another PHST student seeking an Internship? Why or why
not?
I would recommend Coburn Place to any Philanthropy student seeking an Internship. I really
enjoyed the staff and how they really took me in as a staff rather than just an intern. I learned so much
more than your typical internship. I truly learned the ins and outs of a nonprofit organization.

Additional comments you would like to make about this Internship site:
Coburn Place took my internship very seriously and I felt as if I had so much support. All of the
staff wanted my experience to be beneficial and I am so grateful for this opportunity.

Return this form to your Faculty Advisor or Director of Undergraduate Programs

X I hereby waive my right of access to the information recorded above so that this information can be
shared.
 I do not waive my right of access to the information recorded above and prefer that this information
is kept private.

Student Signature __Erin Wuertz________________ Date__08/03/2017__________________

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FORM 4 Supervisor's Internship Evaluation

Student's Name ____Erin Wuertz_____________________________________________________

Name of Organization ____Coburn Place Safe Haven____________________________________

Address ___________604 E 38th Street____________________

Site Supervisor's Name ____Julie Henson_______________________________

Title ___Community Engagement Director_____ Phone (_317_) __923-5750____

Date of Internship: Beginning ___May 2017__________________ Ending ______August 2017

Approximate hours contributed by intern: ___ less than 150 hours ___ 150 hours _X__ more than 150
hours

In what ways did his/her work as an Intern "add value" to your organization?
Erin added incredible value to our organization. Her “load” was enormous—she
worked with events, direct service, marketing, advancement, and more. Her work on
tracking and organizing Community Education information and third party events was a first for
our department, and it expanded our capacity to engage the community with events, as well
as being able to mine meaningful data about what groups and organizations are currently
partnering with Coburn Place.
She took time to also partner with direct services, whether in helping in the
Children’s Services area or in working alongside our case managers. Many of this staff
only trusted Erin to help with their projects, knowing that her work was thorough and that
her skill was advanced.
Her work on our social media was inventive and consistent. She’s done several
graphic design projects, including designing postcards that we will use to engage with
supporters.
Erin interviewed staff at Coburn Place and toured other agencies alongside our
Advancement team and her insight and reflection in these areas was enormous.
We have so appreciated Erin, her work ethic, and her attention to detail.

What strengths does he/she have and what areas would benefit from continued improvement?
Erin has many strengths, including attention to detail, consistency, reliability and
creativeness. She is level headed and responsive to others needs. You could absolutely trust
that Erin would follow through on her commitments, her projects, and that her work
would be at an incredibly high level. She is able to juggle several projects at once, and she’s
able to roll with the punches. She made time to work on all of the projects we placed in her
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charge, and she did excellent work. She functioned more like a staff than a volunteer, and
in that way we were able to entrust her with even more responsibility. She’s also a pleasure
to work with. Her attitude, courtesy, and constancy will serve her well as she continues in
this field. She’ll be missed at Coburn Place!
Above just her reliability, Erin is also incredibly creative. The way that she thinks
through problem solving is impressive. We asked her to be creative in so many ways:
graphic design, creating and editing videos, social media posts, asking for volunteers,
creating processes for data collection, asking staff for their stories and then pooling then
into a reflection. She excelled at this all.
We’ve also pushed her in areas outside her comfort zone, such as giving tours and
speaking to large groups about Coburn Place. She’s pushed herself in these areas and
grown and learned so much!

Would you be willing to host another Philanthropic Studies undergraduate major as an Intern in
the future? Please explain why or why not?
Absolutely. We enjoy partnering with students as they learn about nonprofits and hone
their skills. Philanthropy Studies I find to be a great fit specifically because it allows students to
frame and experience so many elements that go into our nonprofit and what we do. Though I doubt
it’s possible, but if all Philanthropic Studies undergraduate students are as good as Erin, we will
certainly take them all.

Additional comments or recommendations to share about this Intern or about the Philanthropic
Studies program at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy:
Thanks so much for partnering with us this summer. We were greatly impacted by
this internship and all the hard work Erin did while serving here.

Signature _Julie Henson_______________________________ Date ___8/2/2017___________

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Reflection #1

June 25th, 2017 – July 1st, 2017

DESCRIBE:

The week of June 25th to July 1st was very busy at Coburn Place! This week I was busy

helping to create a 3rd Party Binder as well as logging the community engagement events to be

prepared for the end of the quarter. I put together a binder of all the 3rd party events that have

been done in the last several years. This will help us when we are reaching out to individuals and

organizations in the future. The fiscal quarter ended on June 30th so on Friday I made sure all

our community engagement events were logged into our spread sheet. These are events where

organization or individuals come to Coburn and donate their time to help do various things

around the building. This is an important task for various reasons one being that we rely on

several grants that request this information. On Friday June 29th, I was taught what to send to

each grant at the end of each quarter and what that looks like. One grant requests the number of

Adult community engagement events as well as how many attended all together. Another grant

requests information about youth events as well as fair type events. I have several on-going

projects that I try to work a little on each week. I am in charge of notifying residents when items

are ready to be harvested from the garden. I do this by making a flyer and adding an easy recipe

to go along with the herb or vegetable ready to be harvested. This week I made a flyer for

Cilantro and also created next week’s flyer which will be for the herb Dill. I also have an

ongoing project of researching a different non-profit each week. I look at their social media and

websites as well as researching them through charity navigator or Guidestar. This week I

researched the Julian Center, a local emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence. I then
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analyze this information to see what we could be doing better in order to partner with these

nonprofits. I am also in charge of posting a Wishlist Wednesday post on Twitter every week

where I let supporters know what things Coburn Place needs this week.

EXAMINE:

One assignment that I have each week that I find to be especially important to what I

would like to learn as an intern at Coburn Place is researching various non-profits in order to

create an assessment to help Coburn Place and the various nonprofits better partner together in

the future.

I really enjoyed researching the Julian Center because I have a personal connection to it.

Not only did I just read about it online but we actually went and toured the facility the week

before. It was nice to see that they had a 5-star rating on Charity Navigator. They also gave me

the idea to pitch to my intern supervisor that we work towards being rated on Charity Navigator.

This is now a work in progress also.

I think my knowledge of the various websites that I can use to research non-profits has

made a huge difference in how I research them. Without those tools my research would not have

been nearly as complete. I also think my background knowledge of the organization was helpful.

The social media aspect of the research was easy to navigate given the different social media

projects I have had over the last few weeks.

ARTICULATE LEARNING:

Learning about the social issues that Coburn Place and other domestic violence shelter

face is the main reason I wanted to do my internship at a domestic violence shelter. It is clear to
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see that team work within the staff is necessary. This organization is forward thinking and

always looking for the best ways to serve their residents. The largest social issue I have seen was

at the beginning of the year when there was talk of budget cuts within the government. While we

were all worried, the staff handled it with grace and I know that Coburn Place can face anything.

Making sure the residents feel safe and welcomed at Coburn Place is very important. Dealing

with homelessness on a daily basis is just one of the many social issues Coburn Place focuses on

as we try to meet the most immediate needs first and then focus on sustainability and building

new lives.

In the first semester of my Philanthropy undergraduate career I took a course called

Philanthropy in the Social Sciences. At the time, I had no idea how relevant that course would be

to not only help me find my path in life but also to better understand the world of non-profits and

specifically the non-profit world that I am interested in. In this course, we played a game called

“A paycheck away”. In the game, you play as a character that is either homeless or very close to

being homeless. You then proceed to try to get everyone in the game of the street. The game

helps you to understand how difficult it can be either being homeless or on the brink of

homelessness. At the Julian Center, during our tour, the director of community engagement had

told us that since her starting in December there had only been 4 nights that they were not at

compacity. This means that many were referred to other shelters that could have been full

themselves. It is just like having to role a 6 to have shelter for the night.

This week I think I experienced a lot of the learning goal “Understanding the role of

nonprofit organizations in society”. Researching the Julian Center and learning more about why

we track things and what that helps with in terms of grants has helped me to better understand

the role of nonprofit organizations in society. I was about to see the roles and relationships
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between sectors in society by seeing how much the government affects nonprofits as well as how

much individuals can make a difference by donating to nonprofits. I gathered data related to

philanthropy by seeing how many volunteers volunteered last quarter and how much of a

difference that makes in terms of not only receiving grants but keeping them. By researching the

Julian Center I was able to see the difference in approaches between them and Coburn Place and

analyze why those differences may be necessary or unnecessary. While they serve much of the

same needs they must approach things differently because one is an emergency shelter and the

other is transitional housing with a 6 month wait list. However, there is always room to work

together and help each other succeed.

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Reflection #2

July 2nd, 2017 – July 8th,2017

DESCRIBE:

This week I was busy with three main projects. The first being the garden flyers for the

residents. I created and printed out flyers to hand out to residents. The flyer was for the herb dill

and contained information about the herb and an easy recipe that they can recreate in their own

kitchen! Coburn Place is in the process of several apartment turn overs right now so we are all

working hard to get the vacant apartments fully furnished and ready for their new families as

soon as possible! This week two different groups from the “Adopt-a-Apartment” program came

in to make two apartments feel like a home for two families. I went with my intern supervisor to

show them the apartments and introduce them to what they needed to do. The apartments turned

out looking beautiful! On Thursday I did some admin work on the direct services staff of Coburn

Place. I helped to file some old and new residents paper work. This is sensitive admin work that

most volunteers cannot do due to privacy policies. While this seems like busy work it is essential

to keeping Coburn Place running. Friday I helped to send out some letters to Coburn Place

supporters, also essential to keep Coburn Place running. I also spent Friday taking an online

grant finding and writing course on nonprofitready.org which is full of useful free online courses

related to nonprofits!

EXAMINE:

The most important and useful activity I did this week was the grant writing class I

completed online. It was satisfying to see what all I had already known beforehand because I
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thought that I didn’t know anything about grants but throughout the course I noticed things that I

did already know. The most frustrating thing about this activity was that I wished the course was

in person. I feel as if I would have gotten much more out the course if an actual person was

teaching it that I could ask questions to. There are several other grant courses on the website and

I look forward to exploring the rest of them. I did complete the activity and I feel as if I learned a

lot.

ARTICULATE LEARNING:

I learn about leadership within Coburn Place every day that I am there. I work directly

with several of the organizations leaders and I am currently in the process of setting up meetings

with each staff member to better understand their roles within the organization. I learn daily

about how important each position is at Coburn Place. My dream is to one day run a domestic

violence shelter so seeing all the different positions are especially important to me because in

order for me to run a domestic violence shelter successfully I will not only want to know what

every position is needed for but also so that I can help to lift them up and help them better their

work. Each position at Coburn Places takes control of their responsibilities while also seamlessly

helping their peers. True leaders help those around them so that the mission as a whole is

accomplished easier.

Last semester I took a course called “Philanthropy, Calling and Community”. In this

course, we talked a lot about what a community is and how it relates to Philanthropy. This course

helped me understand that communities become communities by being related by a

commonality. That commonality could be anything but often times communities are even more

powerful when connected by Philanthropy. Coburn Place is a community within its self but there
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are many other communities that Coburn Place is a part of. Such as, the community of domestic

violence shelters, or the community of non-profits in Indiana. I am learning more and more about

each community that Coburn Place fits into. One thing that I am especially interested in seeing is

how Coburn Place gets to know their sponsors and donors. This is another community that

Coburn Place is a part of. It keeps its donors connected within this community which in turn

helps create a more stable community.

One PHST learning outcome that I have come closer to achieving is “Understanding the

role of nonprofit organizations in society”. Every day at Coburn Place I learn more about this

learning outcome. I am constantly gathering and analyzing data to help Coburn Place better

understand their donors and how they can continue to increase donations and volunteer

engagement. This week I dug deeper into how the different sectors connect by taking an online

grant writing course and learning more about how grants work and why they are necessary for

non-profits like Coburn Place. Also, seeing how Coburn Place has an impact on all the

communities they are involved in is an important part of their role in society.

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Reflection #3

July 9th, 2017 – July 15th, 2017

DESCRIBE:

This week Coburn Place had one of their annual fundraisers. The Lemonade sale was on

Thursday. On Wednesday, we went to tour a local emergency domestic shelter called Sheltering

Wings. We were given a tour while we discussed how the two organizations could help each

other in various ways. After the tour, I chose Sheltering Wings to research for my nonprofit

research project. I used GuideStar and Charity Navigator as well as their websites and social

media platforms to research them. Wednesday was also important because several weeks ago, I

posted on my own social media asking friends and family for votes to get Charity Navigator to

rate Coburn Place and we were successful. Coburn Place is now rated on Charity Navigator!

Wednesday evening, I made 300 mini cupcakes to be sold at Coburn Place’s Lemonade Sale.

The Lemonade Sale was created several years ago, to raise funds in order to purchase school

supplies and school shoes for the children at Coburn Place. The final numbers for what the

fundraiser raised is still growing but it was amazing to see the love from all over come pouring

in. Friday I was able to sit in on a grant meeting with the Vice President of Mission

Advancement. The meeting was very informative. I was able to learn about various grants in the

making and upcoming grants. This week I also set up individual staff meetings for next week in

order to learn about the different roles at Coburn Place.

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EXAMINE:

The largest task this week was getting ready for and executing the Lemonade Sale.

Coburn Place had a goal of $8800 and the last count brought us to a little over $6000. I have

never been a part of a fundraiser where the goal was not meant so that was rather frustrating.

However, everyone still seemed so pleased with how the fundraiser did that it made it seem as if

we did reach our goal and I know that more is coming so that possibility is still there. After

everything was counted we reached $10165! This doubled last year’s efforts and ensured that all

the kids, on or off site will get 2 new pairs of shoes a piece in time for school!

ARTICULATE LEARNING:

I helped at the downtown location for the Lemonade Sale. We were set up on the circle in

front of a church. While there I noticed several things. One thing I noticed was that once those

passing by saw or heard that the fundraiser was to benefit the children in particular of Coburn

people were more willing to give. It was also interesting to see that when we said we were taking

donations rather than charging per item people offered more rather than just paying the small

amount that a lemonade might cost. The lemonade sale was a good example of voluntary action

for the public good because as we saw people walking on the streets they gave voluntarily for the

children of Coburn Place no hidden motives just to help those children. I did witness several of

Coburn Place’s corporate partners come down from their offices downtown to donate. This could

be perceived in a few different ways. Some of those people might be donating because they care

for Coburn’s mission but they could also be donating because the rest of their floor is donating. It

is pretty well known that peer influence when it comes to giving is a great influence. When you

see, people donating or do good, it makes you want to do good also!

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In the Introduction to Philanthropy course we read “The Non-Profit Sector in Civil

Society”. In this book, we read all about who gives. The short answer in the book is “Almost

Everyone”. I saw this at the Lemonade Sale. I saw people with ties to Coburn Place give and I

saw people who were simply on their daily walk around the circle give.

This week I gained a greater understanding of ethics, values, norms and motivations in

philanthropy. I was able to see how important children are to the people all around the world but

also how important children are to nonprofits such as Coburn Place. Helping the youth is

important because if we can pass the proper ethics and values to them then the future seems more

promising. I learn more about motivations by watching people donate and hearing why people

were donating. Some donated because they had personal ties to Coburn Place or domestic

violence and others donated because they simply felt it was the right thing to do.
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Reflection #4

July 16th-July 22nd

DESCRIBE:

This week started out with meetings with some of the staff. On Tuesday, I interviewed 3

of the staff that work with the direct services portion of Coburn Place. I spoke with the

Transitional Services Director, an Adult Advocate and the Housing Advocate/Site Compliance

Specialist. I asked these staff members various questions including; how would you describe the

work you do here, is there anything you think Coburn Place could do better or needs to be doing,

and What is something you see Coburn Place excelling at. These were just a few questions asked

in the interviews. I got several different answers some that I expected and some that I never

would have thought of! It was a very eye opening experience. I also met with the Vice President

of Mission Advancement to discuss grants and have some questions answered. I also created a

flyer for a giveaway I am doing for the residents. I have found 15 different items to give away to

residents all they have to do is write their apartment number on the flyer and winners will be

drawn next week! 21 residents ended up signing up for the giveaway and I was able to find a few

more items for each participate to win something. On Thursday and Friday I worked from home

working on 3 grant requests. I am putting in 3 different grant requests with 3 different

organizations, Kohls, Vera Bradley, and a grocery store similar to Kroger.

EXAMINE:

The most challenging work I was faced with this week was grant writing. I have never

written a grant. I have never taken a grant writing course aside from the classes I am doing
 Wuertz 23

online currently. We had first decided on putting in requests to Kohls, Vera Bradley and Marsh.

However, because Marsh is in a bit of a limbo state right now. Several of the stores are being

bought by other companies and their website is currently under construction so I had to search

for other grants to apply for. I found one for Walmart but it was only for money, we were

looking for one to request water to be donated. I was given the suggestion of Kroger so I went to

do some research and found out that Kroger does not offer charitable donations in the Coburn

Place zip code so I kept searching. I found some other grocery stores that would work. Next

Tuesday I will meet with the Vice President of Mission Advancement again to decide which

grant to work on and to review the work I have done thus far. We decided to put in a grant

request for bottled water with FoodsCo. which is one of the owners of Kroger and we would pick

up the water from a local Kroger location.

ARTICULATE LEARNING:

This week I would like to talk about the leadership I observe as I interact with Coburn

Place’s staff. This week I got the pleasure of interviewing several of Coburn Place’s staff

members. Even though I spoke to various staff members they all treated me with the same

respect they would treat each other. Even though there are varying positions at Coburn Place all

the staff members work together to continue their mission and advance as a team.

This week and every week I witness something that I first learned about in my

Introduction to Philanthropy course, Social Capital. “Nonprofit organizations bring people

together and build connections that generates a powerful combination of resources that make our

society a better place” (Nonprofits and Civil Society in the US Chapter 4). I see notice this more

and more as I become a part of the community. I am continually being connected to more people
 Wuertz 24

and the social capital that is being created by Coburn Place and the neighboring nonprofits is

always expanding.

This week I gained a better understanding of ethics, values, norms and motivations in

philanthropy. I saw more behind the scenes and realized just how many people donate their time

and money voluntarily everyday through Coburn Place. I have just found out that the lemonade

sale that was last week raised over $9600! The final number was $10165! This is an example of

building social capital and also voluntary action for the public good. That year Coburn Place

raised about $5200 and the event had significant media coverage. This year, there was no media

coverage just people wanting to contribute and make a difference. Many companies and

individuals in the Indianapolis area realize that Coburn Place is working for the public good by

helping those that have suffered from intimate partner violence break the cycle and find

permanent housing. Through the grants that I am researching I never knew how many

corporations have a give back program. While not all of those corporations do it simply for the

public good it is voluntary action and it is helping the public good. Some of the corporations

have giveback/grant programs in order to boost their image and help themselves succeed

however, it is tricky to debate ethics when such good is coming out of those programs. One thing

that I found to be very important with my meeting with the Vice President of Mission

Advancement was the questions I asked about how funds are distributed. You always have to

make sure you aren’t asking too much for one thing. Such as a salary, you can’t request a grant

for a certain new job salary and then go use it on someone else’s salary, that would be unethical.

If a donor wants their donation to go to a certain program it is the responsibility of the

organization to make sure that their wishes are respected.

 Wuertz 25

I learned a lot this week and I am sad that my internship is coming to an end but I know

that I will continue to volunteer for Coburn Place and I will continue to fight for their mission of

“empowering victims of intimate partner violence to live as survivors!”

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Birthday Postcard Design

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Coburn Place PostCard Design

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Flyer for Giveaway Event

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Cilantro Flyer

Dill Flyer
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Link to Super Service Challenge Videos:

https://superservicechallenge.com/gallery/#/0/12/2017?s=coburn%20place
Link to Wishlist Wednesday Posts:
https://twitter.com/search?q=%23WishlistWednesday%20Coburn%20Place&src=typd

Due to privacy policies, I am unable to provide Product Examples for the following:
3rd Party Events Binder
Community Education Binder and Spread Sheet
Grant Proposals
Any Direct Services Work
 Wuertz 31

Final Reflection Paper

I have spent the last several months interning at Coburn Place Safe Haven. Coburn Place

offers transition housing options to victims of domestic violence. In their main facility, there are

thirty-five apartments ranging from studio apartments to three bedroom apartments. Each

apartment comes with its own kitchen and lockable door. These are true apartments rather than

the dorm style apartments that many shelters have. The apartments are fully stocked with

furniture, food and other necessities. Coburn Place’s mission is to “empower victims of intimate

partner violence to live as survivors”. This is accomplished by providing adult services to those

not only housed within the walls of Coburn Place but also on the wait list or past graduates of the

program. Residents can stay for up to two years and the average length of stay is fifteen to

sixteen months. Coburn Place focuses on transitional housing and offers a wide range of services

to “fill in the gaps”, advocates work with residents to help them find resources to help the

residents become self-sustainable and confident in their own lives. The goal of every Coburn

Place resident is that they will move on to permanent housing.

I found Coburn Place after being in a course called Philanthropy in the Social Services. I

lived in and out of domestic violence shelters as a child growing up with my mother. Near the

begging of the course and my first semester as a Philanthropy student the Executive Director of

Coburn Place came to talk to our class. Several things in that course related back to my time as a

child going through the domestic violence shelters. When the Executive Director of Coburn

Place came, and spoke to our class about Coburn Place I knew instantly that I wanted to

volunteer there. A few months later I was connected to help with the Holiday Handout Event in

late November. I then went through the orientation in January and started volunteering every

Thursday! Volunteering I would just do simple things such as stuffing envelopes or organizing
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the donation rooms. I was then offered an internship position and my view of Coburn Place

changed. As a volunteer, I only saw parts of how Coburn Place worked but as an intern I came in

3 days a week and interacted as if I was staff myself. I saw the ins and outs of a nonprofit and

also something that I wanted to create in my own way one day. I have learned so much from

Coburn Place and I know that knowledge will just continue to grow.

For my internship, I chose three Learning Objectives. The first being to better understand

the role of nonprofit organizations in society, specifically, those with a domestic violence focus.

Within this learning objective I had several goals in order to achieve my objective. The first was

to tour various local nonprofits in order to see the role of several different nonprofit

organization’s roles in society. I achieved this first goal by visit three different nonprofits. The

first I visited was Horizon House, a local day shelter combating homelessness during the day in

order to give people a place to spend their days. Horizon House focuses on immediate needs

such as hunger, hygiene, as well as education. The second nonprofit we visited was the Julian

Center which is a local emergency domestic violence shelter, they house women and men off the

streets fleeing from domestic violence. They combat several immediate needs such as

homelessness and hunger, however the maximum stay is only 45 days. Many of the clients

served at Julian center either come to Coburn Place after Julian Center or they are on our wait list

to do so. The third nonprofit we visited was Sheltering Wings which is an emergency/transitional

shelter for victims of domestic violence in Daleville. They are often a first or second stepping

stone before Coburn Place and in many cases after The Julian Center. It was amazing to see how

these nonprofit organization work together to meet the needs of so many clients.

After visiting these nonprofit organizations, I worked with the Advancement Team in

order to create an assessment of how we could be helping each other. We created an assessment
 Wuertz 33

of which nonprofits use what resources so that if one organization is given too much of

something we can share the love and pass it on to an organization who will be able to use it.

Included in these assessments are also nonprofits that I researched each week. Each week I chose

a different nonprofit to research and find their strengths and weaknesses. I did this by looking at

their website, social media accounts, and researching the organization through Charity Navigator

or GuideStar. Another goal I had set for myself in order to achieve this learning objective was to

meet with each staff member individually and see how they fit into the organization. This turned

out to be one of the most valuable things I did at Coburn Place this summer.

Meeting with each staff member was not only beneficial for me but it was beneficial to

the organization. I asked each staff member various questions but the most important question

was when I asked if there was anything that Coburn Place could be doing that they aren’t or

could be doing better. I got a wide range of different answers and these answers will not only

help me when I go to start creating my vision but I have passed these along and they will also

help Coburn Place improve themselves.

I believe that my learning objective of better understanding the role of nonprofit

organizations in society was met. I feel as if I learned a lot about nonprofits and specifically

nonprofits with a domestic violence focus. I believe I have achieved this learning object because

not only do I have new knowledge but I also have a new perspective on nonprofits and how they

work. I now better understand why certain nonprofits do what they do. Another thing that shows

that I achieved this learning objective is that I was able to get Coburn Place on Charity Navigator

which will help others better learn about them and possibly donate more to them.

The second learning objective I chose to focus on was to learn more about grants; grant

writing, what grants to apply for and how to find grants to apply for. I achieved this learning
 Wuertz 34

objective by meeting with the Vice President of Mission Advancement to learn more about

grants. Coming into this internship I knew nothing about grants except for the basic concepts of

it. Because of this lack of information, I felt as if I needed to know more. Grants are such a large

part of nonprofits being successful. I took a beginner grant course on nonprofitready.org and

learned the basics. I then met with Lara, the Vice President of Mission Advancement, in order to

learn more about grants and how they specifically pertained to Coburn Place.

In addition to just meeting with Lara I was able to sit in on a meeting with her and the

company that they contract half of their grants out to. This was very informative because I got to

see several grants that were being done and I also got to see grants that were finished and had

come back with an answer. This was fascinating to me to see the ratio of ones that had been

accepted and ones that had been denied. Coburn Place has a very good ratio of accepted to

submitted grants.

I then met with Lara again, one on one after she had sent me some previous grants to

review. I asked several questions to better understand grants and the grant process. Most of my

questions had to do with why certain things were included. Most of the grants asked for a

geological component and I learned that this was simply because grants are often geologically

specific. All of the grants asked for a list of other funders, I learned that this was so that the

organizations who were reviewing the grants could see that the organization would be

sustainable in years to come if the grant wasn’t offered or wasn’t accepted in future years.

After learning all I could about grants I was given three online grants to create grant

proposals for. The first being a Kohl’s grant which required the basics of what is the

organization, who would the grant go to, and how does the organization contribute to the

community. Kohl’s grant is for $500. Next was Vera Bradley’s grant which was actually more of
 Wuertz 35

a charitable request. We were putting in a request for tote bags to be used at Coburn Place’s

annual fundraiser and/or for the residents to take with them to food pantries. The next grant was

for FoodsCo., we requested bottled water for Coburn Fest, this however was the most in depth

grant. They requested information about the organization as well as information about the event.

I plan to continue to help Lara do short online grants throughout the year. I have started on a

grant proposal for Walmart’s grant program and I look forward to hearing back from the three

that I have submitted so far.

Through the grant process I did learn a lot. I often wonder why big corporate companies

such as Walmart have these grant programs. Is it really to help their community or is it just to

look good in the eyes of the consumer? I wonder this but I also see that each time I have to go to

the bottom of the page to find grant information. These corporations aren’t really showing off

their grant efforts as much as they probably could in order to attract more customers. It is very

possible that the organizations have mixed motives when it comes to their grant programs. It may

make them look good but it also helps the community.

My third and final learning objective for my internship this semester was to learn more

about community partnerships, how they are made, found and kept. For this learning objective, I

working closely with the Community Engagement Director, Julie, who was also my site

supervisor. At the beginning of my internship I was given the project to take over the cultivation

of the Community Education information that had been collected for the past several years. I did

think by compiling it all in a binder and then creating spread sheets dating back to 2015. When I

first started this task, I wasn’t sure why it was important. I then started asking questions and

learning more about what this information could be used for. I learned that many grants ask
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questions about Community Education. They asked questions about volunteers and community

partnerships in order to determine eligibility for grants.

In addition to the Community Education Binder I also took over the cultivation of a

binder dedicated to 3rd Party Events. This includes dine and donate events, and any fundraisers

not put on by Coburn Place. This was not being tracked at all. I went through Facebook pages

and emails in order to find flyers and any information I could on past or future 3rd party events.

3rd party events are a great way for nonprofit organizations to raise money for their organization

without have to take the time and money to put on a fundraiser or to hire a staff member to apply

for a grant or event take the time or money to have someone call past volunteers. 3rd party events

generally call for little to no effort from the nonprofit organization which makes them great

assets to nonprofit organizations.

Another goal I had in order to achieve this learning objective was to complete Super

Service Challenge Videos. In these I record corporate groups volunteering at Coburn Place to

find out why they are volunteering and specifically why they are volunteering at Coburn Place.

This was a fun project because I was able to interact with the volunteers and see their views on

Coburn Place and the community as a whole. Many of these companies are given time each year

or even each month to go volunteer in the community. Many of the groups volunteering at

Coburn Place are actually still being paid to be there. I found this to be very interesting because I

had never heard of a work place that did that. The people who are volunteering on those days’

work hard and are always passionate about the work they are doing even if it is just cleaning up

the grounds. The videos I took were edited and posted to the super service challenge website,

from there every video that gets at least 25 likes is entered in to win a $10000 grant.
 Wuertz 37

All of the components that went into learning more about Community Partnerships taught

me something new. I learned that often times you do not go out looking for Community Partners

but rather they come to you, ready and willing to work hard and simply just be recognized on

twitter. Most of the time they ask for nothing in return. The people coming from large

corporations in my experience were just wanting to help in any way they could. The lemonade

sale was a large example of this as whole floors from the company Salesforce came down to

donate outrageous amounts just for a cup of lemonade. I think the key to keeping these

partnerships alive is to be kind to them, always have something meaningful for volunteer groups

to do, and to always recognize the volunteers and their willingness to do whatever is needed.

I have learned a lot about nonprofit organizations, how they function and also why they

function. I think one the most important things that I have learned at my internship is that respect

grants respect. I have seen other places and nonprofits where the staff don’t treat each other with

respect of the staff doesn’t treat the clients with respect and that makes a hostile environment that

just breeds more hostility. This internship was so successful because the whole time I was at

Coburn Place I was treated with respect. I witnessed staff members treating the clients with

respect and this made for a workplace and living space that people wanted to come back to.

Finding the right staff can be one of the largest challenges when entering the business of starting

your own nonprofit and Coburn Place has done a wonderful job of piecing together what seems

to be the perfect staff.

This summer I have learned a lot about myself also. I did not realize how prevalent my

memories as a child in a shelter would influence my life. I have had a hard summer dealing with

flash backs and nightmares as I work through the issues that make me want to pursue this line of

work. I have found a support system that I know will be there for me even if I am not there three
 Wuertz 38

to four times a week as the intern. I have found that opening a domestic violence shelter is

something that I will do with my life. I will find the means and I will succeed. I have worked

hard this summer to work as hard as I could to help Coburn Place and make their organization

run even just a little smoother. I believe I have achieved all three of my learning objectives and I

believe I have gained a great understand of nonprofits as a whole. I have used my knowledge

from past courses to help fuel my progress at Coburn Place and I have made it my priority to

take in as much information as possible to improve my learning experience in the future.