Tri-State University will team up with Steuben County Community Foundation executive director Sharon Stroh to give future leaders some experience in giving back to their communities.

Stroh will teach a TSU course in philanthropy, which derives from the Latin word meaning “loving people,” as an elective course for management majors in the Ketner School of Business this fall. Philanthropy is defined as an active effort to promote human welfare. TSU will allow those employed in the non-profit sector or those with an interest in philanthropy to audit the class free of charge.

Distributing philanthropic funds will be the focus of Stroh’s class, and she will incorporate the function of the foundation into the education process. The foundation manages and invests endowed funds, channeling profits into grants for charitable community projects.

The foundation will provide $10,000 from which students can create, manage, and distribute grants to the local community. They will communicate with the public on their effort and act as a board to determine who will receive distributions.

Stroh will provide background on the operation of organizations like the foundation and its philanthropic projects, and the students will receive a hands-on look at the process of charitable giving in what Ketner School of Business Chair Don Kreitzer called an “application course” because of its experiential aspect.

Stroh’s course will center on three aspects of philanthropy: grantsmanship; donor development; and non-profit management. TSU professionals in development will contribute as team teachers.

The business school offers one such special topic course as an elective each semester, the last being critical business reading, in which students analyzed articles from the Wall Street Journal, Kreitzer said.

“The notion of philanthropy from a leadership perspective is important, so the course is a welcomed addition to our students’ thinking as they look ahead to their roles as leaders,” he said. “It will show them there is more to leadership than leading an organization. It’s about keeping the community vital.”