Connecting Through Philanthropy
Christina Vann, Class of 2023
Christina Vann, Class of 2023, knew that she wanted to do something that would make a difference. As a high school freshman, Christina joined the Grand Rapids Community Foundation Youth Grant Committee. Composed entirely of high school students, the committee is responsible for assessing youth issues and allocating grants to nonprofits that will address these issues.
“I didn’t know so much about nonprofits at the time but being entrusted with that responsibility made me realize how much nonprofits impact communities and neighborhoods,” recalled Christina. “When I learned that there was a program at Grand Valley specifically for studying foundation work and nonprofits, I felt that I found my passion.”
Once she got started at Grand Valley, Christina immediately got involved and sought as many resources as possible to ensure her success. She declared a major in public and nonprofit administration. After working hard her freshman year, Christina was accepted as a Cook Leadership Academy Fellow.
“Grand Valley has connected me to really great faculty that are helping to plan my trajectory and prepare my next steps,” Christina explains. “I’ve also made employer connections at Grand Valley and the Cook Leadership Academy helped with starting my career.”
Christina’s path in nonprofit administration lead her to become a fellow for the Johnson Center for Philanthropy. Her research includes a mixed methods approach that looks at testing the effects of a one-hour geographic information system training on students.
“I was interested if we could have high school students across the state train and practice on a GIS system to improve their grant making decisions, their learning outcomes and understanding of data in their communities, and basically grant tracking,” explains Christina.
Christina is excited to present her findings at the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action’s annual conference in North Carolina. Being a Johnson Center Fellow allowed Christina to discover her love for research and she plans to continue pursuing that passion.
“My hope is to attend graduate school,” said Christina. “I want to focus on researching the intersection of technology adoption and nonprofits, so basically how the nonprofit sector is using technology to the fullest extent to advance their social missions.”
From her time on the Youth Grant Committee to her upcoming research presentation, Christina could rely on donor support to open the door to new opportunities.
“To the donors that support Grand Valley, I’d like to say thank you! Everything I’ve been able to do here has been made possible by donors,” Christina explains.
With a strong foundation of support to rely on, Christina is looking forward to what comes next.
“I feel way more confident given the tools that Grand Valley has provided,” Christina said. “Whatever my next step is after graduation, I’m excited to tell people I’m from Grand Valley.”