NC State celebrated the second annual Wolfpack Women in Philanthropy Symposium on April 30 in Reynolds Coliseum.

Wolfpack Women in Philanthropy (WWiP) is known for its efforts to highlight women philanthropists, creating engaging educational events and for the WWiP Impact Fund. Its symposium encompasses all three of these goals.

The WWiP Impact Fund, which launched last academic year, awards three grants of up to $10,000 each per year to projects on campus that strive to enhance the student experience. The symposium serves as an educational experience, networking opportunity and a fundraiser for this fund, which is bolstered through the event’s ticket sales.

The inaugural symposium attracted around 200 attendees at Park Alumni Center. In this year’s second iteration, attendance more than doubled.

Kai Crutchfield ’21, emcee for the day and former Wolfpack women’s basketball star, returned to her home court to welcome the more than 450 attendees who gathered in Reynolds Coliseum.

The symposium’s theme was “Impactful Giving,” one of the core tenets of WWiP’s mission. Speakers throughout the day emphasized ways that giving has impacted their own lives as well as the ways they strive to give impactfully to their own communities.

Kicking off the event was keynote speaker and former Inside Edition anchor, Deborah Norville.

“Everything good in my life happened because of impactful giving,” said Norville about getting the encouragement she needed to attend college after receiving a locally-funded scholarship in her home state of Georgia.

Norville talked to attendees about the research behind her book Thank You Power: Making the Science of Gratitude Work for You, inspiring the audience to consider how giving and gratitude go hand in hand.

The speaking continued after lunch with an alumni panel on the Wolfpack Spirit of Giving, featuring Brian Holder, Jodi Stamey and current chair of the NC State Alumni Association Board of Directors Lyndenise BerdecÍa Rivera, moderated by Aleta Howell.

“The biggest gift we ever got was a debt-free education,” said Holder about why giving back to NC State is so important to his family.

Following the alumni’s spirited conversation on the panel, Crutchfield returned to the stage to congratulate and recognize the three recipients of this year’s WWiP Impact Fund grants. Each initiative aims to enhance the current and future student experience.

One of the grant recipients was the ELEVATE Mentorship program offered by Poole College of Management. Mentor Pamela Rankins ended the symposium, alongside her mentee Rachel Fiddler, to share how the program, and WWiP’s support of it, has impacted them.

“I’ve learned when to offer perspective, and when to step back,” said Rankins. “I’m not here to map out Rachel’s future — I’m here to support her as she defines it for herself.”

The grant the program received will help ELEVATE expand to serve more students each year, connecting more students to career readiness resources and mentors.

Impactful giving in the Wolfpack community made the symposium a success. North State Bank, the presenting sponsor, was joined by 32 additional sponsors to ensure the event’s growth.

Learn more about how you can get involved in Wolfpack Women in Philanthropy, support the Impact Fund and attend next year’s symposium at go.ncsu.edu/wwip.