Twenty Five Years of the Common Good Grant Program, Bowdoin’s Engine for Student Philanthropy

CGG offers a uniquely collaborative pre-professional experience, said McKeen Center Associate Director Sam Cogswell '11, who runs CGG and participated as an undergraduate. The program brings together students with diverse backgrounds, skills, and priorities who must reach a consensus about which nonprofits and issues to support.

"On Decision Day, it's not uncommon for a student to ask a question like, 'Why is it important to save milkweed?' and another student to respond, 'Well, yesterday in my ecology class we were talking about this,'" Cogswell said.

Charlotte Tagupa '26, a CGG co-leader, called Decision Day "the hallmark of the program," when students gather to debate the merits of each application and how to ensure the donations do the most good.

Each year, the CGG grant committee outlines broad themes to focus on-such as arts and culture; health and basic needs; the environment, agriculture, and sustainability-and then funds a range of nonprofits within these categories, giving each awardee a grant up to $4,000.

Beyond gaining practice in consensus-based decision-making, CGG imparts many other practical skills, Cogswell noted. "This is a program that helps students get a job," she said. "If you're a student graduating and want to work in nonprofits, this prepares you for that work."