At the University of Iowa, PHIL is a big name on campus: “Phil is everywhere. Phil is Iowa. Phil is YOU.”

Phil is short for philanthropy and symbolizes the entire UI community in two ways: through the alumni and friends that give back to the university and through those (like the students, faculty, and more) who benefit from all the support the university gains through donations.

The Student Philanthropy Group (SPG), formed in 2009 through the University of Iowa Foundation, strives to give the UI community a chance to understand and celebrate the impact philanthropy has on campus.

SPG recently welcomed their biggest class of 18 new members, forming a core group of 30 students with a diverse set of majors for the 2015-16 school year. They represent the UI in all corners of campus: from Dance Marathon to OnIowa!, pre-game activities for home football games, and the UI Volunteer Fair.

“We have to have enough unique voices to do that,” said Courtney Blind, associate director of campus philanthropy. “Each type of student is going to have different connections on campus and will talk to different students.”

SPG members act as a peer connection to the student population, but also represent the student body to potential donors. Hannah Travis, the Williams Development Fellow at the UI Foundation and recent UI graduate, has slowly seen recognition for PHIL build on campus during her involvement with the organization.

“I think we do a good job of humanizing the private support,” Travis says. “It’s more than just a name and a dollar amount. This person is either a friend of the university or attended the university and because of their time here they were inspired to give back.”

SPG highlights that every person on campus benefits from private support, whether it be for programs, buildings, events or activities.

“Philanthropy is a driving force in our world today: whether its for bricks and mortar for buildings, or for research, for healthcare, for the kids, or for traveling opportunities—locally and globally.”

Because of its reaching impact, Phil’s Day was born.

This April, for the fourth spring in a row, PHIL came to campus. SPG members tagged buildings and programs made possible through the donations of alumni and friends with bright yellow posters and ribbons stating “PHIL WAS HERE.” Students signed thank you cards for donors, and the annual Phil’s Day speech reaffirmed the importance of giving back.

“The whole point is for people to physically see philanthropy,” Travis said. “We can talk about it all day long, but for a lot of people, they have to see it to really understand. Basically every building on campus, you can see if philanthropy has affected it.”

As a small, but ever growing group on campus, PHIL doesn’t plan on going away any time soon.

“It’s hard to find a ton of groups that don’t have the same background or the same path as you,” Travis said. “We really do bring students from all over campus together for one common goal. There are not a lot of groups out there like that.”