Nicole Craven’s approach to giving is simple: support the places that shaped you, and trust that giving back helps the next generation move forward.
“I’m a third-generation Buckeye,” says Craven, director of First-Year Experience at Ohio State. “My grandparents, parents and sisters went here. Now, I’ve worked here for more than 20 years. Ohio State isn’t just the place I went to college. It’s part of my family story.”
As she reflects on her own journey from student to alum, now staff member and donor, Craven says, “Giving feels good because I get to see the impact in real time. You don’t always get to see the ripple effect of your generosity. In my role, I do.”
Craven’s Ohio State path began as an undergraduate majoring in English. When she became an employee and first learned about giving opportunities, she didn’t hesitate.
“One of the first places I knew I wanted to support was the Department of English,” she says. “I was raised to believe that if you have a good experience, you pay it forward. Supporting that department felt like honoring the foundation that helped build my career.”
Craven’s sense of connection extended into the history of the university itself. She also supports the Ohio State University Archives.
Several years ago, she visited the Archives searching for materials related to orientation, known in the 1920s as “Freshman Week.” Among the boxes, a staff member handed her a tour script from 1927. Craven was captivated.
She took a copy, matched each point of the tour to the present-day campus, and created a modernized version for her student orientation leaders. “I took them on a 1927 tour,” she says. “Same stops, same stories—just with our current buildings. Watching them understand that they were part of something bigger, something that stretched back generations… that was powerful.”
Over time, Craven’s giving expanded into helping first-year students thrive. She now also supports the Student Emergency Fund and the Monda Student Resource Center. Both reflect her belief that a student’s success shouldn’t hinge on barriers outside the classroom.
After 11 years of giving, Craven sees her philanthropy as the legacy she inherited as part of a Buckeye family.
“While the university has many ways of funding student success, giving is my way of saying: I want to be part of this. I want to make this possible for someone else,” she says.
Craven encourages other Ohio State employees to think about the areas they are passionate about as a way to tiptoe into employee giving.
“Think about the places on campus that have shaped you—your department, your students, the programs you care about,” she says. “It doesn’t have to be a huge gift. It can be one-time, five dollars. What matters is that you begin. The impact grows from there.”