1. The Bonner Program:
Strategic Community Partnerships
“Access to Education,
Opportunity to Serve”
A program of:
The Corella & Bertram Bonner Foundation
10 Mercer Street, Princeton, NJ 08540
(609) 924-6663 • (609) 683-4626 fax
For more information, please visit our website at www.bonner.org

2. Strategic Community Partnerships:
Overview
• Overview
Site (or Issue) -Based Teams
-
Roles
-
Long-Term Strategic Partnerships
-
• Resources
• Best Practices
• Self-Assessment & Evaluation
www.bonner.org

3. Strategic Community Partnerships:
Community Partnership Model
Site-
Based
Team
www.bonner.org

4. Strategic Community Partnerships:
Type of Work
Type of Work
Expertise
Vision/Strategy
Fundraising
Research / Writing /Academic Work
Outreach/Public Relations
Project Coordination
New Program Development
Improving Existing Services
Regular Volunteer Work
Explore
One-time Service Projects
www.bonner.org

5. Strategic Community Partnerships:
Site-Based Team — Team Roles
Team Roles Expectations
• attends summer orientation
Agency Site Supervisor
• collaborates on developing annual site-based plan
(lead agency/site administrator working with site coordinator)
• meets regularly with site coordinator
• collaborates on developing annual site-based plan
Student Site Coordinator
• meets regularly with site supervisor
(responsible for managing partnership with the school & serves
• leads weekly site-based student team meetings
as link to campus director or coordinator)
• meets regularly with site coordinator
Student Project Coordinator
• develops project plan
(responsible for particular project or event at the school)
• recruits & supervises volunteers for project
• attend weekly site/project team meetings
Regular Volunteers
• volunteer at site
(responsible for particular project within the school)
Occassional Volunteers
• volunteer at site
(serve at one-time events at the school)
www.bonner.org

6. Strategic Community Partnerships:
Site-Based Team — Campus Staff Roles
Campus Director & Coordinator Roles
in supporting....
• organize summer orientation
Agency Site Supervisor
• advise on annual site-based plan development
(lead agency/site administrator working with site coordinator)
• connect faculty members & courses
• train & meet regularly with site coordinators
Student Site Coordinator
• advise on annual site-based plan development
(responsible for managing partnership with the school & serves
• collaborate with site coordinators to train project
as link to campus director or coordinator)
coordinators & regular volunteers
• assist with project coordinator training
Student Project Coordinator
• advisory role as needed
(responsible for particular project or event at the school)
• assist with regular volunteer training (e.g., Bonner
Regular Volunteers trainings)
(responsible for particular project within the school) • advisory role as needed
www.bonner.org

7. Strategic Community Partnerships:
Site-Based Teams — Organization Structure
Faculty,
Campus Center Community
Administrators &
Staff Advisory Board
Other Offices
Site-Based Team
Site-Based Team Site-Based Team Site-Based Team
Smith Elementary
Soup Kitchen WaterWatch Adult Education
School
Site-Based Team Site-Based Team Site-Based Team
Homeless Shelter Senior Center Immigrant Services
www.bonner.org

8. Strategic Community Partnerships:
Site-Based Teams — Advantages
• Easier to manage placements,
partnership & trainings
• Clear path for student development
• Structure enables deeper partnerships
• Work each year builds on prior year
www.bonner.org

9. Strategic Community Partnerships:
Long-Term Partnerships — Elijiah’s Promise Example
• Beginning: traditional soup kitchen placement
• Later:
- community asset mapping project to identify local
food distributors
- survey of client identified need for bag lunches
- researched model programs
- implemented new bag lunch program
• Current:
- examine nutritional value of menu
- hired Bonner grads to work at Elijiah’s Promise
www.bonner.org

10. Service Placements:
Self-Assessment and Evaluation
Partners as Co-Educators:
Engage community partners as co-educators; community partners are
informed and engaged in providing training, orientation, guidance, and
structured learning opportunities to students
Site-Based Model and Project Coordinators:
Utilize a site-based partnership model, with some sites identified as longer-
term or multi-year; have teams at sites with a (student) project/site
coordinator
Community voice and involvement:
Accessible channels by which community individuals and/or agencies can
be involved in contributing to, designing, carrying out, and/or evaluating
academic, research and service-learning activities; representation on
institutional boards, presenting to classes, teaching, and shaping the
research agenda
www.bonner.org

11. Strategic Partnerships:
Resources
• Bonner Handbook
• Community Partnerships Implementation Guide
• In Good Form samples
• Civic Engagement Training Modules (Site &
Project Coordinator Training, etc.)
• Bonner Web-Based Reporting System (BWBRS)
• “Recipes for Change”
• Community Fund
www.bonner.org

12. Strategic Partnerships:
Best Practices
• Kevin Buechler, Davidson College
• Laura Megivern, Johnson State University
www.bonner.org

13. Strategic Community Partnerships:
Site/Issue Based Teams — Summary
• Use resources:
• Recommendations:
• Community
• Organize around sites with multiple volunteers or
Partnerships
issues (i.e., hunger) with a few sites and multiple
Implementation
volunteers
Guide—full
• You can have students’ actively involved in section
transitioning to this model; engage them in strategic
• Sample calendar
work and goal-setting as teams (TCNJ example)
—annual
timeline
• Other schools
examples, i.e.,
Mars Hill
www.bonner.org

14. Strategic Community Partnerships:
Project Coordinators — Summary
• Use resources:
• Recommendations:
• Community
• Consider having a Project/Site Coordinator
Partnerships
anywhere with greater than 4 volunteers
Implementation
• Identify at least a few partners with whom you are Guide—full
ready to engage in this way section
• Review the samples materials and modify • Sample Project
Coordinator
• Formally provide materials and information in
training agenda
writing and in person
and tips
• Make sure you are implementing your • Relevant Civic
developmental model in a way that prepares a Engagement
cohort of students to be Project Coordinators training modules
• Identify some students who may want to take on
this role and chart out a strategy
www.bonner.org