History and Goals

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The Bonner Program: Goals & Strategies

Program

Bonner Program History | Bonner Program Goals | Resource Documents

 

Bonner Program History

In 1990, the Bonner Foundation established the first Bonner Scholars Program at Berea College. Designed to provide students with “access to education and an opportunity to serve,” the program has grown to become the largest privately-funded, service-based college scholarship programs in the country, supporting 1600 active students on 27 campuses in 12 states in the Southeast and Midwest.
 
The scholarship serves students who have high financial need and a commitment to service. It is designed to heighten students’ overall education by affording these students an opportunity to engage in sustained community service work during their four years of undergraduate education. The program helps the students develop the skills and knowledge necessary to make their service meaningful and lasting.
 
The pilot Bonner Scholars Program began at Berea College in Kentucky during the 1990-91 academic year. In each of the next two years, the Foundation added 11 campuses. Two additional institutions were added in 1999, bringing us to our current size of 27 institutions. Once the operational framework was put in place at these schools, the Bonner Foundation then endowed the Bonner Scholars Program at seven of these schools.
 
On each campus, there are full-time professional staff who direct and coordinate the Bonner Scholar Program, which is integrated into the campus-wide service program. These staff work with students to provide training and reflection opportunities, to ensure quality service placements, to serve as a liaison between the community organizations and the campus and, to prepare and support campus involvement in community endeavors.
 
Scholars are asked to commit 10 hours each week to community service activities and 240 hours during at least one summer. It is this intensity of commitment — the four-year nature of the Program and the large number of students involved on each campus — that makes the Program both distinctive and transformative.
 
In 1997, the Bonner Foundation began an effort to expand the Bonner Scholars Program model of service-based scholarships. Through several grants the Foundation partnered with institutions who were interested in expanding the Bonner Scholars Program or in creating a service-based scholarship program on their campus. Together, we learned to use funds from federal work-study, AmeriCorps education awards, AmeriCorps stipends and individual institutions to create scholarship stipends for students who complete community service each week during their term of service.
 
Today, the Foundation currently works with more than 40 institutions that have created what we call the Bonner Leaders Program. Each of these campuses has a core group of 5-30 student members who commit to completing the required hours of community service during their term. The Bonner Foundation’s seeks to expand the Bonner Leaders Program on individual campuses and through local, state, or regional campus consortiums.
 
Having a large cadre of involved, informed and energetic students on a campus allows for a large multiplier effect to occur. Bonner Scholars/Leaders have had an enormous impact on the culture of their institutions. For example, they have initiated service days and support groups, assisted in the founding of new soup kitchens, developed literacy programs, organized large alternative break trips, and serve as board members of local non-profits.
 
Bonner Scholars/Leaders emerge from their college experience with a greater understanding of communities and the problems that exist within them, as well as the skills and commitment to be effective in community problem-solving efforts. Not surprisingly, they remain involved in service no matter what path they pursue professionally.
 

Bonner Program Goals

Since 1990, a diverse, multi-state consortium of twenty-five participating campuses have been joined through a common commitment to the Corella and Bertram F. Bonner Foundation’s mission to “transform students, communities, and campuses through service.” The Bonner Program is designed to transform not only the students who are directly supported by the program, but also the campus and community in which they serve and learn. The goals of the program are identified in four areas: student development, community involvement, campus engagement, and higher education.
For the Student:
  • To provide access to a college education for students with high financial need.
  • To afford students the opportunity to enhance and use their abilities, talents, and leadership to serve others while in college.
  • To create a supportive community of students on campus whose common focus on community service gives them a sense of purpose and meaning.
For the Community:
  • To channel the energies of college students, faculty, and staff to continue to improve and expand upon the quality and nature of services offered to the community.
  • To break down the barriers between town and gown leading to improved communication and greater collaboration between the two.
For the Campus:
  • To help recruit and retain a diverse group of students who might not otherwise be able to attend college.
  • To challenge and support the college to create a culture of service where the stated mission of service is translated in such a way that every student, faculty, and staff is encouraged to serve.
  • To support a core group of student leaders eager to build and strengthen the organizations on campus that promote a culture of service.
For Higher Education:
  • To serve as a successful model to other colleges and universities which are interested in starting their own community service scholarship program.
  • To form a consortium of diverse higher educadtion institutions which share a common commitment to service.
  • To provide leadership to a nation searching for ways to value and include young people in meaningful acts of citizenship.
 

Resource Documents

 

 

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