Proposal  

I. Background

                  SienaCollege’s Bonner Leaders Program was created in 2008.  Since its advent, it has struggled to make itself well known on campus despite Siena’s small size.  SienaCollege is a Franciscan school with a long-standing tradition of service and advocacy.  The Siena College Bonner Service Leader Program embodies several aspects of our schools mission statement, which explains as follows:

As a Franciscan community, Siena strives to embody the vision and values of St. Francis of Assisi: faith in a personal and provident God, reverence for all creation, affirmation of the unique worth of each person, delight in diversity, appreciation for beauty, service with the poor and marginalized, a community where members work together in friendship and respect, and commitment to building a world that is more just, peaceable, and humane.

  Based upon the Franciscan values of SienaCollege our program should receive support from the faculty and staff of the college as well as the student body as a whole.  Our program has made gigantic strides since its creation and has set up solid connections with many organizations in our community.  However, on campus the word “Bonner” does not have any meaning to the SienaCollege community.   To become the superb Bonner program that I know is possible we must make Siena’s community take notice of and gain an understanding of what a Siena College Bonner is.

II. Big Idea

                At SienaCollege, our major obstacle in connecting both our campus community with the larger community is recognition of the mission of the Bonner Program.  We feel that in order to have a successful program it is necessary to have the support of the entire campus.  Whether trying to recruit new Bonners, or find volunteers for a special event, it is crucial for students and faculty to know the meaning of Bonner.  When looking at the Developmental Model for Bonner Service Leaders, it is clear that a pool of service leaders is needed for each level if we hope to make as big of an impact as we are striving for.  Being that it is our responsibility as Bonner Service Leaders to connect the campus with the greater community, without a bond between Bonner Service Leaders and a diverse group of interested socially minded students and faculty, we would not be capable of creating solutions for the societal problems we see. 

III. Plan of Action

In order to make our Big Idea a reality on Siena’s campus we will have to:

Build the Identity and Message

a.       Identify a Marketing professor willing to work with us to create clear, catchy,

and meaningful branding plans (i.e. logo, slogans, bumper stickers, and other messaging mediums).

b.      Invite the faculty member to workshop with us to clearly identify the core

messages we want to communicate to the community. 

Working closely with this professor and his students to create a marketing campaign will make them a part of Bonner.  In the process they will also become aware of what Bonner is, therefore we will have successfully made a group of Siena students conscious of what Bonner Services Leaders are.  After all, to endorse a service you must first understand what that service is. 

            After the marketing campaign has been created we will have to effectively present it to Siena’s campus.  In order to do

Deploying the Message

         a. SCTV

         b. Radio Show

         c. Events

         d. Bonner Presence at FCSA Events and Campus Ministry

         e. DEEP Service Newspaper

         f. Viral Methods

         g. Clubs, Academic Departments and Programs, etc

         h. Times Union, local television, etc.

i.                    Getting Bonner Out to non-Siena Students

a.       Recruitment Table at Siena Open Houses

b.      Community Service Program in Surrounding High Schools (run by Bonners in impoverished areas)

In order to meet these goals, we need to contact a few key players, including:

• Gilbert Brookins- Marketing and Management Department Head
• Ed Deet- SCTV General Manager
• John F. Kelly- Director of 88.3-The Siant
• Alyssa Abitabile-Special Events Coordinator of SEB
• Tara Heffernan- Admissions

By attending the Bonner Congress at University of Richmond we hope to gain insight from other schools as to how they have made Bonner well known on their campus.  We also hope to learn new techniques for recruiting students to join Siena College Bonner Service Leaders .  As a new program we love getting input from the other Bonner schools on how to make our program even more awesome.