COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

Introduction

Background and Rationale:

Bonner students spend more than 80% of the program engaged in community service, and the effectiveness of this work and experience is mostly related to the strength of the community partnerships. Every Bonner Scholar is involved in more than 1,800 hours of community service throughout their undergraduate years; every Bonner Leader is similarly involved in 300 hours of service during any school year or summer, for at least two years, in addition to other service performed outside the Bonner Program.

Through collaboration with community-based agencies, such as nonprofit organizations and schools, Bonners provide valued and meaningful service and support to agencies and communities, address environmental concerns, provide needed social and human services, support the education of children and youth, and so on. Community service, through the part-time school year structure and full-time summer internships, is indeed the core of the Bonner Program. In keeping with our collective goal to effect positive and tangible change in the communities where we work, this Implementation Guide addresses some key elements of building and sustaining community partnerships.

Just as the Bonner Program uses the “5 E’s” structure to describe the intended goals of student development, it can also be a framework for describing the developmental progression of service projects. The 5 E’s (expectation, explore, experience, example, and expertise) can take shape through service in a significant way, as described here:

Freshmen Year —Explore: the student is involved in a variety of service projects, exploring his or her interests, discovering issues, agencies and communities for which s/he has a commitment.

In the first/freshman year, Bonner students are oriented and immersed in exploring personal identity, the local and at-large community, and the program’s structure and expectations. Service starts as early as Orientation, and many campuses integrate short-term projects like rotations through various agencies, weekend service plunges, alternative breaks, and one-time events with the (second) semester-long placement. Often the projects during this year help the student to make personal discoveries, find his/her passions, and develop a sense of direction within the program. The student then often spends the first summer in an intensive internship connected to the initial placement or in his/her home area.

Sophomore Year —Experience: the student begins to focus in a set of issues, a neighborhood, and/or an agency, beginning to serve as a regular volunteer.

In the second/sophomore year, a student ideally begins to focus his or her efforts on a neighborhood (place), project and/or issue area. The student begins to find a stable role within an organization. Their level of responsibility may increase, and they take on more sophisticated questions and issues through critical thinking, planning, and reflection. Special activities like the Recommitment event and Second-Year Service Exchange allow students to develop a broader sense of belonging to the local and national program. Through this year, the student gains experience in how to participate effectively in a sustained community partnership, taking on increasing leadership within the organization, community and on campus. A second summer of service may deepen the student’s knowledge and skill areas, sometimes giving the student an opportunity to live and work in a new community.

Junior Year (Example): the student emerges as a leader of peers or other volunteers within the agency and/or the neighborhood, often managing and leading discrete projects or the site-based team, serving as a Project or Site Coordinator.

By their third year, students often assume Project Coordinator responsibilities including recruiting, placing, guiding, supervising, and leading reflections for other student volunteers. These roles are often supported by intensive training, covering topics like resource development and volunteer management. Both within service and the larger Bonner Program, students are often involved in mentoring and leading other students. During the third and final summer, students are often encouraged to seek internships located outside of their local community to broaden their experience and sense of community, often tapping into national Bonner Partner organizations to find these placements.

Senior Year (Excellence/Expertise): the student continues in a project or manager capacity within the agency and/or the neighborhood, often taking on specialized roles and responsibilities for an initiative.

Students in their fourth/senior year are prepared to assume Project Leader responsibilities, including evaluating existing programs, designing new initiatives, and drafting grant proposals. In many ways, the fourth year student’s relationship to the community partner is similar to that of a staff member, consultant, or apprentice who works with the agency in strategic planning and implementation, financial management, grant writing, research, report writing, and special projects. Through senior capstone projects, academic linkages, and career planning efforts, students often reflect on and culminate their experience through final year work involving research, networking, and special initiatives.

This is the basic structure that Bonner Scholar and Leader Programs rely on in building their approach. Bonner Scholar Programs map these skills into a four-year developmental plan, while Bonner Leader Programs map these skills into a two-year plan, at minimum (and increasingly three- and four-year also). When doing so, each campus program builds and sustains relationships with local, regional, national and international community-based organizations, schools, and other non-profits.

For more on the Bonner campus-community partnership framework, read the Community Partnerships chapter in the Bonner Director's Handbook.

Placements in Bonner Community Partnership Framework

The purpose of this guide is to set out some ideas about how campus-based Bonner Programs can approach their work in building and managing community partnerships. The graphic of the triangle below captures a key framework, which mirrors the developmental model with an increasing level of responsibility in placements. In this framework, there are four main levels of work:

• Occasional volunteer (level 1)
• Regular volunteer (level 2)
• Project/Site Coordinator (level 3)
• Planning team/specialist (level 4)

While these levels do not strictly tie in with the four E’s, they do parallel them quite nicely. For instance, over the course of the Bonner Scholar Program experience, a student may likely be involved in many short-term projects of the occasional volunteer type (even when they are juniors and seniors), regular volunteer placements during sophomore year, project coordinator roles during the junior year, and some kind of specialist role during the senior year. While the progression may not always be linear, the main idea is that a student moves consistently from being an occasional volunteer to a member of a planning team level (problem-solving) over the course of their years in the program. Ideally, this happens somewhat systematically for students who are part of the Bonner Program. Students’ development is supported both by the nature of the service placements themselves and additional support through co-curricular activities, advising, academic connections, and other forms.

The table below describes what may be the student developmental model connection, time frames, key processes with partners, and service placement characteristics at each level.

Level 1 Placement — Occasional Volunteer (Exploration):

Timeframe

Description of Student Placement Roles

• Projects may be anywhere from 1 day to 1 semester; • Partnerships may be multi-year but without the expectation of consistent volunteers • Bonner students are not required to do Community Learning Agreements but do report hours in BWBRS

In these placements, the student is getting an introductory experience to working with the particular issue area, agency, and/or neighborhood. These are typical direct service placements of a short-term nature. They may include physical builds, tutoring or educational support for a short time period, projects, immersion experiences, trips, working on the front line for an agency, and administrative work. The project assignments and placements, may be entry-level, and they may include room for exploration, training, coaching, and guidance. In some cases, they may be more sophisticated, but still of a short-term nature, like engaging a more experienced student in planning and running a large-scale service event.

Level 2 Placement — Regular Volunteer (Experience):

Timeframe

Description of Student Placement Roles

• At least a Semester-long Partnership; • May involve written application; • Students complete Community Learning Agreements

In these placements, the student is working consistently with a particular issue area, agency, and/or neighborhood. These positions may be direct service roles that are defined for one semester, like tutoring the same child, or may involve a project or initiative, like working on a curriculum design team to create HIV/AIDS training for high school students. These positions may involve organizational and project planning work. In addition, the student volunteer has a consistent presence and acts as a professional within the workplace setting. He or she may still want direction but also the opportunity to take initiative. While commonly suited for a student’s second year, these positions may begin in a student’s first year, as s/he takes on a regular placement. The projects may be less or more complex (e.g., easy or hard in terms of skills required), but the structure is built upon the expectation of consistent volunteerism over a period of time.

Level 3 Placement — Project/Site Coordinator (Example):

Timeframe

Description of Student Placement Roles

• At least a One-Year Partnership but probably Multi-Year; • Agency completes of written application; • Students complete Community Learning Agreements

In these positions, the student is engaged in the capacity of a coordinator for a project and/or site, coordinating the efforts of other student or non-student volunteers. Roles include recruiting, planning, organizing, managing, and implementing projects or programs. The student volunteer has usually risen into this position through working as an occasional and/or regular volunteer. The student may also need special training for this role. * We encourage Bonner Programs to develop Site/Project Coordinator positions with any agency where more than three students are serving.

Level 4 Placement — Planning Team Leader/Specialist (Expertise):

Timeframe

Description of Student Placement Roles

• Multi-Year Partnership characterized by high levels of collaboration; • Written site agreements and applications; • Students complete Community Learning Agreements

In these positions, the student volunteer is seen by the agency as operating as a part-time staff member with significant responsibilities, often in conjunction with other staff or a planning team. In these positions, agencies work to determine a high-level position for experienced students, involving program management or implementation (e.g., teaching, curriculum development, project design), research, program design, and planning. The position may involve longer-range strategic planning for the agency itself or some of its key initiatives, with the student volunteer in a leadership role. In addition, the student may be able to make academic connections in order to bolster his or her work, be involved in community-based research, or receive credit for academically oriented work. * In some cases, the student him/herself may have initiated this level of partnership with the agency, through sustained work there. The agency may or may not be interested in forging a long-term partnership involving student work at this level.

 

Advancing Your Community Partnerships

The Bonner Foundation is recommending that each campus program intentionally cultivate placements at each level of the community partnership framework. For instance, you ought to consider developing student project/ coordinator positions with agencies where three or more students serve as regular volunteers (whether or not they are Bonner students). Similarly, if you have had student project coordinators at a site for several years, you should consider whether that community partner would make a good candidate for having students serve as project leaders or specialists. This advancement in student responsiblity could be the first step towards a higher level of institutional partnership between your campus and the community organization.

By looking at the campus’s current sustained partnerships and placements, you may find that Bonner Programs are already engaging in this practice implicitly, but we are moving in the direction of making this more explicit. A survey conducted in May 2005 revealed that campuses tend to range quite a bit in the number of partnerships they are managing, from fewer than 25 to more than 200. Among Bonner Scholar Programs, the highest proportion (50%) of respondents have between 50-99 partners, and only 12% have fewer than 25 or more than 200. Among Bonner Leader Programs, 60% have 49 or less, and 40% have 50-149.

We have introduced two enhancements to the Bonner Web-Based Reporting System (www.bwbrs.org) that will make analyzing your community partnerships. In the Agency Profiles we have introduced a new category field that will allow you to indicate the level of institutional partnership your campus has with each agency. In the Community Learning Agreements, we have introduced a new field for the student to indicate the level of their responsibility with the agency. We recognize that individual students will attain roles as project team leaders or specialists withan agency that is not formally recognized as a Level 4 - Planning Team partner with your campus.

Processes Encouraged in Managing Partnerships

The higher the level the partnership, the more clear, ongoing, and thorough are the agreements. On the other hard, partnerships with only the lowest level of placements occurring (e.g., a partner who wants volunteers once a year for a one day event or short-term project) need not involve the same level of written and sustained commitments. The table below captures these ideas.

Below are a range of helpful documents. Many of these documents are either modeled after submissions from campuses or are themselves the unaltered submissions from campus programs. They are intended for campuses to:

1. Give campuses a jumping off point from which to work; you campus program should review and put thought into making appropriate changes or additions to these documents.
2. These materials are intended for later distribution to partner agencies. Your campus may want to create a binder or set of materials to distribute to community partners at one time or to integrate these materials at different stages within the process.
3. Again, please refer to the above guidelines regarding what pieces to implement with partners at different levels.

The materials available at this time for Community Partnerships are hence designed to address some of these key areas:

• How to introduce the Bonner Program to Community Partners in a more comprehensive way, including informing them about the Developmental Model and how they might support it
• How to craft the partnership in more strategic ways, including through requiring written applications by sustained partners and solidifying expectations through written agreements
• How to provide additional information and guidance to Community Partners in developing the placements and job descriptions, including building them along recommended levels that match the developmental model
• Ways to give partners more guidance in how to orient Bonner students to their work, as well as how to structure expectations, provide supervision, and address issues
• Support to help partners manage administrative or logistical details
• How to carry out a helpful evaluation process and provide partner recognition
  

Supporting Documents and Sample Forms

NOTE: All of the materials below are intended for campuses to review, add to, and modify as appropriate and necessary for your program. A program should review these materials and determine which to use. Then, the program can create a comprehensive Binder or folder for partners or distribute relevant materials at various stages of the process.

A. Materials to Introduce and Inform Community Partners about the Bonner Program

1. Brochure for Community Partners
2. Introduction of the Bonner Foundation for Community Partners
3. Power-Point of the Bonner Model
4. Introduction to the Bonner Program Student Developmental Model

B. Materials for Recruiting Partners and Establishing the Partnership

1. Recruiting and Informing Partners about the Bonner Program
   • Sample letters to invite community partners to fairs (Maryville and Oberlin)
   • Sample mailing of more detailed information for community partners (Earlham)
2. Introduction to the Partner Application
3. Simple Partner Application/Service Opportunity Description
4. Sustained Partner Application
5. Types of Partnership Agreements
   • Extended written Memorandum of Agreement (addressing strategic partnership level, Ferrum College and Big Creek People in Action)
   • Bullet-Point Memorandum of Understanding (addressing regular volunteer partnership, Earlham College
   • Grant-specific Written Agreement (addressing approved and prohibited activities, University of Dayton)

C. Materials to Guide Community Partners to Develop Placements

1. Introduction to the Bonner Program Student Developmental Model
2. Expectations of a Bonner Student
3. Defining the Level of Partnership and Placements

D. Materials to Guide Community Partners in Structuring the Placement and Supervision

1. Rights and Responsibilities of Community Partners
2. Responsibility and Accountability for Students Working with Partners
3. Above Suspicion Policy
4. Informed Consent Guidelines
5. An Orientation Checklist
6. Volunteer Retention
7. Handling Problems
8. Community Learning Agreement
9. Quick Start Guide including the Sample Community Learning Agreement (completed)
10. Short Objective Worksheet (for CLA)
11. Instructional Objective Writing Worksheet (for CLA)

E. Materials to Guide Community Partners in Ongoing Volunteer Management

1. Verifying Placements and Securing Hours
2. Making Transportation Arrangements Clear to Partners
3. Written Timesheet

F. Materials for Evaluation (on all sides) and Recognition

1. Introduction to Partner Evaluations
2. Sample Bonner CLA Review Forms including:
   • Program Administrator’s Review
   • Service Site Supervisor’s Review
   • Student Review
3. Partner Evaluation of Student: Level 1-2
4. Student Evaluation of Partner: Level 1-2
5. Partner Evaluation of Student: Level 3-4
6. Student Evaluation of Partner: Level 3-4
7. Partner Recognition Key Ideas
8. Partner Recognition Form