• If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.

  • You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!

View
 

Bonner Community-Engaged Learning Initiative - Guides

Page history last edited by Robert Hackett 8 months ago

Front Page / Campus-Wide Integration Bonner Community-Engaged Learning Initiative / Request for Proposals 

 

 

Bonner CEL Initiative - Request for Proposals


Overview  |   Request for Proposals (RFP)  |  Campus Examples  |  Documents to Download


 

Contents 


The 2023-24 Bonner Community-Engaged Learning Initiative provides funding and other support for campuses to engage faculty, link community engagement with courses and curriculum, and build robust infrastructure and strategic plans for campus-wide community-engaged learning. We encourage all schools in the Bonner Network to apply to participate.

 

2023-24 Request for Proposals Guidelines

 

  • Bonner CEL Request For Proposals 2023-24.pdf — Proposals are being accepted on a rolling basis until December 1, 2023.  We ask that you share a draft of your grant proposal for review by your Foundation liaison prior to submitting your full proposal.  

 

 

We encourage every school in the Bonner Network to apply to participate in one or all of the categories supported this year.

 

1) Course Development Funding (up to four courses at up to $2,000 each for a total of up to $8,000 in course development funding);

 

2) Community-Engaged Learning Infrastructure Funding (1-3 projects up to $7,000 total)

 

3) Faculty Fellow(s) Funding (1-4 faculty, up to $2,500 each and up to $5,000 total)

 

The three categories are explained in more detail in the following pages. Grant applications may total up to $20,000.Your institution may apply for any or all of these funding categories. Please note that the overall CEL grant requires at least a 50% institutional match (cash, in-kind, and/or of staff time). 

 

For endowed Bonner Programs, your Foundation liaison will work with you to identify which pools of funding (either from your Bonner Program Endowment or direct grants from the Bonner Foundation) may be tapped for these purposes.

 

For schools that have received Pathways Project funding in the past, the Bonner Foundation remains committed to scaling community-engaged learning across campuses remains. We are asking to schools working to build CEL pathways to request funding using the three categories: course development, infrastructure, and faculty fellows. Note, to support pathways specifically, we have added Gateway and Capstone courses as option for course development funding, and we have added strategic planning support as an option under infrastructure. We encourage you to reach out to talk with us about your plans.

 

Your final proposal submission will consist of the following:

  • a cover letter from the President or Senior Academic Leader of your institution;
  • a completed Grant Proposal Summary Worksheet (see link above);
  • Google Forms submissions for each of the grant categories for which you are seeking funding support (see links below). 

   

Course Development Funding

 

Course development funding is available to support faculty to integrate one (or more) of the following community engagement components into a new or revised course:

 

  • Community-Based Research (CBR) which includes research and other forms of capacity-building projects, defined as integrating a project into a course in which students conduct research and other academic work to address a community partner or community defined request for knowledge, information, or other products.
  • Program/Policy Research Assignments, in which the instructor teaches students how to conduct research about program models and/or policies to address a social issue. This model draws on the Know Your Issue curriculum available to the Bonner Network (also see here, here, and here) and teaches students to research issue briefs on topics related to their service interests.
  • Social Action, in which the instructor embeds experiential learning opportunities for students who create and carry out a policy change campaign during the semester that impacts institutional, local, state, or national policy (also see here and here). This model in partnership with Dr. Scott Myers-Lipton from San José State University.
  • Gateway and/or Capstone Course, in which the instructor is creating a CEL course that functions either as a First Year Experience or Gateway course or a Capstone course in a credit-bearing pathway (i.e., certificate, minor, concentration, major, or graduation requirement). This course is especially recommended to connect with the experience of Bonner Scholars/Leaders, but it may be open to other students. The goal for this course component is to seed the development of additional pathways.

 

Note: click on the title links above to access additional information and resources on each course model. Also, see example course descriptions for each type below.

 

Each school may request up to four course development grants of up to $2,000 each. 

 

Please review the linked pages carefully so your proposed course development funding is responding to the specific approaches described above.

 

CEL Infrastructure Funding

 

Community-engaged learning infrastructure funding may be requested to support one or more of the following options:

  • strategic planning to expand campus-wide capacity to scale community-engaged learning;
  • the development of a CEL Course Designator and/or full campus inventory of existing CEL courses;
  • the development of an information and project management system for streamlining your operations (e.g., Notion, AirTable, etc., and related integration services like Zapier);
  • the implementation of a “Report on the Benefits of Community Engagement”;
  • engaging “Students as Colleagues” with faculty (i.e., working on projects within courses, by planning and running reflection, coordinating site work); and,
  • an innovative project proposed by your institution.

 

Institutions may apply for a CEL infrastructure project funding up to $7,000 total. These funds can be used to support stipends for personnel (staff, faculty, students, partners, or consultants). Teams involved with the Pathways Project should also apply for funds in this category.

 

Strategic Planning Infrastructure Project

We encourage schools to consider designing and carrying out processes that advance the integration of community-engaged learning across multiple departments and divisions. This work is often connected with expanding campus-wide capacity that may be focused on one or more of the prominent strategies:

  • Creating engaged Certificates, Minors, or Major
  • Linking Civic Learning and Engagement with Majors
  • Developing institution-wide General Education and Requirements
  • Campus-wide integrated pathways and Career Pathways

 

Based on both study and experience from multiple campuses, you might consider engaging a Field Leader as a consultant, coach, and/or external reviewer. A Field Leader can be helpful in:

  • Guiding faculty across departments to examine their coursework and majors
  • Conversations that catalyze and shape policy changes, such as tenure and promotion
  • Benchmarking your institution’s work in relationship to other institutions
  • Efforts connected to reaccreditation or self studies
  • Reviewing institutional capacity and links with priorities (such as DEI)

 

The Foundation can help you connect with some Field Leaders to assist in the process.

 

Faculty Fellows

 

Faculty Fellow funding is available to support one or more faculty members who will work in partnership with your campus-wide community/civic engagement center to advance community-engaged learning on your campus. Foundation Faculty Fellow funding is capped at $5,000. Funding may be used to stipend the faculty fellow(s), as well as partners, student leaders, and staff if adopting a team-based model, at a maximum of $2,500 per Fellow. We require at least a 50% match for schools that have had prior Faculty Fellow funding from the Bonner Foundation.

 

Expectations

 

The Faculty Fellow(s) will: 

  • work in partnership with your Administrative Leaders (Bonner and Center Director and Coordinator) to recruit, train, and support faculty, partners, and students.
  • work on institutional change projects, such as building systems; promoting policy and culture change; assessment; etc.
  • be acknowledged as an extension of your Bonner Program and/or Center’s work. We encourage you to list this person and their role on the center website as well. 
  • be added to the Bonner Learning Community (BLC) and invited to webinar series and workshops to support their work. 
  • be willing to provide information such as a biography, project profile, and other reports to share publicly and with the Bonner Network.
  • Fellows may also work on specific initiatives related to scaling community engagement, such as in conjunction with the Pathways Project.

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

 

We have some questions about the RFP? Who can we contact to discuss our questions?

Contact your Foundation Staff Liaison to set up a time to talk through your questions. If you don’t know who your liaison is, see this page on the Bonner Learning Community to find out. 

 

We are worried about the match? Does it have to be a cash match?

The match is half of your total request and may include in-kind contributions to the initiative (e.g., staff time, etc.). 

 

Do we have to do the Google Forms even if we complete and email a CEL Grant Proposal Summary Worksheet? 

Yes, as this process shares your information in our internal grants database. This will expedite your application and reduce later reporting. Having contact information on all involved personnel, proposed courses, and infrastructure projects is important for us to support your team.

 

Can the same faculty members be involved in multiple categories, or how many faculty can be involved across all categories?

Yes, one faculty member could work on a course and be a Faculty Fellow. Discuss what you have in mind with your liaison.

 

I see the Pathway Project is no longer a separate funding category. Is that no longer a priority for the Bonner Foundation?

The Bonner Foundation remains committed to scaling community-engaged learning across campuses remains. We are asking to schools working to build CEL pathways to request funding using the three categories: course development, infrastructure, and faculty fellows. Note, to support pathways specifically, we have added Gateway and Capstone courses as option for course development funding, and we have added strategic planning support as an option under infrastructure. We encourage you to reach out to talk with us about your plans.

 

We have access to Bonner Program Endowment Enrichment Funds. Can we apply for the Community-Engaged Learning Initiative grants here?

We encourage every school in the Bonner Network to apply to participate in the Community-Engaged Learning Initiative. The Bonner Foundation will be providing webinars and other support for CEL course development, infrastructure, and faculty fellows. Your Foundation liaison will work with you to identify which pools of funding (either from your Bonner Program Endowment or direct grants from the Bonner Foundation) can be tapped for these purposes.

 

We are a Bonner Leader Program without any funding. Can we apply for the Community-Engaged Learning Initiative grants here?

Yes, your team can apply for the course development, faculty fellow, infrastructure, and pathways project grants described here. Your team is eligible for Foundation funding.

 

We received CEL Initiative funds in prior years. Can we apply?

Yes, you can apply for additional funding. You must submit your year-end report prior to doing so. If you received funds one or more past years, the Foundation will look at your carryover funds when determining the new grant amount. Be sure to include the amount of carryover funds in the 2023-24 CEL Grant Proposal Summary Worksheet. 

 

On what basis will the Foundation be making its funding decisions?

Because the Foundation has limited funds, an institution’s proposal may or may not be fully funded. We will reach out to you with any questions or proposed modifications to your request.

 

What reporting will be required?

The reporting expectations will be disseminated by the Foundation. As noted, year-end reporting will be due July 30, 2024, although work on projects may continue into the following year.

 

Will there be another CEL Initiative funding opportunity in 2024-25?

Yes, we expect to continue funding the CEL Initiative each year.