The Bonner Foundation

The Corella & Bertram Bonner Foundation is a private philanthropic organization based in Princeton, NJ. While we are a small family funded foundation and nonprofit organization, our work and approach are not conventional. Rather than focus on short-term initiatives and grants for individual projects, we work as a national network and community of practice to advance higher education through its engagement within communities. Since 1990, we have built and sustained partnerships with colleges and universities to foster the deep integration of college access, diversity and inclusion, and student success with community engagement and learning. We see ourselves as an organization that provides research and development for the civic engagement field, in ways that promote its depth, sustainability, and value to colleges and communities. To do this, the Foundation focuses on the development and management of the Bonner Scholars Program and Bonner Leaders Program. To date, Bonner Programs have graduated more than 15,000 alumni across our national network. Each year, these programs, offered by more than 60 colleges and universities, engage more than 3,000 undergraduates in a four-year developmental experience of service and learning. The Bonner Program provides colleges and universities with a model for a college access program that uses best practices for student success. Our network focuses on identifying and supporting low-income, first generation, and underrepresented students, including students of color and from both rural and urban environments. With student leadership at the core, the model improves the lives of people and communities through sustained partnerships involving colleges and universities in service, community engaged learning, and civic engagement.