Bonner Foundation Awards Guilford $4.5 Million to Endow Bonner Scholars Program

The Corella and Bertram F. Bonner Foundation of Princeton, N.J., has awarded Guilford College $4.5 million to endow the Bonner Scholars Program, which has provided need- and service-based scholarship assistance to students at the college and supported the campus-wide community learning program since 1991.

The gift is the largest from a foundation in Guilford's history and was matched by $2 million in college funds. The Bonner Foundation has contributed more than $8.4 million to the college, including $3.5 million during the $56 million Our Time in History capital campaign.

In 2002, the Board of Trustees of the Bonner Foundation decided to establish permanent endowments at select colleges and universities participating in the Bonner Scholars Program in order to further strengthen the program at those institutions. Guilford was selected for the matching endowment gift in 2004, and the funding process was completed earlier this month.

"The Bonner Scholars Program has provided significant financial aid to approximately 400 of our students and allowed many to be the first persons in their family to be college educated," said President Kent Chabotar. "The program's emphasis on service fits perfectly with our Quaker heritage and our institutional and individual commitments to make a difference in the world."

Wayne Meisel, president of the Bonner Foundation, stated, "The success of the Bonner Scholars Program has defined the direction of the Bonner Foundation. By endowing Bonner Scholars Programs, the Foundation strengthens the relationship with participating institutions without ending the partnership.

"The decision to endow the Bonner Scholars Program represented a commitment not just to the individual students in the program but to each campus community as well. Our goal is to foster and strengthen an ongoing culture of service where everybody, everyday encounters the challenge and joy of service."

The Bonner Scholars Program provides four-year community service scholarships to approximately 1,500 students at 27 colleges and universities nationally who have high financial need and a commitment to service. Guilford was among the original institutions selected for the program and has distributed more than $4.4 million in scholarship aid directly to its Bonner Scholars.

The institutions participating in the Bonner Scholars Program were selected based on their financial support to low-income students, their engagement in the community and their desire to work with a consortium of colleges and universities that share a common commitment to promote a culture of service on their campus.

Each year, 60 Bonner Scholars at Guilford perform more than 24,000 hours of community service as part of their commitment to the scholarship program. Including the community service efforts of 300 students outside the Bonner Program, students at the college perform more than 60,000 hours of service annually.

Jennifer Toth, a 2004 Guilford graduate, reflected on her Bonner Scholars experience, stating, "I think of the times I've volunteered with senior citizens and learned about the past in a way a history book could never teach me, or the times I've volunteered with people from another culture and learned about new religions and foods. Service is best when everyone involved gains something from the experience. There is no selfishness or vanity in that -- only the reciprocity necessary for life."

Reflecting its close relationship with the Bonners and gratitude for their support of community learning, on April 22, 2002, Guilford dedicated the Bonner Center for Community Learning on campus in honor of 94-year-old Corella Bonner and her late husband, Bertram. Corella Bonner was present for the dedication, but died three months later.

Since it was activated in 1989, the Bonner Foundation has become one of the nation's largest privately funded service scholarship programs and a philanthropic leader in the anti-hunger movement. The Bonners wanted their gifts to provide a lasting and meaningful impact on society.

Aug. 15, 2006