6 reasons to give to the Bonner Chiles Foundation

1.   Real impact in real time 

Because we will primarily focus on furthering the goals and objectives of The Chiles Academy, donors won’t have to wait to see the impact of giving. Whether its in the increased number of students who graduate with a high school diploma, or a renewed effort around developing an organic community garden, or access to higher education for graduates through area college scholarships—anyone who gives will see the immediate effect their generosity can have on our community.

2.   We have a common goal

Communities thrive when we all work together on a common goal based on a common humanity. While we must acknowledge and value the differences we bring—whether racial, cultural, economic, personal—recognizing a problem and organizing around a solution can be a fundamentally unifying experience. There is strength in understanding that we all play a role in stewarding our own environment. There are no “givers” and “takers,” no “saviors” in the business of increasing availability of and access to basic resources. It isn’t charity when we identify a need and fill it, it is simply the act of being human in a human-centered community. 

3.   We don’t duplicate

Duplication of services can be an inevitable side effect of well-intentioned social programs concentrated in one underserved area. The foundation is only interested in increasing capacity of existing programming with evidence-based outcomes within our own community. All donor funding we receive will be collected and distributed to shore up proven programs and expand both reach and impact.

4.   Safe spaces make a real difference

The Chiles Academy at the Bonner Center has actively created a safe, consistent and positive space in the often turbulent lives of the families it serves. Perhaps most critically for the 100 children ages 0-3 that are enrolled in childcare programs at the school, a safe space can lay the groundwork for a lifetime of healthy resilience. “In the first year of life, a well-cared-for baby has one million brain connections created every second. When a child feels secure, protected, and loved by a caring adult in the earliest years, he or she develops trusting relationships and enjoys positive interactions that set the stage for a lifetime of strong social, emotional, and physical health.” — Center for Prevention and Early Intervention Policy, Florida State University

5.   We don’t study problems, we solve them

The real and demonstrable outcomes of the fifteen years of work undertaken by The Chiles Academy are the bar by which we measure what we fund. The Bonner Chiles Foundation aims to be a “problem-solving” body, intended to untangle some of the bureaucracy inherent in social programs and to remove obstacles either with organizational or financial resources. We want to foster real and sustainable change as a nimble solution-driven entity.

6.   Our cause is your cause

We aim to strengthen families from a variety of approaches. Our emphasis includes:

Literacy—both proficiency in and connection to reading and writing, for a multigenerational community

Health— access to health care, early intervention, prenatal care and improving birth outcomes, mental health and infant mental health, trauma and resilience, and nutrition and well-being

Social Justice — the commitment to acknowledging and dismantling the root causes of inequity and multigenerational poverty both in our community and in a larger cultural context