Priority
Setting the standard for collaboration
The Netter Center for Community Partnerships is a creative, effective, democratic, and inspiring model for making the University of Pennsylvania a responsible neighbor, innovative educator, and example to institutions around the world.
Netter mobilizes Penn’s resources to work closely with partners in our shared West Philadelphia neighborhood to help improve the lives of its residents, while at the same time providing unique, problem-solving learning opportunities for our dedicated faculty and talented students. Our ethos is collaboration; the benefits are immediate and enduring.
Connecting Campus & the Community
From its inception, Netter has focused on working with primary and secondary schools in West Philadelphia in order to study and help solve problems such as poverty, health inequities, environmental sustainability, and inadequate, unequal education. These programs are anchored in a partnership approach, where participants from Penn and the community work together and learn from each other.
Each year over 3,500 Penn students, faculty, and staff engage with more than 4,000 K-12 Philadelphia public school students, school teachers, administrators, parents, and other community members to achieve improved learning and wellbeing. Netter also helps Penn function as a responsible anchor institution that provides economic opportunities for its neighbors. That concept of contributing to a shared community – as opposed to a university cloistered behind ivy-covered walls – is critical to Penn’s and Netter’s democratic engagement with the world.
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Assessing Impact
Netter recognizes the critical importance of assessing its efforts and using objective metrics to evaluate its performance on campus and in the community. We know that students and faculty that participate in our program give it high marks for the academic value of the courses, their level of genuine involvement and the building of problem-solving skills. Among the most impressive measures of what the Center has accomplished is that other colleges and universities have reached out to help them replicate the Netter model on their campuses.
As a model that informs others and impacts communities beyond Penn and Philadelphia, Netter has established five university-assisted community schools (UACS) regional training centers across the country to date and built a national network of approximately 70 higher education institutions, including Duke, Columbia, and Loyola University of Chicago. Our international work has also been expanded through the formation of the Global Cooperation for the Democratic Mission of Higher Education, comprised of the International Consortium for Higher Education, Civic Responsibility, and Democracy (housed at Netter), the Council of Europe, the Organization of American States, and the International Association of Universities.
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Support
Giving Opportunties
The naming gift from Barbara and Edward Netter in 2007 enabled the Center to pursue its mission with a secure endowment. July 2022 marked Netter’s 30th anniversary and began a year-long celebration. This occasion provides an important opportunity to reflect, plan, and further the work locally, nationally, and globally. It is a time to take Netter to the next level, propelling it into its fourth decade.
The opportunities for support described below will help Netter increase its impact by sustaining its people and programs, supporting its university and community missions, and building and evaluating it as a model of excellence. Gifts are payable over a period of up to five years.
We are admittedly fervent in our ambitions. That is why Netter is soliciting your generous support. It will enable the Center to further institutionalize civic and community engagement on our campus; strengthen and sustain democratic, mutually transformative partnerships between Penn and West Philadelphia; educate young people from pre-K through higher education as ethical, empathetic, engaged, justice-seeking citizens; advance knowledge for social change; and enhance Netter’s leadership and impact locally, nationally, and globally.
Sustain: People & Programs
Endow the Netter Center Director's Innovation Fund - $2 Million
Netter relies on gifts from individuals to make positive impacts on Penn and the community — indeed on society and the world. An endowed operations fund would provide direct support to the Center while also leveraging other gifts and grants, and provide flexible funds to direct to new opportunities and critical priorities. A gift of $2 million would name and endow a director’s innovation fund.
Endow the Staff and Programs Fund - $2 Million
Netter began with an idea, but its mission became achievable only with the dedication of people who believed in that idea: a team of talented, hardworking, passionate and compassionate professionals and volunteers. Today, the Center employs 50 full-time and 150 part-time staff. Many started as students and remained after graduation; several have been with us for over a decade. They are working at capacity on current projects and continually generating exciting new ones. Term funds would enable Netter to grow, retain, and develop its outstanding staff. A gift of $2 million would endow and name a staff and programs fund.
Endow a Post-Undergraduate Fellow - $1.5 Million
Netter is a success because of its people. Our post-undergraduate fellows are core staff and critical to our programing. An endowed fellowship fund allows us to expand our ability to hire talented Penn graduates as team members. A gift of $1.5 million would name and endow a post-undergraduate fellowship position, including benefits and travel and research funds.
Endow a Graduate Fellow - $1 Million
A graduate fellowship at Netter is an opportunity for PhD students across the university to be actively involved in Netter through their research and scholarship, including Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) courses, community-engaged scholarship, service learning and more. A gift of $1 million would name and endow one graduate fellow for their two-year fellowship. A term gift of $300,000 would provide six years of funds.
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Mission: University & Community
Endow the Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) Program Fund - $3 Million
ABCS courses are credit-bearing courses where Penn students and faculty engage in local, real-world problem-solving in partnership with West Philadelphia public schools and community organizations. In recent years, 70+ ABCS courses have been offered annually across 11 of Penn’s 12 schools, including 40+ departments. With additional funding, Netter would increase both the number of ABCS courses and the number of undergraduate and graduate students involved. Funds would allow us to add teaching assistant positions and graduate fellowships; expand the number of departments involved in ABCS; advance collaboration across disciplines; and create innovative pathways for students to take a series of integrated ABCS courses. A gift of $3 million would name and endow an ABCS Program Fund.
Endow the University-Assisted Community Schools (UACS) Program Fund - $3 Million
University-assisted community schools (UACS) are the foundation for our ABCS courses and the landscape on which our programs operate. Penn students and faculty work with UACS in West Philadelphia to help solve critical campus and community problems in a variety of areas such as the environment, health, arts, and education. Programming occurs during the school day, after school, evenings, weekends, and summers and focuses on improving literacy, STEM, health and nutrition, social-emotional learning and mental wellness, arts and culture, sports and recreation, college access and career readiness, and neighborhood development. Dedicated gifts that help strengthen and sustain the infrastructure for UACS would result in positive outcomes for the education and welfare of young people in West Philadelphia as well as for Penn students, faculty, and staff. An endowment gift of $3 million or term gift of $500,000 would name a UACS Program.
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Model of Excellence: Evaluation, Replication and Momentum
Endow the Evaluation Fund - $3 Million
Netter believes in accountability and learning from experience, which requires us to continually measure the outcomes of our programs. Critical to improving Netter’s work is the rigorous use of data for evaluation. Netter seeks support that will grow a more robust evaluation and research enterprise that can assess school, community, and institutional change. Funds would be used for all aspects of evaluation and research, including expanded staffing, student engagement, technology for data management, professional development, community and partner engagement, materials and supplies, and pilot studies. A gift of $3 million would name and endow an Evaluation Fund.
Endow the New National and Global Programs Fund - $2 million
Netter receives ongoing interest in and demand for assistance by colleges hoping to increase their democratic engagement. The Center’s efforts have been remarkably successful, particularly through the development of University-Assisted Community School Regional Training Centers at selected institutions across the country and a national University-Assisted Community Schools Network. New resources would make it possible to support the selection of additional UACS replication sites, as well as staff dedicated to building the UACS network. Funds could also be used to strengthen Netter’s significant global presence. All of these efforts enhance the reputation of the University of Pennsylvania as an innovator in community engagement. An endowed gift of $2 million or a term gift of $500,000 would name and establish a New National and Global Programs Fund.
Endow the Outreach Fund - $1 Million
Our over-arching goal is helping universities function as generators of positive change in partnership with their communities. The vision of hundreds of schools doing what Netter is doing excites and motivates us daily. This is why making Netter’s work accessible, visible and replicable nationally and internationally is core to our mission. Modes of communication today are so varied and evolving that we need to send our message in ways our students, community partners, and other stakeholders will hear. Funding would also support branding, marketing, and social media efforts. A gift of $1 million would endow and name an Outreach Fund.
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Other Opportunities for Support
- UACS Executive Director Fund Endowment – $2.5 Million
- National and Global Conference Host Endowment – $2 million
- Research and Travel Fund – $500,000 endowment or $125,000 term gift
- Symposium and Event Fund – $500,000 endowment or $125,000 term gift
- Visiting Scholars and Speakers Fund – $500,000 endowment or $125,000 term gift
- Student Programs Fund – $400,000 endowment or $100,000 term gift
- ABCS Course Development Fund – $300,000 endowment or $75,000 term gift
- Technical and Training Assistance Fund – $250,000 endowment or $60,000 term gift
- Publications and Communications Fund – $250,000 endowment or $60,000 term gift
- Undergraduate Internship Fund – $150,000 endowment or $50,000 term gift
Gifts of any amount may support the Netter Center General Operating Fund.
Contact
To learn more about supporting the Netter Center for Community Partnerships, please contact Deb Rhebergen, Vice Dean for Advancement, at drheberg@sas.upenn.edu.