Sometimes the role of a community foundation involves connecting the dots. One dot will be a pressing need in the community, another will be a methodology or plan to address that need, and yet another will be the wherewithal to fund that need.

Take PeerForward, for example. This is a programme to enable access to college education for students who would otherwise be alienated from the process. Anyone who has recently been involved in the college application process will know that it is complex, demanding and sometimes overwhelming. This results in many students without a strong support network, without a family tradition of attending college, being intimidated and dismissing the whole idea of further education.

Enter PeerForward, a programme with proven success in the US, designed to assist and motivate students towards applying for a college education. Why? The rationale is that:

•A majority of new jobs requires some form of post secondary education

•Job stability is higher with a college degree

•Earning potential is higher for colleges graduates.

Students without support networks – at home and at school – have traditionally put off following a path that could enable them to have a better life. It is not because they do not have the intelligence, it is that they are disadvantaged by the system itself.

At this particular time in Bermuda’s history, the situation is likely even worse for them, due to the impact of the pandemic on education.

The aim of PeerForward is to decrease the gap between college aspiration and college attainment, particularly in low-income communities. How? By using the power of the most influential people in a young person’s life: their peers. Essentially it trains, deploys and coaches a team of Peer Leaders, whose role is to boost college preparation and enrolment across their entire schools. They mobilise friends and classmates to realise their true college and career potential.

It is new to Bermuda so it has no track record, no success metrics in this community. It is costly because consistency will be the key to the programme and it requires longer-term, multi-year funding. This makes it a potentially risky prospect for the traditional funder. The Centennial Bermuda Foundation were early adopters, following on from Skyport, who funded a PeerForward training session in 2019. But no sole funder can fund a programme of this scale, year in and out; this has to be a collective effort.

Enter the Bermuda Foundation, with a stated purpose of ensuring that philanthropy focuses on the greatest needs in the community. The Foundation itself does not, at this stage, have the funds to support such a programme – but it is connected to a network of funders. It also has credibility, due to strong data attesting to the community need, ability to evaluate the service provider and tools to measure programme effectiveness.

That network of funders has stepped up to assist and PeerForward, which has been adopted for Bermuda by Mirrors’ registered charity arm that already runs a successful community mentoring programme. This funding network is comprised of private funders that hold charitable giving funds at the Bermuda Foundation, whose combined funding created a critical mass of support.

PeerForward was introduced to CedarBridge Academy and the Berkeley Institute in August. It will focus on students from the S1 level all the way through senior school to address the mindset of students to the potential of a path to college. Work intensifies at the higher levels as the Peer Leaders work on navigating and executing on such essential details as personal statements, college applications and budgeting for college. The goal is to provide the opportunity for every student to reach their potential and to receive as much help getting there as they need. On November 18, for example, CedarBridge, will host a College Scramble, an awareness campaign designed to drive an overall increase in S4 student college applications and earlier than in past years.

“If we’ve gotten it right, this investment will result in more school leavers attending university as more confident and prepared adults”, said Allan and Gill Gray Philanthropies, a private foundation that granted PeerForward game-changing, multi-year operational support.

If this pans out as we at the Bermuda Foundation believe it will, the dots will have been joined to create a picture of confidence, achievement and maximised potential for the community. That is a very pretty picture.

Submitted by the Bermuda Foundation to acknowledge the start of the giving season: National Philanthropy Day (November 15), Community Foundations Week (November 15-19) and Giving Tuesday (November 30). Stories of generosity in our community will follow over the coming days.