Community Partner Resources

Each community partner is viewed as a co-educator and must be willing to integrate learning into each service opportunity.

Follow these steps to get connected with FGCU today:     

Step 1:  Apply to be added to the FGCU Community Partner Database used by students, staff, and faculty. CLICK HEREto visit the database, then click the Add Agency button to access the application.

               FGCU departments do not need to complete a Letter of Engagement during the application process.

Step 2:  Submit service-learning opportunities as frequently as you have them by using this form.
               Once processed, your opportunities are posted on Eagle Link for students to see.

NOTE: When engaging with FGCU students, reflection is a vital piece of the service-learning process. This helpful document outlines some tips and tricks regarding effective on-site reflection. Be sure to review the About Us page to learn about the learning frameworks from which we operate and think about how your work connects.

Questions? Contact Justin Fitzgerald, Director of Community Engagement, at jfitzgerald@fgcu.edu.

If you have a specific service-learning request (one-time or recurring), please submit it here. This form allows you to connect with students and/or faculty. Once the form is submitted, your request is added to our service opportunities database for all to see. We also target market the opportunity across campus to the most appropriate audiences. You will also notice that Sustainable Development Goals and career readiness skills are highlighted within each service-learning opportunity.

Feel free to complete this form for each unique request you have. Example requests might be a need for tutors each Monday from 1-4pm or a need for volunteers to help with an annual fundraiser this Saturday from 5-10pm. Many times, these limited timeframe opportunities are perfect ways for students to get a taste of what your organization does and may lead to more regular FGCU engagement later on.

FGCU students are engaging in research every day.  Let our students help your nonprofit or government agency as they engage in research techniques under the instruction of a faculty member. 
 
Our students can help your organization collect data, process data, or find other ways to help you prove the great work you are doing in the community.  Many organizations find this research/data helpful as they apply for grants, put together annual reports, create new marketing materials, or archive information for historical purposes.    
 
If you have a research-based project request, get started today by emailing your request/idea to Justin Fitzgerald, jfitzgerald@fgcu.edu.

Just like the rest of us, FGCU students are busy! However, they are always seeking great experiences in the community. Here are the three best ways to connect your needs to their availability.  

Community Partner Database

The FGCU Community Partner Database is a typical starting point for students when they are exploring partnerships for both short-term and long-term projects.  Don’t miss this easy opportunity for exposure and connection to FGCU students.  If you haven’t already, apply to be added to the Community Partner Database used by students, staff, and faculty. Click HERE to visit the database, then click the Add Agency button to access the application. 

Note:  FGCU departments do not need to complete a Letter of Engagement during the application process.

Guided Service Trips

Guided Service Trips are experiences in which a representative from our office and roughly 5-10 FGCU students will participate in service with your organization (usually for about 2-4 hours at a time). Our goal is to make service-learning as accessible as possible to new students and those who have not volunteered in the past. This program is intended to introduce students to service-learning and provide a fun learning environment.

If you are a registered nonprofit, not-for-profit, or government agency (or FGCU department) and are interested in hosting students at your location as part of a Guided Service Trip, please complete the service-learning request form and indicate your interest in the last section of the form.

Service-Learning Events

To learn more and explore participation in a future event below, please contact Justin Fitzgerald at jfitzgerald@fgcu.edu.  When registration opens or opportunities for our community partners become available, the main contacts from each organization (as listed in our community partner database) will receive an email.  Please ensure the contacts listed on your organization page in the database is who should be receiving all communication from our office.  

Service-Learning Fairs

Taking place within the first month of fall and spring semesters, our Service-Learning Fairs are opportunities for nonprofits and government agencies to connect with FGCU students regarding service-learning opportunities. The frameworks from which our office operates (found under the About Us section) are deeply integrated into this event as community partners are categorized by Sustainable Development Goals and career readiness skills are highlighted within the service-learning opportunities.   

Days of Service

Week of Welcome (WOW) Day of Service

WOW Day of Service introduces first-year students to FGCU’s cornerstone value of community engagement while helping them quickly connect to the local community and each other in meaningful ways. The day begins with a short kickoff followed by several hours of impactful work for approximately 100 students serving at 10 nonprofit and government agency sites across the region. 

Make A Difference Day (MADD)

Aligned with the national Make A Difference Day, this annual FGCU tradition sends approximately 200 students out to serve and learn at a variety of nonprofits and government agencies. The day begins with a short kickoff followed by several hours of impactful work for approximately 200 students serving at 20 nonprofit and government agency sites across the region. 

Because FGCU has a service-learning requirement, it is vital to our students’ success that community partners verify all completed service-learning hours by clicking the link received via email as soon as possible. The official FGCU process for documenting service-learning hours is entirely electronic. Click here for an overview of the service-learning experience submission process (completed by students). Once a student completes Step 2, you will receive an email that a student wants to partner with you (no action required). After they complete Step 4, you will receive the final hour verification email with action required by you.

Regarding class assignments, students and faculty alike are strongly encouraged to practice objective-based service-learning. In short, this means students should develop a relationship with you to set shared objectives and a timeline that works for everyone involved. Students and faculty are strongly discouraged from ever working from a set number of hours they need to complete. The focus should be the agreed upon project, the learning, and the service – not the number of hours.  

Please keep in mind that there are four types of service: 

• Direct
• Indirect
• Advocacy
• Research

This can be anything on site or in the community. We call this the "boots on the ground" service type. You could be playing soccer with youth, planting trees, tutoring, assisting at a hospital, etc.

Indirect service can be considered as the "behind the scenes" work. You could be creating a program for a school, organizing a collection drive, creating a social media/marketing plan, writing a blog, calling nurseries for donation, etc.

Speak up and speak out for your organizations! You could hold a community information night, attend a city council meeting, run social media platforms, table on/off campus, lead presentations, etc.

Help your organizations by collecting, organizing, or compiling data. You could pull together information on best practices, lesson plans, and supporting documents. This could also be scientific research, surveying sea turtle nests, documenting migratory birds, etc.

We encourage our community partners to call or email us with any questions or concerns as they arise. We also offer community partner workshops once a semester where we provide resources, guidance, best practices, training, and much more.

Future Workshops

The primary and secondary contact within each organization (as listed in our community partner database) will receive an email when registration opens.  The proposed dates of our next workshops are:  August 7, 2024; October 31, 2024; and March 13, 2025.

All workshops are held on FGCU's campus from 9am-1pm.

Click here to register for the workshop being held on October 31, 2024

Past Workshops 

View our latest Community Partner Workshop