Temple University
EN-13: Community Stakeholder Engagement

Temple University promotes civic engagement for all members of the Temple community. Faculty, staff, students and alumni are encouraged to donate their time to nonprofit, faith based and civic organizations. Policies and procedures differ within each department at Temple as it relates to community stakeholder engagement. The Office of Community Relations is the main point of contact for external community stakeholders that wish to connect with the university. Throughout the year, unifying projects are planned and implemented to encourage the entire Temple community to participate in volunteerism. Examples include Freshmen Orientation, which includes service projects as part of the itinerary; Alumni Global Day of Service, a program that encourages volunteerism from graduates of Temple in venues located nationally and internationally; and the MLK Day of Service, in which the Temple community devotes time to beautification projects, workshops and health screenings.

For the two campuses, Main and the Health Sciences, that are adjacent to predominately residential communities, the university ensures community stakeholder engagement in several ways:
• Nonprofits. Meetings are held periodically with nonprofit organizations that are providing services in the local communities as a way to keep them informed about university programs and resources and support them in establishing peer-to-peer partnerships.
• Community Campus Councils. Committees have been established of residential community leaders and university staff to discuss and receive feedback regarding any significant policies or activities that impact the surrounding communities. The members of the Council are either representatives of civic organizations or block captains. For example, in December 2014 the university’s senior staff met with the Councils to present the draft of Visualize Temple, the new land use plan, and solicit feedback.
• Registered Community Organizations. The City of Philadelphia’s Zoning Code provides a framework for organized communication between zoning applicants and community groups that register with the Philadelphia City Planning Commission (PCPC) to represent their neighborhoods in zoning matters. These Registered Community Organizations (RCOs) receive the benefit of early notice of significant zoning proposals in their neighborhoods. For zoning applicants, the RCO system provides a reliable 45-day timeframe for community input and a mechanism to identify and contact community organizations. The PCPC checks applications submitted by organizations – including volunteer organizations, civic associations, Pennsylvania nonprofit corporations, and unincorporated associations – using six criteria. The PCPC will accept a group as an RCO if it has all of the following:
1. An adopted statement of purpose for the organization concerning land use, zoning, or related concern, AND
2. A geographic area with no more than 20,000 parcels, AND
3. Boundaries that are set forth in the organization’s governing rules, AND
4. Meetings that are publicly announced through hard copy or electronic notices, AND
5. Open meetings on a regularly scheduled basis, AND
6. Leadership chosen by the membership of the organization-at-large through an election process.

Neighborhood Improvement Districts, Special Services Districts, and Ward Committees are the only types of organizations that do not need to satisfy these six criteria and automatically qualify as RCOs upon submission of a complete application form to the PCPC.

The university has established community councils and a network of non-profits, and meets with the groups that have identified as a registered community organization (see above for a description of registered community organizations.

The areas surrounding the Health Sciences and Main campuses are the second poorest areas in the City. The majority of nonprofit organizations with whom the university staff interact provide social or support services to these populations, which provides another pathway for communicating with residents, especially those that are the most vulnerable.

Educational Organizations
-Duckrey Elementary School
-Dunbar Elementary School
-Community Partnership School
-Philadelphia Military Academy
-YouthBuild Charter School
-Alliance Charter School
-School District of Philadelphia
-School Reform Commission

Registered Community Organizations.
-Asociacion Puertorriquenos en Marcha
-West Poplar Community Development Corporation
-Yorktown Community Development Corporation
-Uptown Entertainment & Development Corporation
-Temple Area Property Association
-MAP Holistic Community Development Corporation
-Beech Community Services
-Community Land Trust
-32nd Democratic Ward Committee
-Strawberry Mansion Community Concern
-47th Democratic Ward Committee

Civic Organizations
-Metamorphosis Community Development Corporation
-Jefferson Manor Homeowners Association
-Yorktown Community Organization
-Norris Homes Tenants Council

Elected Officials
-City Council President Darrell Clarke
-State Rep. Curtis Thomas
-State Senator Shirley Kitchen
-U. S. Congressman Chaka Fattah
-U. S. Congressman Robert Brady
-City of Philadelphia offices
-Commonwealth of Pennsylvania offices

Nonprofit Organizations (not already identified as RCOs)
-Women’s Christian Alliance
-Caring People’s Alliance
-Mothers in Charge
-North City Congress
-North Central Victims Services
-Columbus Property Management
-Project HOME
-Tree House Books
-Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia
-Village of the Arts and Humanities
-Affordable Housing Council of Pennsylvania
-Opportunities Industrialization Corporation
-Beckett Gardens Community Center

Private Sector Organizations
-Temple Area Property Association
-Sodexo
-Alpha Business Services

Information provided by Beverly Coleman from the office of Community Relations. Data based on FY14.