Due to shifting funding polices for community colleges, the role of the community college foundation has changed greatly from passive fund managers for the institution into active fundraisers. With over 15,000 individuals nationally serving in the volunteer role of community college foundation board member, and managing nearly one billion dollars…

Community colleges educate nearly 50% of students who complete a degree at a four-year university. Yet, California community college funding remains lower than per student funding for the UC, CSU, and K-12 systems. Community college non-profit 501(c)3 foundations provide the opportunity to generate millions in support of their colleges, and yet…

Although endowments at two-year colleges cannot compare to similar funding at a typical powerhouse university, community college endowments have grown an average of 76 percent over the past 20 years, according to the Center for Community College Advancement at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Foundation creation among…

Community college leadership, including governing and foundation board members, must have an ethical framework while using philanthropic fundraising to increase revenues available for community colleges to realize their heroic mission.

Facing challenges and changes in the twenty-first century, universities are giving increased emphasis to institutional advancement, encompassing constituent engagement, communications and marketing, and fundraising. This book highlights the implications of change and best practices and innovations in advancement. It addresses such questions as:…

As community colleges seek new revenue streams, philanthropic organizations, including college foundations and private funders, have already begun to influence both revenues and college programming. This chapter discusses the current role of philanthropy, especially private foundations such as the Lumina Foundation for Education and the Bill and…

"Fundraising Strategies for Community Colleges" is a hands-on, step-by-step guide to building a million-dollar-a-year development office. Community colleges educate nearly half the undergraduates in America yet receive as little as two percent of all gifts to higher education. Private philanthropy is now essential to the mission of community…

In 2011, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) founded the Center for Community College Advancement to provide training and resources to help community colleges build and sustain effective fundraising, alumni relations, and communications and marketing programs. A goal for the center is to collect data on best practices at…

The increased focus on private fundraising poses challenges for community colleges (Jackson & Glass, 2000). A challenge is a lack of fundraising experience within community colleges and their foundations. There now exists a donor-focused fundraising model for community colleges to use to enhance their fundraising initiatives and increase the…

Community colleges are enjoying a rare moment in the limelight right now. But part of what is being revealed by that light is just how much scrambling two-year institutions must do to keep up with increasing demands and decreasing budgets. With the recession sending many laid-off workers back to school for job retraining, and with President Barack…

The face of the American landscape is overwhelmingly metropolitan, making metro areas important spaces for philanthropy to explicitly consider when crafting postsecondary funding strategies. This is the case for two primary reasons. First, metropolitan areas are drivers of economic activity and innovation. Second, four out of every five…

This action research study examined the process of creation and implementation of a case statement for an urban community college foundation. An instrumental case study methodology was used in examining this process. The study chronicled a successful participatory development process that allowed a number of stakeholders to effectively work on…

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the annual revenue received by United States public Community College Foundations from 2008-2009 in relation to selected variables associated in the literature with successful foundation performance. This study also collected longitudinal data by replicating and expanding upon a similar study…

Community colleges are facing record enrollments and declining state and local funding, and many leaders of these institutions see increasing private support as critical for colleges. In 2010 the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) conducted a national survey of community college foundations. The survey, drafted with the…

Community college students are being forced to delay future educational goals, due to the lack of financial support. Grants, student loans and financial aid support from government sources are in short supply. While past resources from state legislative bodies are being restricted and have been reduced to historic levels; educational…