When Crystal Bridgeman joined the Siemens Foundation as senior director of workforce development programs in 2014, she pored over research and led conversations about what kind of projects the foundation should invest in to have the biggest impact. Her findings suggested there were a growing number of job opportunities in fields such as advanced…

"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…

As states and families begin to recover from the effects of the Great Recession, some of the urgency about college affordability may start to ease. The most recent "Trends in College Pricing" report shows tuition rising more slowly than in recent years (Baum and Ma 2013). Growth in Pell grant applications is also expected to slow as…

The $17.2 million Rural Community College Initiative (RCCI) demonstration grant program funded by the Ford Foundation which ran from 1994 to 2001 represents the largest philanthropic project specifically aimed at rural community colleges in United States history. While a good deal of literature has been published about this initiative, much was…

Because of the increasingly prominent role of foundations in supporting improved opportunities for community college students, it may be helpful to understand how foundations set priorities and make decisions. Some foundations engage in responsive grant making, whereby they outline priority areas and then respond to proposals received from the…

Confronting two unhealthy approaches that surface frequently in philanthropy--the tendency for grantmakers to think they alone have all the answers and the tensions that arise when national and local funders try to work together--this case study is intended to help grantmakers think more deeply about the concept of "engaged partners," one of…

In the first decade of the 21st century, the nation, the states, and colleges and universities began to grapple with the challenges of globalization, changing demography, the implications of the digital era, and of a less expansive public sector. Although not a transformative period for higher education, the decade saw significant innovations in…

Argues for greater two-year college faculty involvement in grant proposal writing. Lists available library resources on funding sources; reviews types of grants provided by government agencies; discusses community, national general purpose, special purpose, family, and corporate foundation support; and describes the specific steps in writing a…

This manual was written for members of the Harford Community College community who engage or are interested in educational, administrative, training, and research activities which may be sponsored by external public agencies, foundations, corporations, and other institutions. The manual describes the main items that should be included in a project…

This series of brief two-page essays is published quarterly by the Network of California Community College Foundations to address topics related to development activities typically conducted by educational foundations. Volume 1 includes "Your Message is as Clear as Your Mission Statement," by Pat Rasmussen and James M. Anderson, which suggests…

Prepared to assist community college educators in obtaining grants from public and private sources, this paper provides instructions on writing a grant proposal and a list of prospective donors. Section 1 discusses the history of philanthropic support for higher education and the ethics of grant-giving. Drawing from Norton J. Kirtz's work,…

This paper describes the JumpStart project, a two-year grant program initiated by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Center for the Study of Community Colleges (CSCC) to help community colleges develop entrepreneurship education efforts. Following a brief introduction, findings are presented from an initial review of existing community…

This book presents 11 case studies of effective partnership fundraising at various institutions of higher education. After a foreword by Peter McE. Buchanan and a preface and introduction by Frank H.T. Rhodes, chapters are: (1) Successful Fund Rising at a Large Private Research University: Cornell University (Frank H. T. Rhodes and Inge T.…

In spite of ten campuses spread over four islands, access to higher education at the University of Hawai'i (UH) is unevenly distributed across the state. In an effort to address the problem of access, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has funded the University of Hawai'i to develop online courses and programs. In this article, the author describes…