Community colleges are valued for developing opportunities, supporting students, and transforming communities, yet they are experiencing challenges that have the potential to impact their mission. The changing environment brought about by economic, political, and social development such as funding gaps and fluctuations in student enrollment will impact the institution's ability to maintain its sustainability unless solutions to these concerns are found. The problem is that community colleges face increasing costs at the same time they are experiencing the loss of state and federal funding. This unfortunate confluence of factors results in a greater dependence on passing the cost of higher education to students through tuition and fee increases. Community colleges must learn how to incorporate new and different funding streams to address funding gaps by engaging in change strategies, including innovation and creative thinking. This study explored differing possibilities for alternative funding--through fund development, new business opportunities, and new business models--in addition to how innovative ideas and thinking need to be infused into the institution's culture and align with the college's mission. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]