Coastline meets fundraising goal for the Osher challenge
(RELEASED BY THE FOUNDATION FOR CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES, SACRAMENTO, CA, OCT. 27, 2009)--
Two California Community Colleges have increased the amount of permanent scholarship support available to their students by reaching their fundraising goals for the California Community Colleges Scholarship Endowment challenge, raising a collective $1,208,283 for the effort. Coastline Community College and East Los Angeles College are the fourth and fifth colleges statewide to reach this milestone as part of a three-year effort to build a $100 million endowment for California’s community college students.
“We congratulate Coastline Community College and East Los Angeles College for reaching their fundraising goals nearly two years ahead of schedule. Through their hard work, these colleges have helped lead the charge in raising funds as part of this challenge, thereby ensuring permanent scholarship support for our state’s neediest students,” said Dr. Paul Lanning, President and CEO of the Foundation for California Community Colleges.
“At a time when colleges are facing numerous funding challenges, now is the time to continue to increase philanthropic support of the largest higher education system in the nation,” added Ken Berry, Board President of the Network of California Community College Foundations. “The administrations and foundations at these colleges deserve praise for their success in raising philanthropic dollars for this endowment and serving as an inspiration for other California Community College foundations."
East Los Angeles College (ELAC) reached its total goal of $944,537 after putting a call to action appeal in their annual report, sent to the local community earlier this year. “We created an opportunity for our donors to leverage their financial support through federal matching fund programs for which our foundation was already receiving funding, in addition to the match dollars made available from the Osher Foundation,” said Selina Chi, Executive Director of the ELAC Foundation. “Thanks to our community’s response to the call to action, ELAC will have nearly $100,000 of new scholarship money available to our students each year in perpetuity.”
Coastline Community College, located in Orange County, reached its fundraising goal of $263,746 through a variety of sources and fundraising events. Major funding came from the trust estate of the late Orange County pediatrician, Dr. Richard Houghton. “We are so thankful that Dr. Houghton thought of Coastline when preparing his trust, and we know that our students will benefit from his generosity for many, many years,” said the college foundation’s Executive Director, Mariam Khosravani.
Launched in 2008, the California Community Colleges Scholarship Endowment provides scholarships of up to $1,000 annually to students who have already completed 24 units of study, are enrolled in at least six units for the current semester, and who receive a Board of Governors fee waiver. It combines an historic $50 million commitment from The Bernard Osher Foundation—including an up-front gift of $25 million—with a three-year match fundraising campaign that involves all 110 California Community Colleges.
The money raised by the colleges for the Endowment will be matched by 50 percent by the Osher Foundation, giving community colleges the opportunity to attract new donors to become supporters of the colleges’ educational programs.
“Knowing that 50 percent of every dollar contributed to this campaign will be matched by the Osher Foundation has really inspired donors,” said Khosravani. “They know they can make a large impact even with a small gift,” she continued.
Chi of the ELAC Foundation echoed this sentiment, adding that the Osher challenge has spurred a renewed interest in philanthropic support of the college. “We are so grateful for this opportunity that the Osher Foundation has given us. The challenge it put to our Foundation Board and staff to meet our fundraising goal has been demanding yet rewarding,” she stated.
Through this campaign, the Endowment will ultimately grow to $100 million and provide scholarships for thousands of California students annually. In addition to Coastline and East Los Angeles colleges, Santa Rosa Junior College, Bakersfield College and College of Marin have also met their goals, and nearly 30 other colleges are in the process of raising funds toward their goals. To date, the Foundation for California Community Colleges and local community colleges across the state have raised more than $5 million for the Endowment.
The first scholarship funds from the Endowment were provided this semester to the state’s 110 community colleges, providing enough support for 1,250 scholarships in the amount of $500 to be distributed to community college students for educational expenses such as text books, lab fees, uniforms and transportation. A second installment of the same amount will be distributed to colleges for the Spring 2010 semester, providing a total of $1.25 million in scholarship funding this academic year alone.
The Endowment is managed by the Foundation for California Community Colleges, which also provides tools and support to community colleges to maximize their fundraising efforts. More information is available by emailing endowment@foundationccc.org or by visiting www.SupporttheEndowment.org.
