The Clackamas print., February 11, 2015, Page 3, Image 3

THE C L A C K A M A S P R IN T
|
FEB . 11, 2 0 1 5
| V O L . 48 ISSUE 12
College hopes to offer more
money in scholarships
by Erin Carey
“The board firm ly believes that borrow ing m oney to go to the first two years
p o f school is just n o t a good idea, so whatever we can do to help break through
that financial barrier, that’s w hat we’re doing, said Foundation executive direc­
tor Greg Fitzgerald. A nd w ith a cam paign to raise $10 m illion for both schol­
arships and com m unity projects, that’s w hat m em bers o f the Clackamas C om ­
m unity College foundation board like Fitzgerald are aim ing to do.
Started by an engagem ent process w ith the com m unity called Imagine
Clackamas, CCC w anted to know w hat they could do to improve themselves
in the eyes o f the com m unity that surrounded them . “We’re approaching our
50th birthday, and we’ve got some big initiatives going on in preparation of
that,” said Janet Paulson, CCC spokeswoman. “O ne ofthose was the bond, and
another is the cam paign and the th ird is our brand developm ent process.”
The cam paign began two years ago through Im agine Clackamas. So far the
foundation is on their way to the goal o f $7.5 m illion for scholarships, and $2.5
million for com m unity projects like restoring the headwaters of Newell Creek
near Environm ental Learning Center. “We had this need, because the No. 1 bar­
rier still today to o ur students accessing an education is financial,” said Fitzger­
ald. “So we needed to dram atically increase the am ount of scholarships that we
had.”
Endowed scholarships are funds that are a constant source of money, to keep
the scholarships that CCC has alive and well. Currently the Foundation m an­
aged about $9.5 m illion in scholarship money, and w ith the campaign, hope to
raise enough for at least $15 m illion in endowed scholarships.
A nd the people w ho are doing the m ost donating? Those who work at CCC.
“This college has the highest percentage o f employee participation in annu­
al giving that I’ve seen anywhere at least on the West Coast,” said Fitzgerald.
“Seventy five to eighty percent o f employees give every single year to the Foun­
dation, either scholarships or Funds for Excellence. That’s unheard o f ’
W ith m ore th an 600 applications com ing in a year, and annually about
$581,675 given away in scholarships, it’s the foundation’s goal to m ake sure that
those w ho apply for scholarships get the funding they need to continue their
education. “O u r applications are com ing in faster than ever,” said Fitzgerald. “A
couple years ago, it was close to deadline and we had 60 applicants. Now, it opened
a week o r so ago, and we’ve got 200 applicants in the first week. We’ve never had
that before.”
The types o f scholarships have a wide range, leaving no student in
the dark w hen it comes to scholarship opportunities. Job skill endow­
m ents, m anufacturing and m ilitary family endowed scholarships are just
som e o f them th at are offered. No m atter w hat they’re for, everyone is in
agreem ent th at this cam paign is im portant to the future of the college.
“It’s going to take everybody, and that’s the nice thing about a fundraising
cam paign for scholarships,” said CCC president Joanne Truesdell. “There really
isn’t an am ount too small from one person, and there isn’t an am ount too large.”
NEED MONEY FOR
COLLEGE?
— Deadlines for CCC scholarships:
March 4 for undergraduates
—Visit Clackamas.edu/Scholarships
—FAFSA deadline
June 30 at 10 p.m.
“It’s going to take everybody, and that’s the
nice thing about a fundraising campaign
for scholarships.”
—CCC president Joanne Truesdell
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