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Foundation awarded more than $330,000
Photos and Story by James Hill
The Portland Community College Foundation has received a $200,000 grant from the Meyer Memorial Trust and a $130,406 grant from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation.
The Meyer Memorial Trust will support the PCC Foundation’s initiative to build capacity for private fund-raising in order to significantly increase funds available for student scholarships and PCC programs. The grant, coupled with a $130,406 grant from the Miller Foundation, will allow the PCC Foundation to add key staff, update technology and implement other improvements to strengthen fund-raising capacity. More than $1 million in additional funds – above and beyond the current giving level – are expected to be generated over the next three years.
“Our vision for the Portland Community College Foundation is to rank among the nation’s top 20 community college foundations,” said Peter Bauer, PCC Foundation president. “We want to provide resources to ensure that every student who desires an education can attend without regard to ability to pay and ensure every donor’s dollar makes a dramatic impact on student success. We want to position the college as the preeminent education and training center in Oregon.”
The Portland Community College Foundation has an endowment of $2.7 million with more than 340 scholarship recipients in 2006-07. It was incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1982 and promotes excellence at the college by providing scholarships, equipment for teaching and training, special academic opportunities for students and support for outstanding faculty. The PCC Foundation expands the college’s ability to seek private funds and keeps private dollars separate from tax dollars.
“We have significant demand for scholarships for financial-need-based students but do not have enough funds to support all qualified applicants deserving of support,” said Rick Zurow, Foundation executive director. “In addition, we must be able to support various curriculum programs that rely on the latest technology to meet our community employers’ need for graduates certified in the latest techniques in performing the work. This capacity building grant will enable us to ramp up our fundraising development.”
Community colleges received less than one-half of 1 percent of the private donations to U.S. colleges and universities in 2005, according to the Council for Aid to Education, yet community colleges enroll nearly half the nation’s undergraduates.
For further information, contact Rick Zurow, Foundation executive director, at (503) 977-4450.
About James Hill
James G. Hill, an award-winning journalist and public relations writer, is the Director of Public Relations at Portland Community College. A graduate of Portland State University, James has worked as a section editor for the Newberg Graphic... more »