More Community Colleges Embrace Fundraising, Reconnect With Alumni

More two-year schools are trying to follow a path long traveled by four-year public and private universities. However, some experts say the community colleges face special difficulties since many alumni tend to give loyalty and cash to the four-year colleges where they subsequently transferred and earned a degree.

In addition, the community colleges usually don't have the big league sports or scientific research that can attract donations. And because of the intermittent enrollments of many students, it is not always clear who is an alumnus, and it can be difficult to locate alumni.