First Time's a Charm
Massachusetts community college scores big with its first capital campaign.
Morrilly adds that, within eight weeks, the college had:
- Articulated a statement of need.
- Defined the cost/goal to support the need.
- Identified a cross section of the community to be interviewed with the help of community leaders.
- Prepared the questionnaire.
- Tested the achievability of the goal with a standards-of-giving chart based on other community colleges’ successes.
- Seized the opportunity to tell its story.
- Offered confidentiality and involved community leaders and decision makers.
- Strengthened relationships between the foundation and trustee boards.
- Uncovered community ties.
- Agreed on the campaign timetable and activities.
Multi-tiered success
Raising the campaign goal to finish a project is tantamount to victory, but success goes so much deeper for community colleges, whose state support on average has dwindled to less than 30 percent. MWCC currently receives only 28 percent of its operating budget from the state. The remaining 72 percent comes from student fees, government grants and contracts, and local fundraising activities.
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