Development Priorities

LCCC Spire at the entrance

The LCCC Foundation is proud to support the strategic priorities and initiatives of the College and appreciates the continued partnership to help establish development priorities to provide focus and direction for the Foundation staff’s fundraising efforts. With a number of outstanding opportunities and experiences available at LCCC, we work closely with the leadership of the
College to help the Foundation prioritize our fundraising objectives and goals.

We are excited to share we have successfully completed our previous development priorities and have received new priorities beginning in 2025. Included below are the current development priorities for the LCCC Foundation, for January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2027. A comprehensive fundraising effort of more than $4.7 million over the next three years.

As part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between LCCC and the LCCC Foundation, the College President provides the LCCC Foundation development priorities every 2-3 years to assist the Foundation in ensuring their fundraising efforts are aligned with the strategic priorities and projects of the College. These are not the only fundraising efforts of the Foundation, but they are a measure of progress annually in our work to support the College. The following goals were presented and accepted by the Foundation Board of Directors in January 2025 and will continue through December 2027.

Priority #1: LCCC Pathway Endowments

This has been a continuing development priority since the launch of Guided Pathways at LCCC. Working to grow existing endowments that support the eight LCCC Academic Pathways. The long-term goal is to have each of these endowments reach the $1 million threshold. By December 31, 2027, the target is to have each Pathway Endowment funded at $500,000 or $2,250 per student in the pathway using the 2023/2024 enrollment data.

mockups of the 8 pathway donor walls, with spaces for donor names. The Pathway icons are shown in front of each wall.

Progress Update: In total this fundraising goal is more than $2 million, since this goal was established more than $700,000 has been added to the six Pathway Endowment funds that are currently under the $500,000 threshold. The Foundation has made good progress in achieving the overall fundraising goal; however, this goal will continue to be a focus for the team to reach the overall goal. To support our work with this goal, we have established Pathway Endowment Donor Walls to thank those who contribute to a Pathway Endowment with a gift of $2,500 or more. The pathway endowment walls will begin to be installed across campus this summer and into early fall.

Priority #2: Supporting Low-Income Students

LCCC has done a good job of providing financial assistance based on merit and the majority of the LCCC Foundation
Scholarships include merit-based components or are focused on student achievement. While some support focused on financial
need does exist, it is not at the magnitude of merit-based aid in either the Foundation or the College. This priority includes two
sub-priorities to help scale financial aid to remove/mitigate need for low-income students: 1. Pilot Program/Proof of
Concept - $600,000 raised to be spent down over three years to test if removing financial barriers related to tuition and fees for
low-income students results in high school graduation and college continuation. 2. Scholarships or Support for Students Living
in the LCCC Residence Halls - We recognize that for some students the costs associated with living on campus are considerable,
especially local students who may pass on the chance to experience college life and build lasting relationships simply because it is
cheaper to stay home with family. Target for this fund would be $1 million.

A collage with the front of the Clay Pathfinder Building, three students walking, and "LCCC Accelerate"

Progress Update: The LCCC Foundation has chosen to prioritize the fundraising efforts for the pilot project with the
development of LCCC Accelerate, a program designed to support sophomores in LCSD1 to engage with dual/concurrent enrollment
in meaningful and strategic ways. To help launch this program the LCCC Foundation has partnered with the John P. Ellbogen
Foundation, the Sturm Family Foundation and Meta to raise $600,000 to support the LCCC Accelerate Program and ensure the
funding is available to run this program for the next three years. With the funding support for LCCC Accelerate in place, the
Foundation team will now transition our efforts to increasing giving for the established scholarship to support students living in the
residence halls that are low-income and first-generation.

Priority #3: Naming of Facilities to Support Exterior Renewal

LCCC has launched a comprehensive Exterior Renewal Plan that will eventually transform 13 of its oldest, concrete buildings into more energy efficient, reduced maintenance, and aesthetically pleasing facilities. While LCCC has been successful in seeking some state and institutional support for these transformations, completing all 13 in a timely fashion will necessitate other resources. The College would ask the LCCCF for support in seeking donors and utilizing naming tributes on these buildings to generate revenue that can match state funding for the exterior renewal of buildings.

Mockup of the South entrance to the college in front of the Administration Building after the exterior renewal with big blue arches and the college name.

Progress Update: Supporting the College as they look to transform the physical appearance of the buildings is an exciting challenge for the Foundation. The opportunity to thank and recognize those that want to leave a lasting legacy on our campus through a naming opportunity is a wonderful opportunity for donor engagement and stewardship. We have many outstanding donors that have supported LCCC through naming opportunities over the years and since the development of this priority we have added two more: The Charles Carpenter Board Room – recognizing LCCC’s first President for his commitment to the development of our institution and The Art Ellis Auto Tech Building – recognizing a longtime employee Art Ellis for his more than 20 years of commitment to LCCC and his service to a variety of areas of campus, including the LCCC Foundation.

Priority #4: The LCCC Student Experience

As part of the College’s Unlocking Opportunity work, LCCC is purposefully structuring unique learning, engagement, and support activities to create an identifiable, unforgettable, connected and impactful experience for our degree-/credential-seeking students. While some funds/funding exist to support these operations, most of those are limited in scope or allowable expenditures. While many aspects of this programming should and will be supported by the College’s operational funding, LCCC would ask the Foundation to raise funds that could be either spent or endowed to support certain aspects of the Office of the LCCC Student Experience’s offerings. These would include: Experiential Learning and Supporting Special Populations.

A group of students with the Mascot Talon on campus for The Kickoff, a student event held at the start of each semester.

Progress Update: The focus of the LCCC Foundation over the past year is to generate support for the Davis First Generation Experience, a program designed with the support of Dr. Harmon (Bud) and Claire Davis. The Davis First Gen program has been a pilot program for the past three years and has now transitioned into a part of the LCCC student experience with dedicated staff to support the program’s operations. The Foundation has worked with the Davis family and other donors to establish an endowment to help support the ongoing expense of running this program and provide scholarships to our Davis Scholars. With a matching gift of $100,000 from Dr. and Mrs. Davis, we look to have this fund grow to over $200,000 in 2026.