Contributions to college Foundation up 29 percent
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Colleges and universities around the country are seeing a significant drop in financial gifts received — but not Washtenaw Community College.
Financial contributions dropped 11.8 percent in 2009, according to a press release by the Council for Aid to Education. But Wendy Lawson, associate vice president of development, grants and government relations, said contributions to the WCC Foundation, which gives students scholarships and provides faculty and staff grants, were up 29 percent to $624,000 during its six-month fiscal year.
“We ended up getting more gifts during the year, but not as many at the end of the year,” Lawson said, noting year-end mailings sent out by the Foundation garnered 104 less gifts, resulting in a $38,000 drop from 2008.
Other area community colleges are also reporting less year-end giving, Lawson said. But WCC might have a problem the others don’t have: a changed mailing address due to postal regulations. They’ve been spreading the word about the new address, but not everyone’s heard the news.
“We know of a couple gifts that were returned and the donors called us, so we know that happened a few times,” Lawson said. “We’re wondering if there were other times when nobody called us.”
During the spring and summer semesters of 2008, the Foundation was not able to award scholarships to everyone in need because it gave all available funds to scholarship applicants during the fall and winter semesters. Lawson doesn’t think that will happen this year.
“We’re hoping that because we’re up 29 percent, we’re going to be able to award scholarships to anyone who meets the criteria,” she said.
Lawson said the Foundation raises money in a variety of ways, including a golf outing, luncheons and direct letter mailings, but said it raises the most money by asking people to donate face-to-face.
“This community is completely supportive of the community college; folks whose kids went here, and are grateful for the education their kids received, as well as just general community members are very, very generous in supporting the college,” Lawson said. “I think that Washtenaw Community College is now seen as, really, the key to economic recovery of Washtenaw County.”
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