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The quest for private support at the community college level is a relatively new phenomenon, born of the ever-widening gap between what public funds support and what quality education and training now demand. Therefore, one prerequisite task is simply to get our case for support on the giving agenda of corporations, foundations, and individuals who view funding for community-based education and training as the province of state and local governments alone.

The stakes are high and our message must be clear: To assure the levels of access and instructional quality needed to maintain America's skilled work force and, by extension, our nation's competitive edge, we must increase private sector investment in public higher education. Indeed, we have an obligation to succeed.

Advancement: An Institutionwide Responsibility

To ensure that this obligation is fulfilled, the successful advancement program develops clearly defined roles for each segment of the college family including faculty, staff, and students, but the major responsibilities remain in the hands of the trustees, the president, the chief advancement officer, and the foundation board.

Trustees. As the governing body, trustees have traditionally held responsibility for fiscal planning and policies at the highest level. Faced with a need for resources beyond those funded by public sector budgets each year, today's trustees are encouraged to explore and develop new sources of revenue, first authorizing creation of an institutionally related foundation and then approving the foundation's long-range plans, supporting its activities, and acting as its public advocates.

Monroe Community College trustee Lori Van Dusen understands and supports this expanded role: "With our opportunity to provide the college not simply oversight but also new, much-needed financial strength and flexibility, trustees can have a more pronounced and far-reaching influence on campus life and learning than ever before."

The President. Serving as the central link between trustees and the foundation, the college president works to assure that relationships between these groups are dynamic and synergistic, reflecting mutual respect and a clear understanding of shared and distinctive responsibilities. All these relationships should be clarified in writing, with fundraising policies adopted by mutual consent and long-range plans implemented only with governing board approval.

As the guiding hand and voice for the institution, the college president is also the campus's most vital and visible fundraising presence. The successful president develops an institutional vision that is forward-looking and sustainable, ensures that the chief advancement officer is well-qualified, maintains strong ties with the foundation board, understands the development process, cultivates and solicits major gift prospects, and attends foundation-sponsored activities.

The Chief Advancement Officer (CAO). The CAO, often the foundation director, makes this all work. As a member of the college's senior management team, the CAO actively participates in institutional strategic planning. With support from the college in the form of personnel and resources, the college's CAO works with the foundation board to develop and implement fundraising policies, programs, and strategies that benefit the institution. The CAO takes the lead in identifying, recruiting, training, and effectively utilizing each member of the foundation's volunteer board; overseeing both annual and long-range planning; motivating staff and volunteers; evaluating programs and human resources; and following up on a myriad of details to help the foundation succeed.

The Foundation Board. Community college foundations, established as not-for-profit corporations that solicit, receive, and disburse private funds, derive their authority and legitimacy from the institutions with which they are affiliated. A successful development program requires the foundation to balance its autonomy with an appropriate degree of accountability to the governing board.

In earlier years, community college foundation boards were socially oriented, with few members experienced in the dynamics of fundraising. Board giving itself was insubstantial; so, too, was the capacity of most board members to cultivate prospects or solicit contributions of a meaningful size. In those years, however, state and local funding was adequate, and contributions from the private sector, while welcomed, were rarely needed.

By contrast, today's highly competitive philanthropic environment demands board members who are strongly committed to the institution, a commitment manifest in their own leadership-level generosity and their willingness to advise the governing board, college president, and chief advancement officer; become knowledgeable about the college and its mission; act as ambassadors for the college; identify, cultivate, and solicit potential donors within the private sector; lead by example, personally investing in the college and its programs; participate in board meetings; host foundation-sponsored events and activities; recommend and cultivate prospective board nominees; and assist in carrying out the board's fiduciary responsibility.

The challenge for college presidents and advancement officers is not only finding individuals who possess these skills and attributes, but also recruiting them, retaining their interest, and making best use of their individual strengths and abilities.

The Foundation's Pivotal Role

Understandably, the influence and effectiveness of a foundation board begins with the reputation, capabilities, and commitment of its members. Although every rule has exceptions, experience teaches that effective board members most often share one or more of the following characteristics: inherited wealth, a tradition of public service, high-level of corporate or professional achievement, and a leadership role in the community. A relationship with the institution, either personal or corporate, is always desirable.

To be productive, the foundation must have a viable plan and structure for board activities. This framework encourages the development of strong leadership and shared goals, and it provides the opportunity for the CAO to engage the talents and interests of each member to best advantage. To strengthen a board, the CAO must give high priority to developing effective recruitment, orientation, and retention activities; identifying skills and attributes; determining meaningful committee assignments; developing effective communications; building relationships; and following sound board practices.

Working to validate the case for their institution, recruit volunteer leadership, build new donor constituencies, and develop fresh revenue streams, community college foundations play an increasingly pivotal role in funding the college's current needs and long-term aspirations. But success has its building blocks: notably, a motivated president, a strongly committed foundation board, a comprehensive fundraising plan that effectively integrates the foundation's mission with that of the college, and an advancement program that both appreciates and capitalizes on the character of its community.