A California Community College challenges its local community to raise $1.5 million as part of statewide historic campaign

Fundraising challenge will support student scholarships

SACRAMENTO—July 31, 2009—The Foundation for California Community Colleges recognizes El Camino College in Torrance, Calif., and Southern California philanthropists Melanie and Richard Lundquist for the recent launch of an effort to raise $1.5 million for the California Community Colleges Scholarship Endowment. The fundraising drive was announced on Thursday, July 23, at a reception featuring the Lundquists, El Camino College President Thomas M. Fallo, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and Foundation President Paul Lanning. To kick off the fundraising drive, Southern California Edison presented the college with a $200,000 donation at the event.

Photo left to right: Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; ECC Foundation Executive Director, Katie Gleason; Executive Vice-President, Southern California Edison, Pedro Pizzaro; South Bay philanthropist, Melanie Lundquist, El Camino College President Thomas M. Fallo, and President and Chief Executive Officer, Foundation for California Community Colleges, Paul Lanning

The effort will raise $1 million toward El Camino College’s endowment challenge goal and $500,000 toward the statewide Endowment to be allocated among additional colleges. The Lundquists, who have made major donations to education and other local causes in the past, hope to arouse support from local business leaders, community members, and corporations, such as Southern California Edison, a longtime partner of the college.

“The Foundation is excited to see supporters of El Camino College rally to expand student scholarships in the Los Angeles area and beyond,” said Foundation President Paul I. Lanning. “This fundraising drive will set a great precedent for garnering local business community support for community colleges.”

The California Community Colleges Scholarship Endowment was launched last year with a $25 million lead gift from The Bernard Osher Foundation. As part of this gift, the largest ever made in the history of community colleges, the Osher Foundation issued a challenge to the colleges to raise $50 million by June 2011, for which it will provide a 50 percent match, up to $25 million. The result will be a $100 million endowment to support a minimum of 5,000 student scholarships in the California Community Colleges. Beginning this fall, scholarships of up to $1,000 each will be disbursed annually to qualified students at each college based on full-time equivalent students. El Camino College’s share is 20 scholarships for the 2009–10 school year, which will grow with contributions resulting from this campaign effort.

The Foundation for California Community Colleges is the managing organization for the Endowment and provides tools and resources to community colleges and their foundations to bolster their fundraising capabilities. For more information on the Endowment, visit www.SupportTheEndowment.org.

View press release | pdf