MARTINEZ – The governing board for the Contra Costa College District held its monthly meeting this past Wednesday. The council members addressed a wide range of subjects including a special report on student success through philanthropy within the family of Contra Costa Colleges and a resolution honoring veterans.

The district’s executive foundation director Sara Marcellino began by highlighting why the philanthropic foundations are so important for the growth of our family of community colleges and outlined the currently healthy state of the foundations.

“While four-year universities typically prioritize advancement efforts, community colleges often face unique challenges in this area due to a lack of investment, leadership, and knowledge,” said Marcellino. “All three 4CD Foundations (CCC/LMC/DVC) are members of the Network of California Community College Foundations, which have net assets totaling 1,437 billion dollars.”

Marcellino presented a line chart of total assets at the three 4CD foundations showing a glaring difference in total assets between the three colleges. Both Diablo Valley College and Contra Costa College hold total assets of roughly eight million or more while Los Medanos College is sitting much lower with total assets of less than two million.

LMC foundation manager Leetha Robertson started her portion of the report by acknowledging the need for LMC to catch up to the rest of the 4CD family.

“We are the youngest of the three colleges at 50 years and as the youngest sibling we’ve got some work to do. We want to grow up and be just as viable as the other two colleges in the district,” said Robertson. Later Robertson echoed Marcellino’s thoughts on the importance of the 4CD Foundations.

“District five of the Contra Costa supervisors have a livable communities trust fund – there were nine recipients of that trust fund and I’m happy to say that Los Medanos received 35 percent of that trust fund to the tune of $400,000,” said Robertson.  “And the vast majority of that is unrestricted, which allows us to be nimble and serve our students where the need is greatest.”

Next, the council heard from James Blair, the director of college advancement for DVC, who summarized some of the many benefits the 4CD foundation has provided for DVC, like scholarships and financial aid “which provided over $270,000 annually across 200 awards”, or program funding which “supports 55 plus programs each year, enhancing academics and hands-on learning.”

Blair also explained how DVC alumni contributed funds to the 4CD foundation.

“We realized most gifts (donations) were being made by alumni, Alumni we had no

connection to. So the board took a risk and hired an alumni manager,” stated Blair. “Because the board executed a bold vision to expand our capacity we are currently having greater successes than originally envisioned.”

CCC has also been making strides in providing students with financial assistance. CCC foundation scholarship funds were reportedly $321,000 this year with plans to increase the amount of funds to $367,000 next year. Additionally, the Wrap-Around Emergency Fund for CCC was said to be $66,000 annually and has accrued about $400,000 in spending since 2017. 

Foundations like these have helped thousands of students enroll across campuses within the district. CCC student Mathew Romero lost his job due to being a full-time student but the Wrap-Around Fund has settled his uneasy feelings about losing his job. 

 “I can continue my journey here at Contra Costa College,” said Romero. “I will succeed in obtaining my associate’s degree, and its program like this helps students like me make their dreams possible.”

The council members also voted on a resolution honoring veterans and all persons currently serving in the armed forces of the United States of America, employee veterans, and student veterans. This is an annual resolution that holds special importance to the council, as governing board members Fernando Sandoval and John E. Marquez are both veterans.

The council unanimously voted to pass the resolution and then proceeded to surprise council members Sandavol and Marquez with a copy of the resolution honoring veterans as a gift. Both veterans were grateful for the recognition and Marquez went on to share his appreciation.

“I stand before you as a veteran, a paratrooper, not too many jumps, only 17–and I thank you,” said Marquez.

The council also heard reports on enrollment and success for recent high school graduates from local K-12 school districts, approval of various purchasing agreements such as a new food truck coming soon to DVC, a resolution in support of Native American Heritage Month, and briefly recognized outgoing board member Dr. Judy. E Walters for her contributions.