Earlier this week I made a presentation to a group of development professionals for Virginia’s community colleges. And I was reminded that these two-year colleges have become an important part of the solution for our nation’s demand for education.
Our current economy has caused enrollments at community colleges to soar. If you live in southeast Virginia where we’re based, you may have read an article in The Virginian-Pilot last week that Tidewater Community College’s enrollment has jumped 20 percent. This year TCC will serve an astonishing 30,000+ people. One reason for this jump is that as part of the President Obama’s education agenda, community colleges have become more visible than ever, and as a result they’re more in demand than ever.
This is one example of the need for your case statement to tell a compelling story, not just with data and statistics, but in ways that are relevant to the times and that move potential donors emotionally. For instance, last weekend The New York Times ran an article written by a community college professor about how rewarding it is to teach students whose lives are rich with experience. A wise development director will make sure that article is part of her college’s donor information packet.
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