The “Student Focus. Community Impact” Campaign for Blue Ridge Community College successfully exceeded its $8 million goal.
Raising a total of $8,552,376 in gifts and pledges, including planned gifts, the campaign is the largest fundraising effort in the College’s 49-year history.
Tom Mendez, a current member and former chair of the BRCC Educational Foundation Board of Directors and member of the Campaign Leadership Committee said, “This success belongs to our entire community. Individuals, businesses, donors, employees – everyone really rallied around this cause of focusing on students and the impact they make in our community. It was very rewarding to hear the reasons donors chose to invest in the College. They genuinely felt a connection to the BRCC mission and are proud and passionate about the great results accomplished year after year.”
Campaign priorities included workforce and economic development, increasing access and student support, and facility enhancements. Just last year, the Educational Foundation awarded more than $325,000 in scholarships to deserving BRCC students.
“These funds will help ensure many deserving students will have the opportunity to attend BRCC. And that they’ll have access to the best equipment and facilities,” commented BRCC President Dr. John Downey. He continued, “This campaign demonstrates the tremendous support the college enjoys in the community and is a testament to the hard work of our faculty and staff.”
“I am excited about the great support we have and the momentum we have built coming off of this campaign,” said BRCC Educational Foundation Board Chair Cathleen Welsh. “It motivates us as we move forward to raise additional funds to support the students and faculty at Blue Ridge.”
The majority of the donations to the College come in the form of planned gifts and endowments. Once realized, the interest from those endowments are used to provide scholarships to students, equipment for programs, and grants for faculty and staff innovation.
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