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MHCC Foundation raises scholarships for students
The Advocate
The MHCC Foundation raised a total of $212,000 and gave out $190,000 last year in scholarships for students.
According to executive director Cassie McVeety, some of the funds come from individual, business, faculty and staff donations but most is raised through fund-raising events.
Half of the $212,000 came from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation.
The MHCC Foundation also holds an auction every spring and has held golf tournaments in past years during the summer.
Funds may also be obtained through estate gifts, and the foundation can inherit money from any individual who includes the foundation in their will.
“Any asset can be donated to the ‘company,’ ” said McVeety, “People can donate cars, houses, and any other assets they choose and the money from those assets can be sold to fund the foundation.”
Not only do the funds that the MHCC Foundation raises provide scholarships, but the foundation also provides equipment to the college, including computers, smart boards and instruments, when funds are sufficient to do so.
According to Foundation Coordinator Sunny Klever, the foundation is governed by a separate board, made up of community and business leaders, all of whom are volunteers, and the board meets six times a year.
“The foundation’s primary goal is to raise money for scholarships,” Klever said.
The foundation has benefitted students greatly by granting scholarships, some of which all students are eligible and others that are program-specific.
They offer full and part-time scholarships as well and applications for these scholarships are provided each term.
The James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation has also been a major donor to the foundation. Last year, the Miller Foundation provided the MHCC Foundation with $106,000 in funds, matching that of the amount the MHCC foundation raised itself.
The Miller Foundation donated a total of $1.5 million to Oregon’s community colleges last year, according to McVeety.
This opportunity is provided for this year as well, said McVeety.
In order to receive matching funds for the 2009-2010 school year, however, the MHCC foundation needs to raise $120,000 by March 31, 2010.
For more information on the MHCC Foundation, contact Sunny Klever at 503-491-7206.
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