A Community-College President Tells Nacubo Attendees How He Approaches Fund Raising

Boston — For community colleges new to fund raising, it is essential to establish working relationships with business leaders before asking them for money, the president of the Community College of Rhode Island told an audience here today at the National Association of College and University Business Officers’ conference.

Ray M. Di Pasquale said that after he became president of the 17,000-student college, in 2006, he visited area business leaders and asked them what their needs were, especially in worker training. In addition to finding ways that the college could help businesses fill vacancies or train employees, the meetings gave Mr. Di Pasquale a chance to explain the college’s role in economic development, “what we’re doing to help make the state stronger.”

He left the business leaders with a four-page flier titled “This Is CCRI,” which includes facts about enrollment, degrees granted, the companies the college works with on employee training, and the number of students enrolled in programs that are meeting a need in the state, such as computer-networking technology and certified-nursing-assistant training.

Mr. Di Pasquale said several CEO’s wrote checks for $10,000 or $20,000 after those informational meetings, even though he hadn’t asked for a specific donation. The college is in the midst of a capital campaign with a goal of $5.5-million and has already raised more than $3-million.

The president of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce and a senior leader of a regional health network also spoke at the presentation, describing how they had worked with the college to establish mutually beneficial partnerships intended to bolster economic development and help people find jobs. (Rhode Island’s unemployment rate is higher than the national average, measuring 12.1 percent in May.)

It’s important that the partnerships go both ways, Mr. Di Pasquale said. If the college demonstrates that it benefits the business community, the community will give back. That giving might be money, volunteer time, or introducing the college to local philanthropists.

One benefit that the college provides to area businesses is the use of space on its four campuses at no charge, Mr. Di Pasquale said. (That approach is the opposite of what another community-college administrator suggested yesterday, that institutions should rent out space as much as possible for additional revenue.)

He also suggested that college leaders closely follow local business news, so they can adjust to current needs. “We can move quickly to helping,” Mr. Di Pasquale said. For instance, the college is starting nine new certificate programs, based on predictions of where companies need skilled workers. —Kathryn Masterson