As state and college funding grows more limited, schools are turning to other resources to meet their goals.

“The ACC Foundation is a nonprofit organization that works to make student and faculty time more productive and a success by turning to donors to help invest in the college and its mission statement,” said Courtney Loehfelm, executive director of the foundation.

People or organizations contribute money, which is distributed to students via the ACC Foundation. The Board of Directors is a group of volunteers responsible for making sure the money received from donors is used as intended.

“They approve our decisions and make sure we hold up our end of the deal,” Loehfelm said. However, this link to the board is not just a one-way connection. “We get the added benefit of their partnerships that helps us increase our prospective pool of donations,” Loehfelm said. She has been the foundation’s executive director for the past seven years.

Once funds are raised, they are distributed through a variety of means. To help make each department more innovative and productive, mini grants are given to faculty and staff. For example, digital cameras were provided for some science classes for students to take pictures of what they were studying and enable them to make it into a textbook. The history department received a 3D printer to assist classes with gaming components, and the foundation provided a campus officer with a new police bike.

Student success is supported through foundation scholarships with $200,000 in financial assistance available to students. Certain criteria, such as GPA, are evaluated to demonstrate to donors that they are getting a positive return on their investments.

Faculty and staff pitch in at times to financially assist the Foundation in helping students. The Student Emergency Fund, which is offered through Student Life, provides money for food, gas, rent, etc., to students with emergency needs. A large percentage of ACC teachers have contributed to this fund.

“I’m humbled all the time by how generous our staff is,” Loehfelm said. “It’s tough hearing these students’ stories but knowing we can help get them over their next hurdle is amazing.”