Northwest Community College is putting in place a long-planned foundation to raise money to supplement its activities.
Called the NWCC Foundation, it will raise money for a wide range of projects, says Brian Badge, the director of college advancement who is in charge of putting the organization together.
“Anywhere from building renovations and new buildings, right down to a bike for a bike share program, and everything in between,” he said of the type of projects they will fund. “We have some pretty exciting projects planned.”
Badge already solicits grants and support from industrial companies, businesses and individuals and said the foundation will be an independent body and will enable the college to do more.
It will have a gaming licence to do 50-50 draws and it will have more freedom and creativity by having its own board, he said.
“I’m only one person, but with a board, the outreach is much larger,” explained Badge. “The outreach goes across the region and beyond. It’s all about friends of friends and the connections they have. And we are all trying to reach the same goal, and the goal is student life.”
As they form the board, the college is looking for volunteers from across the northwest from Houston to Haida Gwaii where it has campuses.
The board will have six members and there is no specific criteria to govern who will be included, but Badge says they hope to gather a diverse group from across the region.
The board will meet quarterly to direct goals, projects, and ideas to raise money.
Specific details about goals and projects are not available yet, Badge said, as those will be determined by the board once it is established.
Their aim is to have that group established by late-October and then finalize the foundation structure and goals by the end of 2016.
Some fund raising ideas already under consideration include golf scrambles, curling events and fine dining banquets.