It's nice to see a great focus on community colleges, which sorely need improvement overall.  Let's hope these added funds are tied to concrete measures of performance, namely student achievement (see article below).

But the institutions that are attracting the attention of more and more philanthropists are public two-year colleges that measure their fund-raising in thousands of dollars, not billions.

That interest is reflected in the decision a few years ago by a group of foundations — including Ford, the James Irvine Foundation, Lumina and the Heinz Endowments — to start meeting to learn more about community colleges.

“When you look at issues of access, affordability and flexibility, these colleges are really important resources,” said Anne B. Stanton, program director for youth at Irvine, a $1.6 billion foundation in San Francisco.

Unlike their big-name cousins, few community colleges have wealthy alumni who can swoop in with multimillion-dollar gifts. But as college diplomas become increasingly important and costs continue to shoot upward, foundations are asking how they can ensure that low-income students attend college and graduate.

These questions are especially relevant at community colleges, which enroll nearly half of all freshmen each year, typically those with the weakest academic records and the lowest likelihood of graduating.

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November 13, 2006

The Foundations

Big Givers Turn to Poorly Financed Community Colleges

By KAREN W. ARENSON

www.nytimes.com/2006/11/13/us/13univ.html

COLUMBIA, Cornell and Stanford all embarked on capital campaigns this fall of at least $4 billion each. But the institutions that are attracting the attention of more and more philanthropists are public two-year colleges that measure their fund-raising in thousands of dollars, not billions.