Banner year pushes foundation closer to campaign goal

More than $8 million in gifts and pledges were accepted from generous community members

By Joel B. Munson

Clark College Foundation has had one of its most successful fundraising years in decades. Donors and partners contributed more than $8 million in gifts and pledges during fiscal year 2018-2019 for the Promising Pathways campaign, according to Joel B. Munson, chief advancement officer and manager of the $35 million comprehensive fundraising effort.

“It’s been a remarkable year,” said Munson. “Our stretch goal for fiscal year 2019 was $7 million. Thanks to the generosity of our community, our alumni and friends, we surpassed that goal by more than $1 million.”

Munson attributes the successful year, in part, to several transformative estate gifts. Last November, the foundation announced the largest scholarship gift in the institution’s history—$4 million from the estate of Clark alumnus Robert Wallace. Then in March, the foundation received an extraordinary estate gift from the late Shirley Sackman, a prominent and well-loved professor, student adviser and tutor at Clark College.

In addition to these leadership gifts, Munson points to a significant rise in what he calls “foundational” giving at Clark College: small- to medium-sized gifts that increased nearly three-fold over the last three years.

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“We’re seeing growth in our average gift size, in addition to a significant increase in the number of six- and seven-figure contributions to the foundation,” said Munson. He also notes that the foundation is on track to raise gifts from 5,000 unique donors over the course of the campaign, which has entered its third year.

To date, Promising Pathways secured nearly $22 million of its $35 million goal. But Clark College Foundation is not taking the success for granted—nor forgetting the purpose of this important effort.

“We’ve still got a long way to go before we reach the ambitious goals we set to support our students, faculty and staff,” said Munson. “We won’t celebrate until we have done everything we can possibly do to fund the priority programs and projects that make Clark one of the best community colleges in the country.”

Thanks to the exceptional support of the community, it looks like Clark College Foundation is well on its way to making that happen.

For more information on Promising Pathways: The Campaign for Clark College, and how you can get involved to make a difference in the lives of Clark students, contact Joel B. Munson, chief advancement officer at 360.992.2428.