Central Piedmont receives one of the largest gifts ever given to any community college
A Central Piedmont Community College campaign focused on helping students and making education more accessible set an all-time fundraising record for the school.
The five-year “Powering A Stronger Future” campaign raised about $66.3 million — more than $26 million over the goal — and drew more than 3,270 donors.
“None of the money raised is being used to build or renovate facilities,” said Jeff Lowrance, the vice president of communications, marketing and public relations for Central Piedmont.
Lowrance told The Charlotte Observer this week Central Piedmont’s last campaign, which celebrated the school’s 50th anniversary, concluded nine years ago and raised a little more than $40 million.
Kandi Deitemeyer, Central Piedmont’s president, said the recent campaign enables the college to establish 81 new scholarships and provide students more academic support, mentoring and advising services.
“(It also provides for) Charlotte’s most under-resourced and fragile populations through accelerated adult learning and expanded programming for early childhood educators,” Deitemeyer said.
Where the money will go
▪ $15 million to invest in scholarships that make Central Piedmont more accessible for students with financial need.
▪ $9.5 million to boost academic support, mentoring, and advising services for students.
▪ $9.5 million to enhance hands-on learning experiences.
▪ $5 million to serve Charlotte’s most under-resourced and fragile populations through accelerated adult learning and expanded programming for early childhood educators.
▪ $1 million for the Central Piedmont Annual Fund to sustain essential operations and services that ensure student success.
How much was the largest donation?
A donor who wishes to remain anonymous made a $10 million gift — the biggest individual donation in Central Piedmont’s 58-year history and among the largest gifts ever made to a community college nationwide, according to Central Piedmont.
The gift will strengthen arts and humanities. Plans include creating a scholarship endowment for students who are pursuing degrees in the fields, launching a series that will bring renowned authors, artists and performers to Central Piedmont and establishing a public art fund, which will provide resources to commission public art for the enhancement of outdoor spaces at the college.
Another notable donation
The Mecklenburg County Pre-K initiative, the Foundation for the Carolinas, the Comprehensive Early Learning Center and the Central Piedmont Foundation together awarded Central Piedmont’s early childhood education program a $4 million grant to create the STRIVE Scholars program.
The program provides full tuition, fees, books, and materials funding to academically qualified students preparing to become educators of young children in Mecklenburg County.
Notable business and nonprofit donations
▪ Honeywell, a global leader in aerospace, building technologies, performance materials, and technologies, made a $1 million commitment to establish the Honeywell STEM Scholars Academy. The gift will come to Central Piedmont in annual installments of $200,000 over the next five years.
▪ TowneBank made a $300,000 commitment to support its Accelerated Career Training (ACT) program. Launched in 2018, the program addresses the economic mobility challenges many under-employed adults in Mecklenburg County encounter by providing them with short-term training tracks, no-cost job training, and the support services they need to become work-ready in as little as seven to 15 weeks.
▪ The Dickson Foundation of Charlotte awarded a $500,000 grant for the college’s new licensed practical nurse program to provide students an accelerated path in the healthcare industry and address specific employment needs within the Charlotte region’s healthcare sector. The Dickson Practical Nursing Program launched in January and enables students to earn their professional credential in one year. The median LPN salary is $48,055, which offers an economic-mobility pathway for lower-income residents in Mecklenburg County.
▪ JPMorgan Chase awarded a $500,000 grant to help the college develop new, fully online training pathways in high-demand IT fields, including cybersecurity, health IT and forensic accounting. The money will provide for course development, instructional capacity, technology and student support services.
This story was originally published September 21, 2022 at 12:23 PM.
