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CCCC grant writers score big

08.01.2007 • Uncategorized

SANFORD - Central Carolina Community College grant writers have achieved the automotive equivalent of going zero to 60 mph in a few seconds.

Just 19 months ago, the college had no system in place to seek funding from the many grants available from foundations, corporations, endowments, gove ment and other sources. Any grants received were the result of individuals or departments seeking them on their own, but the percentage of requested versus received was small.

Things have changed dramatically since then. As of July 30, approximately $798,000 in grants has been received. Of that, $250,000 was awarded to Lee County Public Health for the new Central Carolina Dental Center, a joint project of CCCC and Public Health.

Garrett credits the increase in grants received to the college's new two-person Grants Office. Jon Bachelder was hired in January 2005 as the college's Lee County Campus evening campus director and grant researcher/writer. He was previously executive director for the Red Cross of West Michigan.

HollyAnn Rogers, who has a degree in non-profit management, joined the office in May 2005 as co-grant writer and grant coordinator. She was previously director of Communities in Schools of Lee County. As coordinator, she keeps track of how each grant is spent, making certain that the spending meets the strict criteria of the grantor.

Up through June 30, the pair submitted 19 proposals to 15 funding sources for nine projects at seven of the college's campuses or centers. So far, 11 grants for six projects have been awarded. That's a .526 batting average.

"For us to start out and get this much in our first year was unusual," said Bachelder. "I believe we're successful because we've developed a thoughtful and effective process for generating proposals."

Rogers described the Grants Office's grant-seeking philosophy in sports terms. She said that it is "a team sport, a contact sport and a sport that requires a well-thought-out game plan."

Garrett and John Slade, vice president for instruction, prioritize requests received from administrators, faculty and staff for projects and programs for which grant funding may be available. They pass the list on the Grants Office and Rogers and Bachelder do the research to find and make application to possible grant sources. Grants have been received for a variety of needs, from child care subsidies for single mothers so they can attend college to the college's newest programs, dental assisting and dental hygiene.

The "contact" part of successful grant writing involves building relationships with grant sources and enabling them to become familiar with the college and what it offers, Rogers said.

Having a "game plan" means staying focused on the college's mission and finding grants that fit it. The college's Mission Statement says it is to understand and meet the educational needs of and serve as a positive economic, social and cultural catalyst in the diverse communities of its Chatham, Ha ett and Lee counties service area.

"I'm really excited about what we're accomplishing," Rogers said.

She attributed the great success in the short time they have been writing grants to having a "dream project" to offer grant sources: the Central Carolina Dental Center. The center is located in the W.B. Wicker School building in Sanford, a historic black school which has been renovated as part of over-all community development by Brick Capital Community Development Corp. in Sanford.

The Dental Center is a collaborative effort of the college and Lee County Public Health. Between them, they received a total of $575,000 in grants from several sources. Public Health opened its dental services program there in July. It was previously providing about 2,000 oral health services for children annually. That is expected to increase to about 5,000 services for clients, regardless of age, health or county of residence.

CCCC will start its dental assisting and dental hygienist programs at the Center in the spring. The students will assist in serving the Public Health clients while gaining work experience.

"Having the grant funding was the difference between being able to offer the dental education programs and not offering them," Garrett said.

Grant funds will continue to be important in helping CCCC fund its programs.

"With state and county budgets not able to keep up with the needs, we've got to go after private funding," Garrett said. "I can't express how important it is."