Since 1998, FoundationCCC has worked to support innovation and excellence in higher education. We were founded on the idea that the California Community Colleges change lives by providing access to affordable, quality education and training.
By making education more affordable and accessible, the California Community Colleges help improve the quality of life for those who face barriers to higher education—including first-generation college students, students in low-income families, rural residents, inner city residents, foster youth, military veterans, and immigrants.
Additionally, the California Community Colleges are the largest system of higher education in the nation, with 116 colleges and 73 self-governing districts. With such an expansive system, coordinating among stakeholders and implementing change can be challenging. FoundationCCC, in collaboration with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, facilitates collaboration, accelerates innovation, and increases systemwide resources.
As we reflect on our history, we acknowledge our partners and supporters who have helped us make progress along the way. We continue to uphold the value of the California Community Colleges and our state by expanding our wide-reaching portfolio of programs and services that increase systemwide resources and directly provide support to students, colleges, and our communities.
Our HistoryOur History
2022
Supporting Communities in Climate Mitigation and Resilience
FoundationCCC is selected as a recipient of $21.5 million in funding from President Biden’s Good Jobs Challenge, administered by the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration, and establishes the “Resilient Careers in Forestry” project to help place qualified workers into high-quality jobs in forestry and fire safety. Shortly after, the Center for Climate Futures is launched as a hub to support local colleges and communities as they work towards climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience.
Lake Tahoe Community College
2022
Bridging Education and Workforce Pathways for Equity and Opportunity
As part of a statewide strategy for strengthening education-to-workforce pathways, FoundationCCC partners with the California Department of General Services and the Office of Public School Construction, to launch the California Regional K-16 Education Collaboratives Grant Program. In phase one of the project, $108.6 million is distributed to six grantees across education, vocational, and workforce programs who are addressing the income, racial, and gender inequalities in education and employment.
Sacramento City College
2021
Delivering Relief and Support to Californians in Need
FoundationCCC expands partnerships with public agencies to build out the Community Impact Call Center, which helps more quickly distribute critical relief dollars into the hands of vulnerable individuals and families, core participants of the California communities our colleges serve. In 2021 alone, $807 million in relief dollars is distributed to Californians.
2020
Bridging Regional Gaps for Student Completion
Jay Pritzker Foundation pledges $100 million, the largest philanthropic gift to community colleges in the nation. The gift is intended to help keep students on track to completion of a degree, certificate, or transfer to a four year college or university. The gift establishes the Finish Line Scholars Program, which distributes emergency financial aid and scholarships in three regions with low rates of college completion. In year one, $4.55 million is distributed to over 8,200 students.
San Diego Mesa College
2019
Combating Food Insecurity for Better Student Outcomes.
The “Fighting Student Hunger” campaign raises approximately $600,000 to help combat student food insecurity by raising greater awareness for the California Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and supporting other innovative solutions that efforts to improve student outcomes in health and education.
2018
Revolutionizing Education with Online Learning for Working Adults
FoundationCCC helps launch the first fully public online community college through raising $5 million in start-up investments from philanthropy and supporting the initial design and implementation. Now known as Calbright, the college offers online, flexible, affordable, skills-based programs that provide tangible economic value for working adults.
2017
Confidential Mental Health Support for Students
A new collaboration between the Crisis Text Line, the Chancellor’s Office, and FoundationCCC begins providing free, text-based, confidential mental health assistance to students. This helps bolster statewide prevention and early intervention efforts to address the mental health and basic needs of California Community Colleges students.
San Joaquin Delta College
2017
Creating Clear Paths to Success
The California Guided Pathways Project is announced as an effort to help community colleges design and implement structured academic and career pathways substantially to increase the number of students who earn a certificate or degree at a California community college. FoundationCCC works with College Futures Foundation and Teagle Foundation to increase philanthropic support for implementation of the innovative approach to student success.
San Diego Mesa College
2016
Empowering Student Voices through Voter Registration
A new grant from NextGen Climate America helps create the Civic Impact Project, a multi-year, non-partisan outreach effort to register voters and promote civic participation at community college campuses across the state. The project trains student volunteers to educate their peers and register voters, and serves as a blueprint for what’s known today as FoundationCCC’s “Student Ambassador Program.
San Diego Mesa College
2015
Enhancing Efficiency and Collaboration
The California Higher Education Shared Services Initiative is established to encourage collaborative and coordinated purchasing among the California Community Colleges, University of California, and California State University systems, and helps optimize savings and efficiencies for colleges to support financial sustainability and redirect resources to core academic and research missions.
Pasadena City College
2014
Driving College Completion and Student Success
The Student Success Center is launched as a hub of support for policy, research, and data projects that improve college completion rates and promote student success, made possible by an initial grant from the Kresge Foundation.
Mira Costa College
2013
Connecting Students and Employers for Workforce Readiness
FoundationCCC pilots LaunchPath, a workforce readiness program and technology matching platform which simplifies the process of connecting employers and high school and community college students paid internships. Funded by a $1.5 million grant from JPMorgan Chase and operated in partnership with the Linked Learning Alliance, LaunchPath gets its start in the Sacramento region.
College of San Mateo
2012
Empowering Students for Educational and Career Achievement
“Student Success” is named as FoundationCCC’s flagship priority in support of the “California Community Colleges Student Success Initiative,” to help improve the educational outcomes of students and the workforce preparedness of the state. With almost $1 million in support from the Kresge Foundation, FoundationCCC launches a campaign to increase college participation and student awareness of key steps to ensure priority enrollment and stay on track to reach their educational and career goals.
Los Angeles Southwest College
2011
Bridging the Digital Divide for Central Valley Communities
FoundationCCC launches the California Connects program to increase digital literacy and broadband access in the Central Valley. In its first year, the program distributes 5,800 laptops and provides training to over 18,000 Californians, made possible through partnership with local community colleges and federal funding.
Evergreen Valley College
2010
Improving Air Quality by Encouraging Vehicle Upgrades
The VRRRM (Vehicle Repair, Retirement and Replacement for Motorists) program is established by FoundationCCC in partnership with the State, part of the Reformulated Gasoline Settlement Fund and $20 million in cy pres funds, to help improve California’s air quality by providing financial incentives for motorists to repair, retire, or replace their high-polluting vehicles. Through the project, 883 tons of pollutants are removed from California’s airways.
College of Marin
2008
Transforming Lives through Perpetual Scholarships
The Bernard Osher Foundation donates $25 million to create the California Community Colleges Scholarship Endowment and FoundationCCC launches a three-year matching campaign in partnership with local colleges and their foundations. The campaign results in a permanent scholarship fund totaling more than $76 million, which funds student scholarships at 115 colleges in perpetuity. At the time, it was the largest single donation ever given to support community college students.
San Diego Mesa College
2005
Investing in Nursing Education
The Nursing Education Investment Fund is established through an agreement between FoundationCCC, WellPoint, Inc., and the Insurance Commissioner for the State of California, and is designed to benefit nursing education within the California Community Colleges.
Los Angeles Trade Tech College
2004
Advancing Healthcare Education in California
The Nursing Resource Center and the Centralized Clinical Placement System is launched to help improve the education of healthcare professionals in California, thanks to philanthropic funding from The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
San Diego Mesa College
2004
Streamlining Smog Check and Training Future Professionals
FoundationCCC joins forces with the California Bureau of Automotive Repairs (BAR) to help operate the statewide Smog Check Referee Program, which improves the smog check process and reduces air pollution for all Californians. 31 California community college campuses launch Referee Centers and not only provide consumer services, but offer hundreds of students annually an opportunity to gain on-the-job training in the automotive industry.
College of Marin
2002
Forging Pathways to College and Career
The multi-year Early College High School (ECHS) program, which provided thousands of young people with stronger pathways to college and career, is kick-started through an inaugural $9 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
2000
Scaling Mission-Aligned Initiatives
The organization begins to help scale mission-aligned initiatives through fiscal sponsorship and management services, later named the Collaborative Impact Program, starting with a partnership with the Association of Chief Human Resources Officers.
American River College
1999
Empowering Community Colleges through Systemwide Procurement.
CollegeBuys is launched as the first and only systemwide procurement program focused exclusively on the needs of community colleges. Microsoft software is the first offering, resulting in significant cost savings for colleges and students.
Crafton Hills College
1998
Connecting Students with Valuable Work Experience
Career Catalyst is created to help connect more students with paid work experience. FoundationCCC begins by working with state agency partners to connect students with public service opportunities.
San Diego Mesa College
1998
Pioneering Support for the California Community Colleges
Dr. Larry Toy establishes FoundationCCC and the organization becomes the official foundation to the California Community Colleges. As its first action, FoundationCCC starts by providing funding for the Hayward Outstanding Faculty Award.
Stories of Impact
FoundationCCC’s impact reaches nearly 2 million students across all 116 colleges, with several programs scaling nationally. Our Media Center showcases stories and press releases which highlight current priorities and bring life to the importance of this work.
These inspiring narratives also acknowledge the invaluable contributions of our partners and the individuals who have played a pivotal role in the success of our initiatives.
Stories of Impact
Enrique S., California Community College Finish Line Scholar
Inspired by compassionate Respiratory Therapists during his father-in-law’s illness, Enrique leveraged the Finish Line Scholarship to pursue his dream. Now a proud graduate, he embodies care and respect in serving patients, forever grateful for FoundationCCC’s support.