In the public discourse on education, the importance of community colleges is often neglected. As a recent New York Times article elucidated, the wealth disparity between community colleges and their four-year counterparts has reached staggering new heights. LaGuardia Community College, located in Queens, educates roughly 50,000 students annually and was absolutely thrilled last year to receive a $100,000 donation. At prestigious private and public universities, the total sum of donations often reaches into the tens of millions. The reality of this wealth disparity is in no way emphasized in order to cast the University or other prominent schools in a negative light; philanthropic activity has many undeniable benefits. In terms of the broader quality and accessibility of education in the nation, however, the lack of philanthropic attention to community colleges is potentially damaging.
Though public funding is necessarily crucial in ensuring quality of education, the importance of private contributions cannot be ignored. In many cases, private contributions are just as critical to the maintenance of community colleges as public funds. It might well be beneficial to increase both federal and state funding for community colleges, but as philanthropy begins to take on a larger role, attention should be given to potential ways in which private giving to community colleges can be further incentivized. The disproportionate philanthropic attention paid to prominent private and public universities evinces a mentality that devalues the role of community colleges as worthwhile educational opportunities. As both students and citizens, we must endeavor to acknowledge the tangible opportunities that community colleges provide to low-income students who seek a way to improve their lives. If community colleges flourish, we can expect the promise of quality and accessible education for all to thrive as well.
For the near future, however, it seems unlikely that state governments will make significant pushes for community college funding. Since the 2008 recession, community colleges in particular have been decimated by a protracted series of budget cuts. Though some states are projecting a budget increase for community colleges in upcoming years, it will take considerable time to reach pre-recession levels; Virginia is one of five states that projected decreases in community college funding for this year. As long as states remain unwilling to reorient funding towards community colleges, private donors should attempt to pick up the slack.
Community colleges have traditionally struggled to attract private donations for a variety of reasons, however. For one, their relatively recent history means that they often do not have the standing that makes the Ivies and other prominent universities appealing to donors. The relatively poor, lower-working class background of the student body, in addition, presents a consistent challenge. In donors’ minds, as a result, it would not make plain fiscal sense to invest in a college where the students are predominantly poor and hoping to find a middle class job upon graduation; the prospect of future alumni capable of making six-figure donations to their alma mater is quite slim at such colleges.
In order to become more effective players in the philanthropic arena, community colleges must create additional incentives for potential donors. Part of the difficulty, however, is the fact that the daily operation and mission of most community colleges is particularly unglamorous and down-to-earth. For wealthy donors who often seek a high degree of appeal and gratification in selecting where to allocate their contributions, the idea of donating to a school that primarily assists lower-working class students entering working-class or middle-class jobs is not particularly appealing. In a 2009 study on donor’s motivations, researchers found that after controlling for education, age, marital status and other factors, higher income donors were far less likely than other groups to report being motivated to donate in order to provide for the poor’s “basic needs” and to assist the poor in “helping themselves.” Interestingly, these motivations were the most commonly cited by those who earned less than $50,000 a year, according to the same study. In a sense, therefore, the problem is inherently cultural. The current culture of charitable giving does not effectively incentivize wealthy donors to make considerable gifts at reliable rates to organizations such as community colleges.
While calling for state policies and programs that incentivize private donations to community colleges, such as additional tax-exemptions for community college endowment gifts, might be helpful, the culture of charitable giving must also change if sustained donations to community colleges are to increase. Wealthy donors must make a stronger effort to comprehend the significant connection between middle-class growth and postsecondary education. It is clear that public dollars alone will not be enough to ensure that community colleges have the capacity to educate and provide individuals with the skills they need for middle-income jobs.
Conor Kelly is an Opinion Columnist for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at c.kelly@cavalierdaily.com.
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