Normandale Community College Foundation

Scholarship Program: The Foundation manages a diverse portfolio of endowed and annual scholarships that collectively provided $620,494 in direct student aid in FY 2024. Scholarships range from $1,000 to $3,000 each, for a total of 849 awards. We support the College's goal to eliminate all race-based gaps in opportunity by 2030. Each year, applications increase but the amount of awards does not meet the need. We seek to ameliorate this by expanding support for college programs that cover larger numbers of students, like the free grocery store and free laptops. Student thank-you notes relate over and over how impactful these gifts are when it comes to being able to work less and study more. Most of our students are working adults, and some amount of support can make the difference between staying in school and dropping out to work.

Japanese Garden support: Designed by Kyoto-based landscape architect Takao Watanabe and dedicated in 1976, the Normandale Japanese Garden serves as a tranquil oasis and place of renewal for our campus and larger community. The Garden is home to more than 300 plants, shrubs, trees and over 35 authentic Japanese koi fish, and serves as a memorial to Japanese-American veterans. This coming year, we anticipate supporting the College as they update the Garden's accessibility in accordance with the College's goals for accessibility, equity and cultural competence.

College Improvements and Program Support: In our role as an essential partner to the College, we often exercise our ability to act independently on the College's behalf until they are able to take on more by adding staff or budgeting for additional programming. There are many examples of this: 1) the Academy of Math and Science, a cohort-based STEM program for underrepresented populations in those professions; 2) the Random Acts of Kindness emergency grants program that provides support during times of overwhelm due to unforeseen circumstances; 3) the Campus Cupboard, a free grocery store with refrigeration, freezers, fresh produce, dairy products, hygiene items, culturally specific foods and used clothing so that students, their families and friends have nutritious food available to them at no cost as they struggle to pay rent and transportation, which competes with grocery purchases. This program's usage grows by at least 30% each year. It also provides pre-prepared nutritious meals, both frozen and fresh, for grab and go convenience. Students in insecure housing situations with no access to a kitchen especially appreciate this; 4) Laptops for Lions program where we purchase and distribute, in partnership with the Student Success Center, free laptops and digital literacy training for qualified students based on income. The achievement gap between Black and White students is reduced by 1/3 by simply providing this resource. We need approximately 1100 laptops per year and are able to meet between one-half to one-third that need each year; 5) the educational pathway program Sirtify, designed to support Black men become teachers in the K12 system. Each student gets 100% tuition support, a living stipend, books, and fees paid, plus covers expenses for all conferences, retreats and excursions throughout the year. Currently we support an additional staff person and will continue to for the next three years until the College can; 6) Academic Travel program is another aspect of education that provides innumerable documented benefits to all students. The biggest barrier is cost for our students, and gifts to this fund make academic travel possible for so many students who could not otherwise even consider it. The gifts range from $500-$1000 apiece, and they make this educational effort achievable for many students. Their testimonials support the importance of continuing to find funding for this.