Sinclair360

It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to become one of the country’s most successful and well-known community colleges; however, Sinclair Community College President Dr. Steven Johnson realizes that it’s going to take a finer focus to keep it there. In fact, for Sinclair to stay at the top of its game academically, it’s going to have to operate like a university on the philanthropic level.

Eager to see his vision become reality, Johnson pushed to create the school’s first Advancement division this past year. The division, which brings five key components of Sinclair’s development arm under one roof, will enable Sinclair to create the philanthropic culture that it needs to grow for generations to come. The college’s foundation, public-policy operations, grants division, alumni affairs office and fledgling entrepreneurial-investments group are all housed in the new division.

Johnson appointed Tom Raga as vice president of Advancement, to provide the single vision it needs to move forward. “Advancement divisions are commonplace in the university world,” Raga said. “They may look different at each school, but the idea is that you combine the components that focus on two things: resources and relationships.”

Many say that Raga brings the experience needed to drive the division into the future. Previously he worked inside the president’s office, overseeing the successful development of the school’s outreach into Warren and Preble counties. And before that he served as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, developing a firsthand knowledge of public policy.

Creating a powerful synergy

Perhaps most important, however, is that Raga will create a single image and voice for many of the operations that once stood separate not only from one another, but from the college itself. Alumni affairs and the Sinclair Foundation, for instance, operated on their own, even though they served the college. They each ran autonomously, with their own boards, committees and even checking accounts.

Both groups have already seen the benefits of officially being part of the college. Alumni affairs now has stronger financial backing and is able to think big, when it comes to reaching out to the school’s vast number of alumni. And the foundation is collaborating with the school’s grants division on new revenue opportunities.

Advancement isn’t just a name; it’s a cohesive operation of individuals. Frequent staff meetings between the various operations are held, and it is exciting to see the exchange of ideas that float around, said Patricia L. Lavy, director of Advancement. “Everyone works together to accomplish the team’s goals of supporting students, faculty and staff,” she said.

Before the division was created, the foundation and the grants office could have competed for the same revenue opportunities. Now they are able to join forces and be more effective. Likewise, the public policy office has been tapping folks in the grants office to review its federal requests, to glean any additional suggestions that could make its bids more successful.

Starting at the beginning

Still, it’s the philanthropic culture that Raga and Johnson hope to cultivate that will have the lasting impact the school needs to weather any future financial changes. Federal and state funding may bring in onetime dollars for today, but long-term relationships with donors will create the funding for tomorrow.

And unlike many colleges and universities, Sinclair is blessed with a robust alumni pool close to home. The college has 36,000 alumni on its roster, 80 percent of whom live right here in the Montgomery County region. “With that kind of strength, we have a great resource for volunteers and fundraising; and that is what we hope to build upon,” Raga said.

But the change has to happen in small and slow steps. Last year the school restarted the alumni graduation gift that had gone to the wayside years before. Student leadership raised money and then presented a check to the college at graduation. It was one of the many tangible ways in which alumni affairs hopes to communicate to students about the important role that donors play in making good, affordable education possible.

It’s also a small seed that Raga hopes will put in motion what he calls a continuum of giving. This continuum is where a relationship is perhaps developed with an alumnus/alumna through a one-time donation during a phone-a-thon, but slowly evolves into a substantial gift 10 years down the road.

Looking beyond the norm

Meanwhile, Advancement hopes to grow its young entrepreneurial-investments group. The newly formed group would help staff and students find seed capital to develop ideas and sell them to the outside market. “When a professor or student comes up with an idea that is able to be commercialized, we want to be there to help them take the next step,” Raga said.

Other colleges following this practice find that it becomes a solid revenue source, in more ways than one. In fact, some reports have found that if colleges supported their entrepreneurs, they would be more likely to give back as alumni.

Advancement also hopes to take a fresh look at the Greater Dayton community. With so many larger employers pulling out of the region, Sinclair needs to look at new businesses with which to build donor relationships. Raga said that one possibility is the numerous high-tech businesses operating in the region and those thriving around Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

Regardless of where it finds new funding, Advancement has one mission in mind: to be a resource for the college. “We’re living in an era – with all higher-education institutions – in which we need to make sure that we are maximizing alternative funding resources for the college,” Raga said. How Sinclair achieves this may evolve as the years go on. After all, so will the market in which it’s operating.

By Julie Thompson

Julie Thompson is a freelance writer in Dayton, Ohio. She can be reached at thompsonwriting@att.net.