As Salt Lake Community College’s new president, it’s my pleasure to thank you for your generous support. Our faculty and staff also appreciate your endorsement of their tireless efforts to create learning environments where all students can thrive and achieve their goals. Friends like you play a key role in making this one of the best community colleges in the country.
Thanks to SLCC’s public support, we provide affordable pathways to professional credentials, degrees, and careers. However, the needs of our community’s most underserved students require additional resources. Throughout this Donor Impact Report, you will see how philanthropic support helps our students overcome barriers such as limited financial resources, food insecurity, and child care needs. Donors also play an essential role in helping us provide innovative solutions to workforce needs in partnership with employers, such as our new Surgical Technology Lab we are opening this fall.
While we often see headlines questioning the value of higher education, community colleges like SLCC continue to demonstrate their value to students, employers, communities, and donors. I look forward to finding new ways to express our commitment to our students, to our community, and to our state. I hope you will continue partnering with us in this work.
My deepest thanks for your willingness to help champion SLCC’s mission. Your support enables many more thousands of students to secure a bright future for themselves, their families, and ultimately, for us all.
Warm regards,
Gregory F. Peterson, EdD President Salt Lake Community College
Foundation
The Salt Lake Community College Foundation was established in 1982 as a nonprofit corporation for the sole benefit of SLCC. In partnership with the College, the Foundation secures and stewards philanthropic resources to support the advancement of the College’s mission and strategic vision. The Foundation’s principal purposes are to maintain, develop, increase, and extend the services of SLCC to provide broader educational service opportunities to its students, staff, and faculty and to Salt Lake County residents.
Surpassing Our Goal: A Triumph for SLCC Students
The Salt Lake Community College Foundation set an ambitious goal to raise $5.7 million for SLCC students during the 2024 fiscal year (July 1, 2023–June 30, 2024). Thanks to the generosity of 811 donors and community members, we exceeded this goal by securing $6.9 million! This triumph highlights the power of giving and its impact on our students and their futures.
TOTAL RAISED
Programs: $2,762,496
Scholarships: $2,829,923
Endowments: $1,252,862
Unrestricted: $11,157
Other: $51,497
TOTAL RAISED: $6,907,935
(based on new gifts and pledges secured from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024)
Giving Participation by Constituent Groups
Friends: 19% Businesses: 8%
Alumni: 1%
Employees: 1%
Foundations: 57%
Volunteers: 1%
Other: 13%
The Dr. Deneece G. Huftalin
Endowment
Dr. Huftalin’s decade-long presidency at SLCC marked the culmination of an impressive 31-year career at the College. In honor of her retirement, she established the Dr. Deneece G. Huftalin Endowment, continuing her legacy of giving. The Salt Lake Community College Foundation extended a $500,000 challenge grant that helped attract an additional $558,403 to create the Huftalin endowment. This new $1,058,403 endowment will support the PACE scholarship program, help low-income students participate in study-abroad programs, and fund travel for post-season athletic competitions.
To view a list of our generous donors, please visit SLCC.EDU/2024DonorHonorRoll
The Annual Fund for Student Success
Each year, many of our students struggle to overcome significant hurdles such as limited finances for tuition, unforeseen financial obstacles that can derail their forward progress, food insecurity, and access to affordable child care. That’s why we set an ambitious goal to raise $1 million last fiscal year through the Annual Fund for Student Success, which is comprised of the following six priorities. We’re excited to report we exceeded our goal and want to thank everyone who made a gift to these areas throughout the year and during our fourth annual Giving Day.
Annual Fund Fundraising Priorities Giving Day 2024
$59,150 $903,596
Fund for Student Success
$56,139 $334,164
$30,743 $79,983
Every dollar to the Annual Fund for Student Success directly supports our outstanding students by providing scholarships and addressing unmet basic needs.
Scholarship Support
SLCC believes higher education should be available to all, and we strive to keep college accessible through low tuition and fees. However, many students still need financial support to attend. To keep college financially accessible, SLCC offers a wide range of scholarships available to nearly every student.
Sometimes the most challenging events can bring about the greatest opportunities. And these opportunities became the purpose for SLCC student Missee Sue Fearneyhough.
In 2016, Missee moved from Provo, Utah to Salt Lake County. “Seven years ago, I left my hometown and began my journey of addiction recovery,” said Missee. “At that time, I was facing chronic addiction and incarceration. Through my recovery, I found my purpose in helping others who are also facing addiction.”
Missee’s desire to help others led her to receive a peer support certification. She is also working toward earning a certificate of substance-use abuse counseling through the University of Utah while concurrently enrolled at SLCC. “To become a licensed counselor, I needed an associate’s degree,” said Missee. “So I went back to school at the age of 38
Last year, SLCC awarded over in donor-funded scholarships! (an average of $2,500 per student)
$2 million to 1,139 students
Finding Purpose Through Second Chances Student Story
and was awarded the Second Chance Scholarship, essentially giving me a second chance at changing my future.”
The Second Chance Scholarship was created by an anonymous donor to support students who have been incarcerated or have a felony conviction. “Earning this scholarship made me realize how often challenges become assets,” said Missee. “This is a second chance for me to make a difference, not only in my own life but so I can help others who are battling addiction.”
In the fall of 2024, Missee will graduate from SLCC with an associate’s degree in social work and plans to continue her education at the University of Utah.
“I’m living proof of how scholarships can impact a life,” said Missee. “And I am going to continue this gift by helping others.”
The Gail Miller Utah Leadership Cup
Since 2012, the annual Gail Miller Utah Leadership Cup golf tournament has raised scholarship and program support for SLCC students. While providing an unforgettable day of playing golf, this event raised $193,350 in 2023 with ALL proceeds directly benefiting SLCC students as they pursue their college and career dreams.
A Gift from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Provides Scholarships for PACE Students
In April 2024, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints (LDS) donated $600,000 to support SLCC’s Partnership for Accessing College Education (PACE) Scholarship Program. This contribution covers tuition, fees, and book expenses for six semesters for SLCC students who complete their high school PACE Program and attend the College. Through this generous donation, 46 students were awarded a PACE Scholarship for Spring 2024 semester. We look forward to awarding at least another 120 PACE scholarships during the 2024-25 academic year thanks to the Church’s generous gift.
A New Chapter Student Story
Returning to school later in life may seem daunting, but it can be transformative. Katie
Brimhall experienced this firsthand when she first enrolled at SLCC after graduating high school in 2002. “I was terrified to go back to school,” said Katie. “But I have surprised myself at how well I’m doing! I’m excelling in my classes and have made the Dean’s List and Honor Society; I’ve really found my passion.”
Katie is starting a new life in Saratoga Springs with her kids. “A few years ago, my husband and I divorced,” said Katie. “As a single parent of two teenage boys and starting college at 39 years old, I definitely have a new perspective. I’m a firstgeneration college student and didn’t receive a lot of encouragement to pursue a higher education. After
PACE, a donor-funded program, has significantly increased high school graduation and college participation rates among low-income and firstgeneration college students in the Salt Lake Valley for over 10 years. The program offers individualized mentorship throughout high school, prepares students for college and career exploration, and provides PACE students a full, two-year scholarship at SLCC.
high school, I served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When I returned, I got married, started a family, and supported my (ex) husband through his schooling. Now, I finally have my chance to pursue an education and receiving the DECOO Academic Foundation Scholarship couldn’t have come at a better time.”
Katie is earning an associate’s degree in psychology from SLCC. After graduation, she plans to continue her education in psychology and become a mental health counselor specializing in sexual trauma therapy.
“I’m not a traditional student,” said Katie. “But I’m looking forward to this new chapter and making a difference in people’s lives!”
Support for Surgical Tech is Instrumental for Future Job Growth
A pivotal moment for SLCC’s Surgical Technology program came in 2022 when it launched the SLCC Surgical Technology Expansion Project.
This project has expanded instruction for the workforce in the high-demand field of surgical technology. This growth has been facilitated through partnerships with the Strada Education Foundation, Intermountain Health, and the Metallica Scholars Initiative (MSI).
MSI was launched in 2019 by the All Within My Hands Foundation, in partnership with the American Association of Community Colleges, to provide direct support for career and technical education programs throughout the United States. “With the help of community colleges across the country, we are helping people fill these essential jobs,” said Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich. Thanks to the Metallica Scholars Initiative, SLCC grew enrollment in the Surgical Technology program from 18 to 36 students and was able to engage the Strada Education Foundation and industry partners to create a new
Surgical Technology Laboratory. The new space opening this fall will enable the program to continue to grow.
“The institution has worked with employers to develop a program that looks out for the best interests of the student while also meeting employer needs, creating a win-win-win partnership to benefit the student, the community college, and the employer,” said Ruth V. Watkins, president of postsecondary education for Strada Education Foundation.
Nationwide, the demand for skilled workers in this career field is high, with 8,600 openings for surgical technologists projected over the next decade.
“On behalf of Intermountain Health Surgical Operations, it has been a pleasure to work with Salt Lake Community College and the Division of Allied Health to increase the pipeline of surgical technologists for our hospitals,” said David Kay, RN, MSN, Clinical Operations Director – Surgical Operations for Intermountain Health.
Garff Tool Kits Remove Barrier for SLCC Automotive Students
Ken Garff Automotive is providing tool kits to students in the automotive mechanic program at SLCC. The initial gift was received in January 2024 and is part of a larger initiative to ensure students get the required tools they need to be successful in the field.
“The cost of tool kits is often a barrier that prevents many of our students or potential students from progressing in our automotive programs, or even registering for the programs,” said Ken Spurlock, associate dean for SLCC. “We believe this gift from Ken Garff Automotive will increase participation and completion in our programs. Ultimately, it means a more robust workforce for the automotive industry.”
About SLCC
SLCC is Utah’s largest two-year college, proudly educating the state’s most diverse student body in eight areas of study at eight locations and online. The majority of SLCC graduates transfer to four-year institutions, and thousands more are trained in direct-to-workforce programs. Since 1948, SLCC has focused on providing individual attention and personal care to each student. SLCC’s committed and qualified faculty and staff provide excellent teaching and learning environments. Even with its large and diverse student body, students don’t get “lost in the shuffle” because SLCC’s student-to-faculty ratio is 19-to-1.
Competitive tuition, financial aid, scholarships, academic and career advising, and programs focused on academic success give students ready access to college. SLCC is committed to providing the latest technology and dedicated professionals who present curriculum relevant to industry and cultural needs. Student support includes child care, the Bruin Pantry for foodinsecure students, and access to tutors, mentors, computers, labs, and industry-specific equipment.
For more information on how to support SLCC students, please contact:
