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Your Generosity. Their Future.

Employee Giving

Joining the COCC Foundation employee giving program allows faculty, staff, and retirees to directly invest in the success of our students and the strength of our college. Employee giving reflects a shared commitment to access, affordability, and opportunity, ensuring students have the support they need to stay enrolled, complete their education, and achieve their goals. When those who know our students best give back, it sends a powerful message of confidence in our mission and helps inspire additional community support. Together, employee gifts, no matter the size, create meaningful, lasting impact for students and the communities we serve.

We know COCC employees invest in students through their daily work. The employee giving program provides an opportunity to further support students through voluntary charitable contributions.

An instructor and student examining a detailed human anatomy model together, smiling and engaged in a classroom setting.

Bobcat Society Logo

The Bobcat Society honors COCC faculty, staff, and retirees who give through employee giving, making one-time gifts, or payroll donations to the Foundation in support of students and the College.

Faculty & Staff Giving Opportunities

Listed below are the three employee giving opportunities for faculty and staff.

  • COCC Bobcat Scholarship Fund

    Provides annual scholarships to COCC students with financial need who demonstrate dedication and promise. Your gift directly supports student success.

  • COCC Staff Endowed Scholarship Fund

    Founded in 1998, this endowed fund provides ongoing scholarship support for COCC students with financial need, sustained by years of generosity from faculty and staff.

  • COCC Student Relief Fund

    This fund provides timely emergency financial assistance to students facing unexpected hardships, such as housing instability, transportation issues, utility shutoffs, or childcare costs. By addressing short-term financial crises, the Student Relief Fund helps students remain enrolled and focused on their education. Requests are reviewed by an internal committee, and approved funds are distributed promptly to support student stability and success.

Complete the Payroll Donation & Deduction Form to get started!

 

Ways to Give

 

Why Give?

  • Does my gift really make a difference?
    Yes! The more people who choose to give, the greater the collective impact will be. Last year, more than 114 staff, faculty and retirees made gifts to the COCC Foundation, totaling $126,000 in support! But there is still unmet need in providing deserving students with financial support - this year 40% of qualified applicants were not awarded a scholarship because of available funding. Every gift makes a collective difference in helping to provide more support - whether it be $5 a month or $100 - gifts of all sizes truly make a difference!
  • I work at COCC, why should I also give money to the College?
    Gifts to the COCC Foundation have a powerful effect on COCC’s ability to remain an affordable and top-tier institution. It is hard to ask the community to support COCC students if we don’t believe in our work enough to invest in it ourselves. Corporations and private foundations often look for high-levels of support from our faculty and staff when making funding decisions, as well.
    Please note: The COCC Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and all gifts are tax-deductible.
  • Students pay tuition. Why does COCC need charitable support?
    It may be surprising, but tuition and fees account for only about one-quarter of the actual cost of an education at COCC. Students who receive a tuition and fees scholarship can direct their other financial resources toward the other education costs, like books, transportation, equipment, exams or certifications. The full cost of attendance at COCC varies from $16,034 - $22,722 annually.

 

Tom Barry

"Scholarships open the doors to higher education that might otherwise be closed. I support the Foundation and its mission of increasing access to higher education and, in the process, transforming lives. It’s simple math, right? The more contributions to the Foundation, the more contributions to students, the more contributions to our community."

"

Tom Barry
Professor of Sociology

Nicole Sharp

"This is one of the very best investments you can make with your money. While the payback on your investment is not more money, it is better-- in the hearts and smiles of those that are helped by your generosity. You just can't beat that.”

"

Cindy Jeffreys 
ITS Assistant Director - Enterprise Systems

Ryan Rhodes

"I'll never forget receiving a scholarship when I desperately needed support. I sat down and cried, overwhelmed that someone I had never met believed in my potential to make a difference. That moment changed how I saw myself—as a student and as a person. Giving back now is a privilege, and I hope to create that same life-changing impact for someone else."

"

Lori Yeo
Network Services Technician

Nicole Sharp

"As part of my writing work at COCC, I get to hear from a lot of Foundation scholarship recipients about their stories, their learning journeys, their plans for life. There’s often hardship, some self-reflection, maybe the excitement of a fresh start newly underway. It’s anchored with lots of gratitude and openness, and they all seem to be very aware that their support helps them in ways beyond paying for education — that they suddenly have new people on their 'team' they didn’t have before. It means a lot to even be a tiny part of someone's team. That’s why I contribute a little of my paycheck each month."

"

Mark Johnson 
Staff Writer/Editor