A decision by the ministry of Advanced Education to suspend funding to the Access to the Future grant program, which matched fundraising dollars for post-secondary schools, will impact Portage College’s efforts to raise money for program development and scholarships.
The government grant, which was suspended Jan. 31, had allowed the college to turn the first $250,000 they raised in a year into $750,000 by matching the funds on a 2:1 basis. For every dollar after that, funds were matched on a 1:1 basis, up to a limit of $1.2 million, said Dianna Cook, the college’s director of development.
For small colleges like Portage that don’t have the corporate fundraising base of larger urban schools, the fund was a welcome resource, she said.
“There’s a huge impact to the smaller colleges because it’s much more difficult to raise funds from external sources,” she said.
Events like the college golf tournament, which raised funds for new program development, the Sports and Education dinner that funded athletics, and other fundraisers all doubled their gains through the Access to the Future fund. While the fund’s suspension won’t change the way the college raises funds, said Cook, it does highlight the importance of community support.
“I would encourage that the college would appreciate philanthropic support,” she said, adding the loss of the government grant program would be felt at the college.
“It does impact a college such as Portage significantly, as a smaller rural college with less ability to raise funds,” she said.
Given the recent provincial political events, including the resignation of Premier Ed Stelmach, and Finance Minister Ted Morton stepping down to make a leadership bid, Cook said it is hard to say whether the fund’s suspension would be permanent.
“Obviously, the Alberta government is in a state of flux right now,” she said, adding the funding cut was unexpected.
Cook sits on the council for the Access to the Future Fund, and even up to a recent meeting members were talking about the continuance of the fund, and a possible move toward recognizing gifts in kind – like equipment donations – with matching cash.
“The suspension caught everyone off-guard,” she said, adding there was no notice from the government that the fund was in danger.
Portage College is looking to cut $1.6 million from its budget in the coming year, but despite losing over $1 million from the Access to the Future fund, Cook said the budget cuts are not a direct result of the lost grant money.
