The State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota, provided more than $1.4 million in scholarships to students in the last year. For nearly all these students, that aid was the difference between staying in college or not. That money was available for students because of the fund-raising efforts of the SCF Foundation and its Board of Directors and the very generous philanthropic community in which we live.

I’ve often shared that just $500 can be the difference between a student staying in school or giving up on their educational dream. We simply couldn’t do what we do as an institution without a group of people dedicated to raising money from alumni, community supporters and our own staff, and turning that money into opportunities for students to continue to pursue their educational path. A foundation is clearly integral to the success of the college’s mission.

I can assure every SCF donor that your money is used responsibly and for the intended purpose. We can match your philanthropic desire with the student, project or program you want to assist. The return on investment we get from our foundation is incredible—for the college’s $374,000 investment in foundation operations, the SCF Foundation returns almost $7 million in gifts, revenue and investment appreciations on an annual basis for student scholarships, program enhancements and capital projects at the college.

We recently welcomed more than 300 guests to SCF’s Bradenton Campus for one of our annual fundraising events—Avenues to the Future. In just its third year, this new annual event was a major success, and not just for the money raised for student scholarships, but also for its ability to connect our community to our college through science, music and fellowship. We live in an incredibly philanthropic region, and our recent Avenues event put that on full display as we doubled the amount we expected to raise. Thank you to all who attended and made contributions to our college.

Avenues to the Future, along with Evening Under the Stars on our Venice Campus in April, represent the two major fundraising events SCF holds each year. The money raised at these events is critical to providing aid to students and to enhance facilities on each of our campuses. Philanthropy is very important aspect to the long-term financial well-being of any college or university and critical to students in need. Our foundation does the hard work of raising money, cultivating and building donor relationships and keeping alumni engaged with our institution. It’s hard and sometimes thankless work that not only directly impacts the success of our students and graduates, but helps the college contribute to creating an educated and thriving community.

The Florida House of Representatives Appropriations Committee recently conducted a study of the foundations of Florida’s public universities and state colleges. I welcome transparency in all matters that concern the use of public funds, and at SCF, we were very open with our submission to the committee. Reflecting on the committee meeting gave me an even greater appreciation for our foundation and its board of directors.

We can do great things to assist our students when we can match the energy and creativity of our foundation with the philanthropic nature of our community. The return on that investment pays off over and over again.

Dr. Carol Probstfeld is president of State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota.