Strategic Resource Needs and Diversified Funding

The majority of financial resources for the College come from State of Georgia funding; a small percentage comes from Federal grant funding, and a small percentage comes from technical-college-generated funding (tuition, fees, etc.). Generally, State funds are expended for continuation of existing programs and services, with the preponderance of expenditures devoted to instructional and student services personnel. Typically, Federal grant funds are narrowly prescribed, cannot be used to supplant other funding, and may be difficult to apply to technical college strategic initiatives. Technical-college-generated funds are usually the primary funding source that colleges can use in a discretionary manner for improvements. However, during times of constrained funding and budget cuts, college-generated funds are often exhausted by covering shortfalls in basic State and Federal funding.

To obtain the resources necessary to implement the planned strategic initiatives, the College will use a flexible financial planning approach and will seek diversified funding. This diversification will include optimized use of State, Federal, and college-generated funding, as well as funding from other sources. These sources may include collaborations with counties and municipalities; partnerships with business and industry; competitive grants; and cash and in-kind donations from companies, foundations, and individuals. It is assumed that the majority of funding for the College’s major strategic initiatives must come from the State. Specifically, it is assumed that the majority of personnel, operations, and large capital construction budgets will need to come from State funds. Fundraising campaigns will be needed to provide additional cash, in-kind donations, loans of property, and discounted sales and leases that can help with equipment, land, facilities, and other resources to help establish and sustain the strategic initiatives. Collaborations with local governments may be important to implementation of development projects.

Generally, the College’s resource needs are reflected in its Performance Accountability System (PAS) and capital-outlay budget requests. However, some resource needs, such as scholarship funds, may not be incorporated into the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) budget process. Therefore, a comprehensive flexible-financing planning approach will address all of the resource needs for the strategic initiatives, including resources that may be funded through State, Federal, private, and other sources.