Wake Tech Foundation
Foundation Celebrates Record-Breaking Year
Funds Provide Scholarships, Expand Programs, and Help College Respond to Emergency Needs
RALEIGH, N.C. (August 25, 2020) – The Wake Tech Foundation is proud to announce that it has ended the 2019-20 fiscal year with donations at an all-time high. Fundraising efforts brought in $7.14 million overall, up from $5.2 million in FY 2018-19. Thanks to the generosity of corporate and individual donors, student scholarships were awarded to 285 students last year in the amount of $380,000. The Foundation targeted $34,000 of that toward students who lost their jobs due to COVID-19.
“Businesses and individuals know that supporting our programs, especially during a time of crisis, can have a deep impact on our community,” says Wake Tech Foundation Executive Director Matt Smith. “We will continue to work hard to make sure that everyone in this county who wants an education can get it!”
The Wake Tech Foundation manages a wide array of financial and in-kind resources that are essential to the success of the college and its 74,000+ students. The Foundation leverages these resources to help Wake Tech meet instructional and institutional needs and make quality education accessible to all.
Of the funds raised in FY 2019-20, $445,000 went to the Wake Tech Rally Fund, a unique fund designed to provide comprehensive financial support to hard-working students. The fund offers resources that help students stay in school or return to school to complete their education, such as first-generation scholarships, completion scholarships, and emergency financial assistance.
This year, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rally Fund expanded to provide critical support for some of Wake Tech’s most vulnerable students. Assistance took many forms, from food and other basic needs to technology, support for displaced workers, and even mini-grants for small businesses.
Among last year’s highlights: the Foundation received $1.65 million in support of Wake Tech’s highly-acclaimed automotive technology programs. Hendrick Automotive Group, for whom the college’s Hendrick Center for Automotive Excellence is named, made a generous $1 million pledge. Other donors the include Capital Automotive Group and the Wake County New Vehicle Dealers Association. The Hendrick Center for Automotive Excellence is currently under construction at the Scott Northern Wake Campus, and should be completed next spring.
About the Wake Tech Foundation:
The Wake Tech Foundation is expanding our community’s potential – by reimagining the possibilities for higher education. By providing Wake Tech with corporate investments, private grants, personal contributions and other forms of support, the Foundation makes it possible for everyone in our community who wants a college education to get one. For that reason and many others, our region remains one of the best places to live and work in the world. To support the Wake Tech Foundation, visit foundation.waketech.edu.
