Gateway Community College Foundation

$186

Raised

Donors

Summary
Overview
Programs
Management
Governance
Financials
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Mission

The Gateway Community College Foundation, a private IRS-designated 501 c3 charitable organization, raises and manages funds on behalf of CT State Community College Gateway, New Haven. It provides scholarships, professional development grants, equipment, and program support to ensure success for all Gateway students, faculty, and staff.

Needs Statement

The Gateway Community College Foundation works tirelessly to provide holistic support to Gateway students. Among the 12 community college campuses within the CT State Community College, Gateway’s student body represents the most financially challenged. CT State is designated a Hispanic Serving Institution and is an Achieving the Dream community college. Achieving the Dream is a national organization that has a network of over 300 community colleges. Its focus is on closing achievement gaps and accelerating student success nationwide. Sixty-eight percent of Gateway students attend part-time while also holding down jobs and raising families. Gateway students are racially and ethnically-mixed, only 30 percent identify as white. Some are immigrants, some are refugees, and fully 70 percent are first-generation college students. They struggle to pay for tuition and books while they support themselves or contribute to their households. At the same time, they deal with a wide array of socioeconomic challenges that affect their ability to succeed in college, including hunger, homelessness, medical issues, lack of childcare, unreliable transportation, etc. That is why the Gateway Foundation raises money for scholarships and wraparound support services like support for the Campus Cupboard, and for emergency aid programs like the Family Economic Success Program. A significant number of classes are offered online and many of Gateway’s low-income students experience difficulty keeping up with online coursework due to outdated, inadequate, or no technology; slow, unreliable or no available Internet connectivity; or the inability to afford a computer or Internet service. Online education met its peak with COVID-19 and will continue to be part of the education landscape for the foreseeable future. Today, 67 percent of students are enrolled in partially or fully remote classes. That is why the Gateway Foundation raises funds to distribute good quality, durable laptop computers. The Foundation purchases laptops for the Gateway library to lend to students, and to give directly to students as "laptop scholarships". The cost is not insignificant - $1,200 per laptop, so your contributions are most welcome! In addition, students in several departments on campus: Allied Health and Nursing, Automotive, and Workforce struggle to pay for vocational credential study courses and certification exam fees. For many students, the examination fees are out of reach and keep students from directly entering the workforce immediately after graduation in occupational areas including Nuclear Medicine, Nursing, Sonography, Surgical Technology and Radiology. Imagine, you’ve finished your coursework, but you’re unable to move forward with your career for lack of a $450 exam. The Gateway Foundation seeks philanthropic support so students can take the exams and build lucrative careers. Financial Intervention funding continues to be requested by students. Specifically, they need short-term, emergency financial assistance grants to ward off economic crises that might otherwise derail their ability to stay in school, like: high utility bills make it hard to pay the rent, they’ve been laid off, the car breaks down, or a family member has a medical emergency. Gateway's Foundation provides one-time assistance on behalf of students in these predicaments. The primary needs of Gateway students include the following: 1) Increase the amount of money raised for academic, workforce, technology scholarships and other-directed student financial aid support for Gateway students. 2) Increase funding to support short-term emergency assistance to Gateway credit and workforce students who experience unanticipated financial issues threatening their ability to continue their education. 3) Increase support for general operating funds that can be used to pay for campus-wide enrichment, extra-curricular programs, and athletics.

Impact Statement

The Gateway Community College Foundation has awarded $1,691,284 in scholarships to more than 23,282 deserving students. Their impact is potent and long-lasting. Gehan Ghaly, who received the Freddy & Eusebio Luna Scholarship and the Margaret Bauer Scholarship in 2024 said, "These scholarships mean everything to me. They relieve some of the financial burdens and allow me to focus more on my studies. It's support like this that makes it possible for me to keep moving forward".

CEO statement

Board Chair Statement

Areas Served
Greater New Haven

Areas Served Narrative

CT State Gateway attracts students from cities and towns across Connecticut, in particular communities in South Central Connecticut, Greater New Haven, and the city of New Haven. the top seven sending towns are: New Haven, West Haven, Hamden, Bridgeport, East Haven, Milford and Meriden.

Scholarships and other direct Student Financial Aid

Each year, the Gateway Community College Foundation awards scholarships to help students begin or continue their education and to recognize and reward outstanding academic performance. The Gateway Foundation scholarship program is made possible through the generosity and vision of individuals, corporations, and foundations throughout Greater New Haven and beyond. Scholarships reflect donor-specified requirements. These can include financial need, academic merit, community service, specific geographic residency, field of study, etc. For many well-deserving recipients – especially those facing financial hardship or balancing challenging work and family commitments while pursuing their education – these scholarships often mean the difference between staying in college or leaving with the dream of education unfulfilled. Each spring, scholarship recipients are invited to meet their scholarship benefactors on-campus in an in-person event. Always very moving, the event encourages students to express their gratitude to the donors and the members of the Foundation Board of Directors shared their personal stories of how they overcame adversity to get where they are today.
Example of Program Success	Scholarship Recipients bios Habiba Momohjimoh’s major is Nursing. Habiba selected Nursing as her major as she wants to make a difference in providing healthcare to low-income communities. Her objectives after graduating from Gateway are to further her education to become a midwife to help reduce the infant mortality and maternal death rate in low-income areas. This scholarship will go a long way as Habiba will be able to reduce her hours at work and concentrate more on her Nursing studies. Rodolphe Walendom’s major is Public Utility Management. Rodolphe selected this major due to his interest in utility industry including water, wastewater, and natural gas. Upon graduating from Gateway, Rodolphe would like to obtain employment in the utilities field and then continue his higher education to obtain a bachelor’s degree. This scholarship will help get Rodolphe closer to degree completion.

Each year, the Gateway Community College Foundation awards scholarships to help students begin or continue their education and to recognize and reward outstanding academic performance. The Gateway Foundation scholarship program is made possible through the generosity and vision of individuals, corporations, and foundations throughout Greater New Haven and beyond. Scholarships reflect donor-specified requirements. These can include financial need, academic merit, community service, specific geographic residency, field of study, etc. For many well-deserving recipients – especially those facing financial hardship or balancing challenging work and family commitments while pursuing their education – these scholarships often mean the difference between staying in college or leaving with the dream of education unfulfilled. Each spring, scholarship recipients are invited to meet their scholarship benefactors on-campus in an in-person event. Always very moving, the event encourages students to express their gratitude to the donors and the members of the Foundation Board of Directors shared their personal stories of how they overcame adversity to get where they are today.

Example of Program Success

Scholarship Recipients bios Habiba Momohjimoh’s major is Nursing. Habiba selected Nursing as her major as she wants to make a difference in providing healthcare to low-income communities. Her objectives after graduating from Gateway are to further her education to become a midwife to help reduce the infant mortality and maternal death rate in low-income areas. This scholarship will go a long way as Habiba will be able to reduce her hours at work and concentrate more on her Nursing studies. Rodolphe Walendom’s major is Public Utility Management. Rodolphe selected this major due to his interest in utility industry including water, wastewater, and natural gas. Upon graduating from Gateway, Rodolphe would like to obtain employment in the utilities field and then continue his higher education to obtain a bachelor’s degree. This scholarship will help get Rodolphe closer to degree completion.

Emergency Assistance Grants

The Gateway Community College Foundation Emergency Assistance grants program assists students in academic degree and workforce certification programs who experiencei unexpected short-term financial hardship or crisis and who need assistance to help them achieve program completion. The program provides holistic wraparound support services to students including working with the student to develop a household budget. Eligible students may qualify for emergency assistance to cover expenses such as food, rent, utilities, childcare, car repair, etc. Payments go directly to vendors rather than students. The Gateway Community College Foundation has two funds set up to help students in emergency financial crisis: 1) The Helping Hands fund which serves credit-bearing students who are in good academic standing (a grade point average of 2.0 or higher) and have completed 50 percent of required credits toward an associate degree or certificate by the end of the semester in which the student is requesting assistance; and 2) The Equity in Education Fund which serves credit-bearing students who have at least nine credits or more and are in good academic standing and workforce students who are at least 50% of the way through their advanced credential.
Example of Program Success	Carol D. transferred from SUNY Westchester Community College in Valhalla, New York and enrolled at Gateway in Fall 2019. She later joined FESP and was accepted into one of the most competitive allied health programs at GCC, Radiography. In Carol’s latest semester, Fall 2022, the program and rigorous clinical schedule had become even more demanding, so she was only able to work part time. Her clinicals and labs were during the typical work week, 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM, which didn’t leave much room to fit in extra work hours. Consequently, Carol was struggling financially. Luckily, Carol is able to receive a FESP Helping Hands emergency grant to help alleviate some of her unexpected financial expenses. She is anticipating graduation this upcoming Spring 2023, which will be her last semester. After graduation, she plans to find a full-time job in the Radiography field, which will set her on the path to a more stable financial future.

The Gateway Community College Foundation Emergency Assistance grants program assists students in academic degree and workforce certification programs who experiencei unexpected short-term financial hardship or crisis and who need assistance to help them achieve program completion. The program provides holistic wraparound support services to students including working with the student to develop a household budget. Eligible students may qualify for emergency assistance to cover expenses such as food, rent, utilities, childcare, car repair, etc. Payments go directly to vendors rather than students. The Gateway Community College Foundation has two funds set up to help students in emergency financial crisis: 1) The Helping Hands fund which serves credit-bearing students who are in good academic standing (a grade point average of 2.0 or higher) and have completed 50 percent of required credits toward an associate degree or certificate by the end of the semester in which the student is requesting assistance; and 2) The Equity in Education Fund which serves credit-bearing students who have at least nine credits or more and are in good academic standing and workforce students who are at least 50% of the way through their advanced credential.

Example of Program Success

Carol D. transferred from SUNY Westchester Community College in Valhalla, New York and enrolled at Gateway in Fall 2019. She later joined FESP and was accepted into one of the most competitive allied health programs at GCC, Radiography. In Carol’s latest semester, Fall 2022, the program and rigorous clinical schedule had become even more demanding, so she was only able to work part time. Her clinicals and labs were during the typical work week, 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM, which didn’t leave much room to fit in extra work hours. Consequently, Carol was struggling financially. Luckily, Carol is able to receive a FESP Helping Hands emergency grant to help alleviate some of her unexpected financial expenses. She is anticipating graduation this upcoming Spring 2023, which will be her last semester. After graduation, she plans to find a full-time job in the Radiography field, which will set her on the path to a more stable financial future.

Professional Development

Gateway Community College Foundation offers a mini-grant program to which Gateway faculty and staff can apply. If selected, the Foundation underwrites professional development initiatives. These grants enhance the grantee’s personal professional development and help them to apply what they have learned to their daily work with other faculty, staff and students.
Example of Program Success	Funded initiatives under the Professional Development grant program include the following examples: the implementation of an on-campus writing workshop led by Free Minds Book Club and Writing Workshop out of Washington, D.C. who uses the literary arts, workforce development, and violence prevention to connect incarcerated and formerly incarcerated youths and adults to their voices, their purpose, and the wider community; participation in a summer residency at the Virginia Center for the Arts for an art faculty member, funding to support the development of an automotive technology open educational resource (OER), attendance for Guided Pathways Advisors at the NASPA Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education conference, and staff conference participation.

Gateway Community College Foundation offers a mini-grant program to which Gateway faculty and staff can apply. If selected, the Foundation underwrites professional development initiatives. These grants enhance the grantee’s personal professional development and help them to apply what they have learned to their daily work with other faculty, staff and students.

Example of Program Success

Funded initiatives under the Professional Development grant program include the following examples: the implementation of an on-campus writing workshop led by Free Minds Book Club and Writing Workshop out of Washington, D.C. who uses the literary arts, workforce development, and violence prevention to connect incarcerated and formerly incarcerated youths and adults to their voices, their purpose, and the wider community; participation in a summer residency at the Virginia Center for the Arts for an art faculty member, funding to support the development of an automotive technology open educational resource (OER), attendance for Guided Pathways Advisors at the NASPA Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education conference, and staff conference participation.

CEO/Executive Director

CEO First Name	CEO Last Name	CEO Email
N/A	N/A	N/A

Staff Information

Number of Full-Time Staff	0
Number of Part-Time Staff	0
Number of Volunteers	120
Number of Contract Staff	0

Staff Demographics - Race

American Indian or Alaskan Native	0
Asian	0
Black or African American	0
Middle Eastern or North African	0
Mixed	0
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander	0
White	0
Other	0
Choose Not to Answer	0

Staff Demographics - Ethnicity

Hispanic or Latino/a/x	0
Not Hispanic or Latino/a/x	0
Choose Not to Answer	0

Staff Demographics - Gender Identity

Male	0
Female	0
I am: (Fill In Below)	n/a
Choose Not to Answer	0

Board Chair Information

Board Chair First Name	Board Chair Last Name	Board Chair Email Address	Board Chair Term Start Date	Board Chair Term End Date
Hiram	Brett	hiram.brett@yale.edu	January 1, 2025	December 31, 2026

List of Board Members

Board Member First Name	Board Member Last Name	Board Member Affiliation
Paul A.	McCraven	ConnCORP
H. Richard	Borer	Easter Seals Goodwill Industries
Daniel N.	Caron	Protos Biologics
LindyLee	Gold	Connecticut State Department of Economic and Community Development
Peter D.	Graeb	Beers, Hamerman, Cohen& Burger, PC, CPA's
Thomas S.	Griggs Jr.	Community Leader
Roberta	Hoskie	Outreach Realty & Outreach School of Real Estate
Mimi M.	Lines	Robinson + Cole LLP
Wilson	Luna	Community Leader
Ruby H.	Melton	Community Leader
Linda	Randell	Attorney and Consultant
Pedro	Soto	Hygrade Precision Technologies, LLC
Susan	Stone	Community Leader
Tanisha	Asbery	Boehringer Ingelheim
Makana	Ellis	Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey
Jacob	Padron	Long Wharf Theatre
Joseph	Thomas	Consultant, Energy Industry
Chika	Anueyiagu	Yale New Haven Hospital
Thomas	Beirne, III	Washington Trust Wealth Management

Current List of Board Members as of	January 1, 2025

Board Demographics - Race

American Indian or Alaskan Native	0
Asian	0
Black or African American	6
Middle Eastern or North African	0
Mixed	0
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander	0
Other	3
White	11
Choose Not to Answer	0

Board Demographics - Ethnicity

Hispanic or Latino/a/x	3
Not Hispanic or Latino/a/x	17
Choose Not to Answer	0

Board Demographics - Gender Identity

Male	11
Female	9
I am: (Fill In Below)	n/a
Choose Not to Answer	0

Additional Comments

Additional Comments (Optional)

Annual Operating Budget

Fiscal Year Start Date	Fiscal Year End Date	Projected Revenue	Projected Expenses
January 1, 2025	December 31, 2025	$252,500	$218,320

Previous Fiscal Year Revenue and Expenses

Fiscal Year	2023	2022
Total Revenue	$519,556	$719,045
Total Expenses	$331,464	$342,183

990 Tax Form

2024 990 Tax Form
2021 990 Tax Form	Download
2022 990 Tax Form	Download
2023 990 Tax Form	Download

Financials

Financial Statements
Financial Statements	Download
Financial Documentation Year	2022
Financial Documentation Type	Audited Financial Statements
Financial Statements	Download
Financial Documentation Year	2021
Financial Documentation Type	Audited Financial Statements
Financial Documentation Year
Financial Documentation Type

CEO statement (optional)

General Info

Federal EIN Number	22-3135128
Organization's type of tax exempt status	501 c 3
Website	http://www.gatewayfdn.org
Facebook	http://facebook.com/GCCFoundation
Twitter	--

Our Story

CT State Community College Gateway is the flagship campus of Connecticut’s new community college, the largest institution of higher education in the state which serves one in four undergraduates in the state. It is a pillar of New Haven’s downtown, and served 8281 students in the fall of 2024. A third reside in the city. Gateway’s student population consists primarily of (70%) first-generation college students. Many students (70%) attend classes part-time to accommodate work schedules and family responsibilities. 4,458 Gateway students applied for and qualify for federal or state financial aid to off-set tuition costs. In recent years, CT has invested in PACT, a program that covers the balance of tuition after Pell and other financial aid. This program is hugely helpful to students who are eligible and receive PACT funding. Sadly, too many students still struggle.

In 2023, Gateway opened the Campus Cupboard, a food pantry to meet the need of food insecure students. In the last year, 415 students visited the Cupboard.

The Gateway Community College Foundation routinely receives requests from students for emergency assistance to cover unexpected housing, transportation, or health care costs. In 2024, the foundation received more than 500 applications for scholarship assistance but had funds to award only 140 scholarships. Federal financial aid data indicates that 23% of Gateway students are very low income, 21% are low income, and less than one third of the student population earns above low income. Students can ill afford the current costs of tuition, books and fees, still in 2024, the Board of Regents approved a tuition increase of 5% in 2024 and increased fees for the upcoming year. Won't you please help?

Gateway Community College Foundation, Inc. raises and manages private funds on behalf of the Gateway campus of CT State Community College. It is a tax-exempt charitable entity that invests in the success of all Gateway students. The Foundation provides:

scholarships to Gateway students
professional development grants to Gateway faculty and staff
equipment and program support to Gateway academic and extracurricular activities.

Please consider contributing to the Gateway Community College Foundation during the 2025 Great Give. Thank you in advance for your support of Gateway students!

Contact

Gateway Community College Foundation

20 Church Street
New Haven, CT 06510

Heidi Green
hgreen@gatewayct.edu
Phone: 203-285-2296
http://www.gatewayfdn.org/

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