Generous Gift Expands Future Connect
Since 2011, PCC’s nationally recognized Future Connect student support program has provided scholarships and individual coaching for students who identify as first-generation or are from families with limited financial resources.
We are delighted to share that Brigid Flanigan, a longtime Future Connect supporter and incoming PCC Foundation Board Trustee, has committed to making a $1 million investment to the Portland Community College Foundation to help expand aspects of Future Connect into the First Year Experience for incoming students. Her gift will be leveraged with the College’s investment in the First Year Experience, one of our Strategic Enrollment Management Initiatives, and funding from our Title III Grant.
This innovative program takes all of our successes from Future Connect and scales them to serve thousands more students. The First Year Experience will connect students to a coach, offer support navigating resources at the college, and provide targeted college and career guidance to set students up for success during that critical first year of college.
This fall, in addition to our ongoing Future Connect program, we will pilot the comprehensive First Year Experience to all incoming, first-generation high school students — approximately 1,500 people. By 2026, all first-time college students will be served through the First Year Experience.
This gift is the largest private investment in Future Connect and we are incredibly grateful for Brigid’s generosity. Her amazing gift will allow PCC to create critical, ongoing support to set our students up for success!
Visit PCC’s First Year Experience or Future Connect pages for more information.