The Riverland Community College Foundation campaign designed to increase the number of sponsored scholarships to 150 by the end of 2015 was met six months early.

“The scholarship campaign to help students achieve their dream of a higher education and jump-start their pathway to a new career has been extremely successful,” Steve Bowron, Riverland dean of institutional development, said in a press release. “We met the goal early, but we still keep working. With the high need for funding support, and the number of students attending Riverland to gain an education to help them achieve their dreams, the Foundation is still turning away more than 100 eligible, deserving students due to a lack of funds.”

The Riverland Community College Foundation launched the project July 1, 2012, to increase the number of scholarships available to support Riverland students. The campaign began with 90 sponsored scholarships and was designed to increase that number to 150 sponsored scholarships by the end of the year 2015.

The Foundation reached its goal six months early by partnering with local individuals, organizations and companies. The campaign added 24 scholarship sponsors during the 2015 fiscal year, and secured 152 total sponsored scholarships by June 30, 2015, to meet the campaign goals.

Because local individuals, organizations and businesses stepped up to the campaign’s challenge, the Riverland Community College Foundation provided more than 500 scholarships to students during the 2015 academic year equaling $471,000, the highest amount awarded in the Foundation’s history.

“The level of support we have received from our communities during this campaign was incredible” Bowron said in the release. “We couldn’t have achieved this success without our partners’ belief in our students and their passion for education.”

With these new scholarships the Foundation hopes to serve more students this year and could top $500,000 in scholarship awards. The Riverland Community College Foundation welcomes new named scholarship sponsors for students. For anyone or any business interested in sponsoring a scholarship, please contact the Riverland Community College Foundation at 507-433-0630 to talk with a representative.