The mission of the Houston Community College Foundation is to enhance the quality of life of our community and of our fellow citizens through fundraising efforts that improve access to higher education, support career and technology training, and advance student learning at Houston Community College (HCC).

The HCC Foundation was founded in 1976, during a time when the role of community college foundations was primarily to accept donations and distribute them as student scholarships. However, with the increasing emphasis on higher education for all, community college foundations have begun taking a much more active role in fundraising for community college students and programs.

Dr. Kelly J. Zúñiga, CFRE, became the HCC Foundation’s executive director in April 2006. Since then she has hired a staff committed to the Foundation’s mission of improving access to higher education.

With the support of a dedicated board of directors, the HCC Foundation advances HCC’s mission by providing financial assistance in three main areas: Student Scholarships and Endowments, Capital Projects and Program Support, and Faculty Grants and Awards.

Today the HCC Foundation has a staff of 13 employees and, in the most recent two years, raised more than $7.8 million. At a time when increasing college tuition makes higher education even more difficult to attain, the HCC Foundation’s support is all the more essential to the success of the 75,000 students that HCC serves – two-thirds of whom require some form of financial assistance to enroll and stay in school.

The HCC Foundation has developed strong relationships with the community and has garnered HCCF – and HCC – significant media attention. Currently, the HCC Foundation ranks in the top one percent of community college foundations nationwide in annual fundraising.