What's the status?
(from the president, continued...)

What do I do when my program, play, concert, poetry festival, competition, publication, club, or special project needs more funds than there are in the budget?

First, make a plan well ahead of the time when you need the funds. Secondly, develop a reasonable “bare bones” budget. Include the project and amount needed in your Unit Plan so your colleagues, Division Chair and Dean know what you want to do and your request gets considered in light of other unit and cluster needs. Thirdly, talk to the Executive Director of the Cuesta College Foundation and Institutional Advancement, or her designee, so she knows that you will probably need to raise funds for some or all of your project and your fund-raising can become part of the total fund-raising program for the year. Then learn the rules and follow them.

For example, Cuesta College is not a non-profit 501c 3 organization. Therefore, we cannot say on a ticket or when requesting a donation for a program that a donation to Cuesta College is tax deductible. However, the Cuesta College Foundation is a 501c 3 organization, and donations to the Cuesta College Foundation are tax deductible. That is why you need to organize your fund-raising through the Foundation. Please do not send students into the community to raise funds without going through the Foundation because neither the students nor you may realize that the bank or business has just made a donation to the annual campaign, a Business Partners membership, or a competing Cuesta project. The State law does not allow Cuesta College employees, students, or programs to conduct a raffle because Cuesta is a state-funded institution. The Foundation staff is happy to help but you have to plan ahead, learn the rules, follow the guidelines, and be realistic in your fundraising goals.

Combine your creativity and enthusiasm with good planning, talk to your dean and division chair or director early, get help from the Executive Director of the Foundation/IA, follow the Foundation’s guidelines and IRS rules, and invite us to support your cause. Some of us “write a lot of checks,” many of us contribute to the Annual Fund or departmental funds managed by the Foundation, and all of us want to support creative excellence.