News Release from Northwestern Michigan College 1701 E. Front St., Traverse City MI 49686 Contact: Paul Heaton, 231 995-1019, email: pheaton@nmc.edu Date: April 30, 2008 News & Events

NMC Annual Community Campaign sets records

TRAVERSE CITY, MI – The NMC Foundation this morning announced that its Annual Community Campaign has eclipsed previous records.

The campaign, which is a major source of scholarships for NMC students, this week passed its largest goal ever -- $330,000. The number of donors also set a record, increasing to 668 so far -- a 20 percent increase over last year.

The Annual Community Campaign was co-chaired this year by Bruce Byl and Susan Sheldon.

“To have achieved this level of support, during such challenging economic times, speaks volumes about how much the community values NMC,” Byl said.

“As we talked to people in the community, the stories about NMC’s impact on people, on business and on our quality of life were inspiring,” Sheldon said.

Last year’s campaign goal, which also set a record, was $315,000.

The majority of gifts to the campaign fund annual and endowed scholarships. Gifts also can be designated to specific programs and projects. The campaign will continue to accept gifts through June 30.

More than 120 volunteers worked on behalf of this year’s campaign. “This milestone could not be reached without the NMC Foundation Board and other dedicated volunteers,” said Kathleen Guy, NMC Vice President for Institutional Advancement and Executive Director of the NMC Foundation.

Funds from the Annual Community Campaign, combined with existing funds and other fund-raising initiatives, allow NMC to award more donor-funded scholarship dollars to more students than any other community college in Michigan.

For the coming year the NMC Foundation expects for the first time to award more than $1-million in donor-funded scholarships to students, in addition to other state and federal financial aid.

The NMC Foundation is the largest community college foundation in Michigan, with assets totaling more than $28 million. It is ranked fifth in the United States among all community colleges in terms of funds raised per student.