Overview
The Formation of TCFA
The Advancement Executive Network (TAEN) composed of technical college advancement officers and the DTAE Resource Development unit responded to local trustees’ suggestions by exploring the feasibility of formation of a statewide association of local representatives to obtain their input. Those consulted felt that there was a need for a means of developing increased resources for technical colleges.
In the summer of 1998, a charter planning group comprised of foundation trustees, technical college advancement officers, and DTAE staff was established to work toward the formation of a trustee association. Members of the planning group presented their concept to the Technical College Presidents’ Council and solicited the presidents’ support for TCFA. The presenters explained that TCFA’s purpose would be to support and promote technical and adult education, to benefit local foundation boards, and to serve as a collaborative partner with the Technical College Directors’ Association (TCDA). In the early fall of 1998, a series of GSAMS meetings was conducted that enabled foundation trustees at each technical college to hear about and discuss plans for possible formation of TCFA. The strong consensus of the meetings was that TCFA should be established. Therefore, an organizational kick-off meeting was held at Central Georgia Technical College on November 4, 1999 and the organization was officially established and incorporated in early 1999. Purpose of TCFA
The purpose of TCFA is to support technical and adult education through four primary functions: advocacy, friend raising/constituency building, networking, and foundation board training. Advocacy for technical and adult education will include promoting the institutions to the public, working to increase the technical college’s influence, and communicating the technical and adult education message. Friend raising efforts will seek to increase the colleges’ base of support, represent the colleges to constituents with influence and/or affluence, and provide information to constituencies. Training is a primary emphasis for TCFA through workshops presented by fund raising professionals covering all aspects of effective resource development techniques. Networking will enable trustees to share information, recognize each other’s achievements, become more aware of technical and adult education issues and resource development opportunities, and benefit from associations with their peers across the state.
TCFA’s Participation
All foundation or alumni boards established for the sole purpose of supporting Georgia technical colleges are eligible to join TCFA. When a local foundation or alumni board joins TCFA, all of the foundation trustees become members. Each of the member boards has one voting delegate and an alternate delegate who represents the member board in TCFA decision-making. Three officers currently serve: the President, President-Elect and Secretary-Treasurer. The association's officers and trustees who are elected by the Delegate Council serve as TCFA's Executive Committee. TCFA past presidents, technical college presidents, advancement officers and other staff participate in TCFA as ex-officio members. Additionally, DTAE staff members provide informal support for the Association. All thirty-four technical college foundation boards and The Georgia Fund for Technical and Adult Education are TCFA members.
TCFA Networking
TCFA currently offers networking opportunities through a minimum of two business/delegate council meetings and one major training conference per year. Executive committee meetings and committee meetings are scheduled as needed. Additional meetings and events may be scheduled each year based on the goals and activities outlined in the annual TCFA business plan.
TCFA Training
TCFA and DTAE have collaborated to develop and reproduce a TCFA and DTAE Guidebook for Technical College Foundation Trustees. This guide is designed to provide information that is consistent statewide about foundation boards, TCFA, DTAE, technical colleges, and technical and adult education talking points. It is intended for use by all technical college foundation boards as a supplement to local foundation board materials. Information and suggestions presented are not intended to supersede or replace local foundation structures, policies, or other documents. It is hoped that this guidebook will help foundation boards to communicate with other boards using common terminology and to represent technical and adult education to external constituents using accurate statistics and common talking points. The guidebook is available for new TCFA members.
The annual conference is TCFA’s primary training session. It provides an opportunity for trustees to hear expert presentations on subjects of their choice. It also provides opportunities for trustees to learn about the resource development techniques that have been used successfully by other technical college foundation boards.
TCFA PowerPoint Templates
TCFA has developed a PowerPoint Template to be used by the individual boards. This template can be customized using the specific college's colors and logos. Two examples have been included for download. The template is generic and allows for customization. The sample PowerPoint is done using DeKalb's logo and colors and shows how the template can be customized by college.
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