Community College of Aurora Foundation

What Community College of Aurora Foundation does

The Community College of Aurora Foundation (CCAF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 1985 to advance student success at Community College of Aurora, headquartered in Aurora, Colorado, with a secondary office at the CCA Lowry Campus in Denver. The foundation operates with an 8-person staff and an independent Board of Directors drawn from major regional employers including Comcast, Molson Coors, FirstBank, and GH Phipps Construction. Its programmatic portfolio comprises institutional scholarships (Aurora Gives debt-free degree program, Presidential Scholars, DREAM Scholarship for DACA/undocumented students, COSI for student parents, ACE concurrent enrollment, Fall-to-Fall summer aid, Fox Finishers for near-completers), donor-created endowed and named scholarships (covering STEM, healthcare, renewable energy, construction trades, and paralegal pathways), the Student Emergency Assistance Fund, the Gateway to Opportunity Legacy Society for planned giving, and annual campaigns including Fund Our Future and the College Beyond Walls Luncheon.

The foundation's technology footprint is intentionally minimal: it relies on the awardspring.com scholarship application portal, standard nonprofit donor management tools, and direct donor outreach via email, phone, mail, and events. There is no proprietary platform, mobile application, or disclosed AI/automation capability.

CCAF's revenue model is philanthropic rather than commercial, drawing from six streams: individual donations (one-time and recurring), corporate partnerships and sponsorships, planned giving (bequests, charitable gift annuities, life insurance, retained life estates), endowed funds (4.0-4.5% annual distribution, minimum $10,000 to establish), annual giving campaigns (Fund Our Future at $1,000+ President's Society level), and event revenue (College Beyond Walls Luncheon, Colorado Gives Day). Named scholarships require a multiyear $1,200 minimum commitment, endowments $10,000 minimum, and charitable gift annuities $10,000 minimum with beneficiary age requirements. Annual fundraising revenue reached nearly $1.8 million in FY2022, against $229,960 in scholarships actually disbursed for the 2024-25 school year.

Name

Community College of Aurora Foundation

Legal name

Community College of Aurora Foundation

Website

https://auroragives.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Community College of Aurora Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that raises philanthropic funds to provide scholarships, emergency aid, and program support for students of the Community College of Aurora, operating a $1.8M annual fundraising program with a small staff and corporate board.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Foundation Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits (BPAGADAE), Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Fundraising & Annual Giving (EDALAOAB), Major Gifts, Planned Giving & Endowment Development (EDALAOAC)

Keywords

• Nonprofit scholarship programs
• Student financial aid
• Donor fund management
• Philanthropic fundraising
• Community college foundation

Headquarters

HQ city

Aurora

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Tax-deductible charitable donations from alumni, community members, faculty, and staff supporting scholarships and programs.
2. Corporate Partnerships: Corporate donors create named scholarships, sponsor events, or provide general operating support.
3. Planned Giving: Bequests, charitable gift annuities, life insurance, and retained life estate arrangements provide long-term funding commitments.
4. Endowments: Endowed funds invested permanently with distributions of 4.0-4.5% annually directed to scholarships and programs; minimum $10,000 to establish.
5. Annual Giving Campaigns: Fund Our Future campaign and Beloved Community Champions employee campaign provide unrestricted operating support.
6. Event Revenue: College Beyond Walls Luncheon generates sponsorship and ticket revenue; reached nearly $1.8 million in 2022.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Community College of Aurora Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that raises philanthropic funds from individual donors, corporations, and planned-giving instruments, and disburses them as scholarships, emergency assistance, and program support to students of the Community College of Aurora. It administers institutional scholarships (Aurora Gives debt-free program, Presidential Scholars, DREAM, COSI, ACE, Fall-to-Fall, Fox Finishers), donor-created named scholarships, endowments, and the Gateway to Opportunity Legacy Society, and runs annual fundraising events such as the College Beyond Walls Luncheon.

Product overview

Community College of Aurora Foundation operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 1985 to support student success at CCA. The foundation provides a portfolio of scholarship programs including the Aurora Gives debt-free degree program, Presidential Scholars ($3,000 leadership scholarship), DREAM Scholarship ($1,500 for DACA/undocumented students), COSI for student parents, Fall-to-Fall summer grants, and Fox Finishers for near-graduation students. The foundation also manages donor-created scholarships (STEM, healthcare, technical careers), planned giving through the Gateway to Opportunity Legacy Society, and annual fundraising events including the College Beyond Walls Luncheon. The Fund Our Future campaign enables unrestricted annual giving at the $1,000+ President's Society level. Student support extends to emergency assistance funding and academic program support across 70+ degree and certificate pathways.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Aurora Gives Scholarship Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 84%+ of scholarship recipients graduate, transfer, or continue education within two years
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Denver Scholarship Foundation: Colorado-based nonprofit that provides scholarships and college access support to Denver-area students, with a very similar mission and student/employer partnerships. Directly comparable geographic and demographic focus, serving the same metro student population.
• Pikes Peak State College Foundation: Affiliated foundation supporting a Colorado community college, with comparable scholarship administration, endowment management, and donor engagement programs. Directly comparable scale, structure, and regional role.
• Red Rocks Community College Foundation: Colorado community college foundation administering scholarships, endowments, and donor stewardship for a neighboring institution. Closely mirrors CCAF's structure, scholarship portfolio, and donor base within the same geography.
• Hispanic Scholarship Fund: National scholarship organization supporting Hispanic and underserved students in higher education. Comparable in mission targeting underrepresented students (similar to CCAF's DREAM Scholarship), although operating at a much larger national scale.
• United Negro College Fund: National scholarship organization supporting underrepresented students attending college. Comparable scholarship-administration and donor-development operating model, with similarly equity-driven mission targeting underrepresented populations.

Broad incumbents

• Scholarship America: National nonprofit that designs and administers scholarship programs for corporations, foundations, and communities; CCAF is a smaller-scale, locally focused counterpart. Comparable in scholarship administration model but operates at vastly larger scale across multiple states.
• Lumina Foundation: Major national foundation focused on postsecondary education access and completion. Comparable in advancing scholarship and student-success outcomes, but operates at a vastly larger grantmaking scale and does not run a single-institution donor program.
• ECMC Foundation: National foundation supporting postsecondary education and student success, including scholarships and wraparound supports. Comparable mission focus area, but operates at significantly larger scale and through grantmaking rather than direct donor fundraising.

Regional players

• Colorado Education Initiative: Regional Colorado nonprofit focused on education equity and college access — closely aligned mission with CCAF's equity-focused scholarships. Operates statewide policy and program work rather than direct scholarship administration.

Emerging players

• College Now Greater Cleveland: Nonprofit providing scholarships, advising, and college access support to community college students in a different metro. Comparable scholarship-plus-support model targeting community college completion, though serving a different geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/ccaurora
• YouTubeyoutube.com/ccaurora
• Facebookfacebook.com/ccaurora
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/community-college-of-aurora
• Instagraminstagram.com/communitycollegeofaurora
• TikToktiktok.com/@communitycollegeofaurora

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Community College of Aurora Foundation