LaneStarter Funded Projects
Lane Fitness Center - $7,500
The Lane Fitness Center initiative, later branded as the Fitness Connection, expanded community access and participation in Lane's Fitness Education Center facilities and programs through marketing and promotion efforts and expanded hours. The expansion has been successful in bringing community members to campus while also providing additional learning opportunities for Exercise Movement and Science students.
The Fitness Connection began operations in a defined trial period to allow HPEA staff to ensure that community use would not interfere with credit student use of the facilities. Dean Chris Hawken and his team worked with college marketing and IT teams to develop promotional materials and a website to feature available services to the public. A portion of the funds has been earmarked for a Google Maps project that will map the interior of the facility and generate a 360-degree online tour of the building.
By using existing fitness lab equipment and expanding existing hours of operation, the Fitness Connection has been able to attract a wider customer base of users in the community who pay a reasonable fee for access. Currently, the Fitness Connection is seeking to attract a greater number of higher-end athletes who are likely to appreciate use of the center’s advanced technology and equipment.
In addition to fee revenue collected by the facility, the Fitness Connection has also provided additional placement opportunities for Exercise Science program students, who must complete a number of hours in an appropriate setting in order to earn certification in the program. The lack of placement availability in the community has presented a challenge for students, so the Fitness Connection has become an academic asset as well as an entrepreneurial venture.
Diesel Tech Titan Express - $10,000
The Titan Express bus project was inspired by a generous donation from Lane Transit District, a long-time supporter of LCC Diesel Tech and significant employer of Lane Diesel Tech graduates. In 2015, LTD donated four buses to the Diesel Tech program to help students gain real-world equipment maintenance experience. Three of the buses were in working order but had been retired from service, and one was a “parts” bus that still contained many useable components. Pat O’Connor, Dean of Advanced Technology, wanted to explore ways to use the buses to benefit as many LCC students as possible.
Two of the donated buses are 30’ transit buses, affectionately referred to as “bone shakers” (as opposed to “coaches.”) The LaneStarter Committee awarded $10,000 for Pat’s Titan Express project, to be used for graphic production and wrapping the buses to brand them as LCC vehicles, as well as some interior improvements where needed. Pat and his team also worked with VP Dawn DeWolf to make sure that available insurance would cover Titan Express trips. The branding work was completed over the summer, and the buses can now be used to transport students or campus visitors over short distances for events or tours. Licensed, skilled drivers will provide on-call services for scheduled events, and Diesel Tech students maintain the buses as part of their training. Pat is working with his team to fine-tune rates and travel times to improve service offerings.
Although it was not included in this LaneStarter funding request, one of the larger donated buses has been identified for potential use as a Registration Express bus that could travel to sites like high schools and fairs to generate L numbers and register potential students within minutes. Pat is exploring options for partnerships with the LCC Recruitment Office and other departments on campus to make the best use of the generous donation.
KLCC Database Leveraging Campaign - $10,000
KLCC raises the majority of its operating expenses through individual donations from community members. The Database Leveraging Campaign award enabled them to work with an experienced marketing firm to build a fundraising campaign targeting past donors who had not yet renewed their commitment, as well as lapsed or inactive donors. Telemarketing is a proven strategy for non-profit Public Radio and Television providers, and data has shown that the return rate on such investments is around $1.40 for every $1.00 spent. KLCC chose to partner with an organization with an excellent reputation and extensive experience in the field of non-profit telemarketing.
Using KLCC’s donor database, the marketing firm was able to make contact with approximately 1200 past donors who had “lapsed” within the past four years. All contact was made during a two-week period in June of 2016. In total, KLCC was able to net $9238 in donations on the $5737 investment.
KLCC Station Manager John Stark is dedicated to finding appropriate funding for the vital community service KLCC provides. The Database Leveraging Campaign is a win-win, because it is both self-sustaining and can be scaled over time to fit KLCC's needs and its mission of providing accessible, quality, learning-centered educational opportunities to the community.
Transition Services for Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities - $1,267
The Transition Services program was envisioned by Alyse Stone, Director of Specialized Support Services, as a partnership between LCC, 4J School District, and Lane ESD to provide transition services to high school students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Through collaboration between the agencies, students would have the opportunity to obtain vocational training and integrated employment, learning side by side with peers and non-disabled students.
Alyse and her team met with service coordinators and specialists at the state and local level. Together, they formed a coordinating council to develop a proposal for services. The council determined that the greatest service need was for students who were leaving the high school system and would no longer be eligible for many resources. The coordinating council developed a proposal to provide post-secondary services for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities and received an offer of funding for the program start-up.
After a careful review of the proposal and funding model with VP Brian Kelly that included long range financial analysis, it was determined that the project was not feasible for the college to undertake at this time. The only LaneStarter funds required to fully explore this project were minimal travel expenses for initial meetings, so the remaining funds were returned to the LaneStarter pool.
Although the Transition Services project has been suspended at this time, LaneStarter funds were an important resource that allowed the project team to fully explore and analyze the concept.
In addition to the projects listed here, other projects have been approved by the LaneStarter committee and are in-progress now. Check back soon to read about other LaneStarter projects.