Community colleges create $67.7-million scholarship fund

The California Community Colleges have created a $67.7-million scholarship fund to provide financial support for thousands of students annually.

The scholarship endowment is the culmination of a three-year fundraising campaign that began with a lead gift of $25 million from the Bernard Osher Foundation, which also promised to match a portion of the donations raised by the colleges. Since 2008, the state's 112 community colleges have raised $28.5 million, generating $14.2 million in matching dollars from the Osher Foundation.

The nearly $68-million endowment is the largest of any community college system's in the nation, according to officials.

It is also a spot of good news for California's struggling community colleges, which, like the University of California and Cal State University systems, have had to contend with state funding cuts that have forced course reductions and prevented thousands of students from obtaining classes.

This fall, fees for the state's community college students will increase from $26 to $36 per unit.