As Otero College celebrates its 85th anniversary, the Otero College Foundation remains committed to supporting the unmet financial needs of the students who walk the halls today. Our support team includes people just like you—alumni, parents, and neighbors, all with a heart for this historic college. Let’s make sure no Otero Rattler ever has to choose between taking on massive student loan debt and receiving an education. Help us reach our goal of raising scholarship funding for students who need additional support to reach their academic goals.
Your gift today will help—turn degrees into dreams
Your gift becomes the infrastructure of student futures. You don't have to give a fortune to change lives — and you'll be giving alongside people who also believe in students like these:
"I am truly grateful for the hand-up in pursuing a higher education, and have plans to pay it forward."
— Israel, who climbed from homelessness to a degree in healthcare
"This scholarship has helped me pay for college and alleviated worries about finances."
— Erin, daughter of a single father farming through drought
"It will ease the financial burden my schooling places on my family."
— Maegan, second-year nursing student
Their stories were made possible by people who joined the team. Now it's your turn.
The Otero College Foundation is a charitable, non-profit corporation dedicated to raising funds to support and strengthen the College's role in serving the educational needs of the community.
The Otero College Foundation was incorporated in the State of Colorado on August 28, 1998, and received IRS tax-exempt status that same day. The Foundation's tax-exempt code is 501(c) (3). The NTEE codes describing the organization are Community Improvement, Capacity Building, and Education and Employment.
The Foundation was created in 1998 under then-college president Bill Richards. The IRS granted the Foundation 501 (c) (3) status, and it has maintained that status since 1998.
The original board contracted with D & D Marketing, a marketing firm out of Pueblo. The firm had experience establishing and managing foundations. When the management contract with D & D Marketing expired, the foundation board did not renew the contract, and the foundation remained idle for a few years.
When Jim Rizzuto became president of Otero (Junior) College in 2001, he focused fundraising efforts on grant applications with endowments. Many of the grants the college received from 2001-2010 had challenge funds that were matched and became endowed to the Foundation.
As the Colorado State budget became more volatile, Jim Rizzuto decided in 2010 to reorganize the Otero Foundation Board to create an auxiliary funding stream for the college's future capital construction projects and program development. It became increasingly evident that funds for new buildings and programs would not be available from the State of Colorado, so the college needed to look to private donors, alumni, and grant funds to maintain its progressive interest in infrastructure and programming.
Since January 13, 2010, the Otero College Foundation Boards have remained flexible in establishing priorities and projects for the Foundation to pursue that will benefit the college. The current Foundation Board continues to look toward the future and search for ways to fund future capital construction projects for the college; however, a greater focus over the past five years has been on supporting unmet financial need of students. With rising tuition costs, higher student loan debt, and greater financial pressure on lower- and middle-class families, the foundation board is committed to supporting those in need.
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Organization name
Otero College Foundation
other names
Otero College Foundation
1998
Tax id (EIN)
84-1472517
Category
Education
Organization Size
Small Organization
Address
1802 Colorado AvenueMailing
1802 Colorado Ave.Otero, CO, US