Ventura College Foundation is launching an awareness campaign to ensure all eligible first-time, full-time Ventura College students’ tuition costs remain covered under the Ventura College Promise (VC Promise) program.

VC Promise covers tuition and health, student center and student representative fees. State funding provides a portion of these costs. During the 2024-25 school year, the Ventura College Foundation contributed an extra $158,000 to the program after state funding fell considerably short due to state government budget issues.

During the 2024-25 school year, 4,460 first-time, full-time first- and second-year students participated in the program. The foundation also supported the college's equipment lending library and veterans' textbook program, which served 3,407 students.

Ventura College became California's first community college to offer tuition-free enrollment for first-time, full-time students when it launched the program in 2007. The initiative served as the model for the statewide California College Promise program established in 2017.

Since it began at Ventura College, more than $4 million in tuition costs have been covered and over 20,000 students have been served through VC Promise.

“To continue to ensure VC Promise is fully funded, we need the community’s support,” says Anne Paul King, Ventura College Foundation executive director. “Removing the financial barriers from our students and their families is critical to students’ success as they transition from high school to college.”

To donate, go to https://venturacollegefoundation.org/giving-vc-promise/. For more information about supporting VC Promise, contact Pete Parker, Ventura College Foundation director of development, at 805.289.6158 or [email protected].

To learn about the Ventura College Foundation, go to www.VenturaCollegeFoundation.org.

Ventura College Foundation

Established in 1983, the Ventura College Foundation transforms students’ lives through education by providing innovative and vital resources and financial support. The Foundation collaborates with Ventura College to enhance human potential, civic engagement, careers, and academic success of students, enabling their effective impact and legacy on the college, local workforce, and our community. The Foundation also hosts the Ventura College Foundation Marketplace, an outdoor shopping experience held every weekend on the Ventura College campus. For more information, contact Chloe Boswell-Dondorf at (805) 289-6418 or [email protected] or visit www.VenturaCollegeFoundation.org.