PANAMA CITY, FL — The St. Joe Community Foundation will announce their gift of $600,000 to the Florida State University Panama City campus to primarily fund scholarships for area students and provide support to the new academic center’s lecture hall and community meeting space.  A press conference will be held on Thursday, April 14, 2004 at 10:00 a.m. in the Larson L. Bland Conference Center. 

The gift from The St. Joe Community Foundation is the largest donation FSU PC has received since its inception.  The gift comes at a most opportune time for FSU PC when enrollment growth for the campus continues to rise—experiencing a 47% increase in undergraduate enrollment in the last four years.  According to Dr. Ed Wright, FSU-PC dean, “Our enrollment has increased so dramatically because of new programs and the addition of full-time daytime programs.  Area students can pursue academic programs on a full-time basis during the day that were previously available only at night and on weekends.  Importantly, they can also pursue academic programs and careers that were not available to them just three years ago – programs like electrical and civil engineering and computer science.”  Dr. Wright is quick to add that, “It’s equally important to note that we have expanded these opportunities while maintaining our commitment to part-time and evening programs that serve an important community need as well.”  

FSU PC’s presence in Northwest Florida has given many area students the opportunity to complete a nationally recognized baccalaureate or graduate degree without having to leave home.  Gulf Coast Community College, Okaloosa Walton Community College and Chipola College serve as feeder schools, providing the first two years instruction.  But the challenge for FSU PC has always been meeting the scholarship needs of growing numbers of area students, especially those transferring to the campus after completing their freshman and sophomore years at an area community college.

The gift comes in three parts: A $100,000 commitment to the new academic center building.  This gift is contingent upon the legislature’s funding of the academic center building which will include much needed engineering and other laboratories, classrooms, faculty offices, an information commons and learning center, as well as a lecture and public meeting facility.  The gift will assist in equipping the Lecture Hall and meeting space in the new academic center with advanced technologies and upgraded lighting.  The academic center is scheduled to open 2007.  The advancement in the academic center Lecture Hall will serve the purpose of forums, lectures, expositions, and will also serve as an available resource to community public and non-profit organizations in accordance with the University’s educational policies.

The second component of the gift will directly impact the availability of scholarships for area students who want to complete a baccalaureate or graduate degree at FSU PC.  The St. Joe Community Foundation has committed to establish a $250,000 scholarship endowment to benefit students attending FSU PC.  The scholarship endowment will be established through a gift of $50,000 per year for the next five years with the first gift occurring in January 2005.

The $250,000 Challenge Grant

The third part of the gift will be in the form of a Challenge Grant. To encourage others to participate in increasing scholarship opportunities for FSU PC students, The St. Joe Community Foundation Board of Directors is also pledging to fund a $250,000 Challenge Grant. The Challenge Grant will match dollar for dollar, up to $250,000, any new private sector scholarship gifts FSU PC receives after April 14, 2004.  This is in addition to a possible 50% match from the State of Florida’s Matching Gift Program for Universities.

Under the terms of the gift agreement, The St. Joe Community Foundation will match up to $50,000 per year for five years towards the Challenge Grant.  However, if FSU PC can accelerate raising the additional private donations, the STJCF will match up to $100,000 per year not to exceed the total of $250,000.  

The St. Joe Community Foundation Scholarship Endowment when combined with the Challenge Grant and private sector scholarship gifts will significantly increase the number of scholarships available for FSU PC students by creating an endowment of $750,000 over the next five years.  This total endowment will then be eligible for match by the State of Florida’s Matching Gift Program for Universities (a 50% match under the current program) which will result at the end of the five year effort with FSU Panama City’s first scholarship endowment in excess of $1 million—actual projection is $1,125,000—having been established.  Additionally, the $100,000 commitment to the construction of the new Academic Center is eligible for a 100% state match bringing the value of the total gift, inclusive of matching and challenge grant funds, to $1,325,000.

“It is difficult to adequately express our enormous gratitude for this gift and the opportunities it will provide for FSU Panama City students not only today but for generations to come,” stated Gail Robbins, FSU PC Development Coordinator and member of the FSU PC Scholarship Committee. “The St. Joe Community Foundation Scholarship Endowment when combined with the Challenge Grant opportunity will make a huge contribution to closing the gap between available resources and the unmet scholarship needs at FSU PC.” 

With this gift, The St. Joe Community Foundation continues its long history of support for area educational institutions, creating scholarships opportunities with Bay District Schools and its Bay Education Foundation, Franklin District Schools, Gulf County District Schools and its Gulf Education Foundation, Walton District Schools and its Walton Education Foundation as well as at Gulf Coast Community College.

 “The opportunity to complete a baccalaureate degree creates enormous social, cultural and economic development benefits for not only the individual but also for the communities where they live and work,” said   Britt Greene, President of The St. Joe Community Foundation Trustees.   “There is no question that the region’s community colleges are doing a great job of providing the first two years of a college degree for area students. The presence of FSU Panama City in the heart of Northwest Florida means that those students and many more can complete their baccalaureate degree from a nationally recognized university without having to leave their communities.  Together, with community support, we can significantly increase the number of scholarships that are available for deserving students.”

About The St. Joe Community Foundation

The St. Joe Company created The St. Joe Community Foundation (STJCF), formerly named Northwest Florida Improvement Foundation, in 1999 to invest in community initiatives that pay long-term returns on the quality of life in Bay, Franklin, Gulf, and Walton counties.

Since its inception, STJCF has granted over $739,000 to Bay County; $171,000 in Franklin County; $428,000 in Gulf County; and over $1.000,000 in Walton County, and more than $208,000 to multi-county initiatives that total more than $2,500,000 in grants to the region.  STJCF funding currently comes primarily from sales in Arvida communities and RiverCamps, like The Hammocks, Palmetto Trace and RiverCamps on Crooked Creek in Bay County, WindMark Beach in Gulf County, WaterSound, The Retreat, and WaterColor in Walton County and SummerCamp in Franklin County.

STJCF’s unique funding structure is based on payments from The St. Joe Company that are a percentage of the proceeds from new sales in specific St. Joe communities developed by Arvida and RiverCamps.  Payments continue each time the properties are resold through deed covenants, added by St. Joe at the initial sale, requiring a transfer fee to be paid to STJCF each time a property is subsequently sold.  In this way, St. Joe, through Arvida and RiverCamps, and the property owners who live in our neighborhoods are partnering with the community for the betterment of the entire region. STJCF investments are based on building civic infrastructure and providing on-going improvements in the region through grants and initiatives that promote teaching and learning and create healthier communities. To learn more about STJCF or to request a 2003 annual report and quarterly e-newsletter, log on to www.stjcf. com or contact Pamela Selton, STJCF executive director, at 850.231.6558.

For more information about the Challenge Grant opportunity, please contact Gail Robbins, FSU PC Development Coordinator at 850.522.2008