LCC Foundation receives historic donation

By Nicole Wadkins
Staff Reporter

An anonymous local business owner has made a record-setting donation to the Lansing Community College Foundation, providing $272,000 to support over 180 scholarships for the 2026-27 academic year.

The contribution marks the largest single gift from a living donor and will be used entirely for scholarships during the fall 2026 and spring 2027 semesters. “It is incredible to see this kind of support,” Development Coordinator Scott Skowronek said in an email. “It reminds me that the community understands the value of LCC students as people and wants to support them.”

Over 180 scholarships will be worth $1,500—bringing the total number of scholarships offered to more than 600 for the academic year. Skowronek stated that the Foundation has developed strong relationships with the donor. “They believe in the mission of the LCC Foundation,” Skowronek said in an email. “And they recognize that at LCC they can help more students than they can at a four-year institution. As this donor likes to say to me, ‘Let us do the good work.’”

In most years, the Foundation awards more than 95% of its available scholarships. “The scholarships that are not awarded are usually very specific in the type of student that they are looking to support,” Skowronek said in an email. “When we do have left over scholarships, we hold those dollars for the next scholarship process and try to award an extra scholarship, or a larger scholarship, the next year.”

Between Lansing Community College and the Foundation, more than $1.6 million in scholarships will be awarded to students in the ­­2026-27 academic year.