Coming off record fundraising results in 2024-2025, the RVCC Foundation posted the third highest fundraising total in the Raritan Valley Community College history for the 2025-2026 fiscal year.
The RVCC Foundation raised $1,617,245 in the year ending June 30, achieving 108% of its 2025-26 goal, and continuing its commitment to provide financial assistance to students as well as supporting key priorities of the College.
“We’re incredibly grateful to our generous donors, whose support for the College helps transform the lives of so many worthy students,” said RVCC President Dr. Michael J. McDonough. “At a time when higher education is facing an increasing number of challenges, these important contributions help the College offer our students the outstanding education they need to succeed and thrive.”
“These meaningful and impactful gifts—from individual donors, corporations, foundations, community partners, and our own RVCC family—have made a significant difference in the lives of so many of our students,” added Mike Marion, Executive Director, RVCC Foundation and RVCC Alumni Association.
The RVCC Foundation supports a number of initiatives at the College, in order to enhance the educational experience for students and the local communities it serves. Some of the beneficiaries of its fundraising efforts at RVCC include: student scholarships, Athletic programs and teams, the Student Emergency Fund, the Resource Center and Food Bank, faculty and student enrichment grants, student clubs, The Pray Family Center for Service Learning and Student Engagement, the Center for Environmental Studies, the Planetarium, and the Institute of Holocaust and Genocide Studies.
A big part of the year’s fundraising success in 2025-2026 was driven by RVCC Foundation’s 10th Annual Giving Day in March. The record-setting, 24-hour fundraising effort surpassed its $200,000 goal by raising $228,863, making it the most successful Giving Day in the event’s history. And, in doing so, RVCC Giving Day exceeded $1 million in donations in its 10-year cumulative history at the College. Demonstrating the overall support for the effort, this year saw a greater participation from the entire community with 848 gifts received, a 28% increase over the previous year, including 40 gifts of $1,000 or higher, which represented a 90% increase over 2025. This year’s Giving Day saw notable gains in RVCC alumni participation and in funds raised—with 63 alumni making gifts, an increase of more than 31% over last year.
Fundamental to success of Giving Day was the generosity of three benefactors—Jim and Jill Gibson, Don and Penny Pray, and an anonymous donor. Their collective gifts of $75,000 in matching funds helped transform RVCC Giving Day 2026.
The Gibsons’ generosity extends beyond Giving Day, however. Their $500,000, five-year commitment to College’s Center for Environmental Studies builds on their exceptional legacy of support. “We can’t thank the Gibsons enough for their tremendous gift to the Center for Environmental Studies,” said Mike Marion. “Thanks to the Gibsons, our students can gain valuable, real-world experience in professional environmental research, conservation and restoration, servicing local community partners as well as national resources.” The gift will fund 30-50 paid student internships annually in such critical areas as forest ecology, wildlife research, coastal conservation and rare plant research and recovery, open space stewardship and native plant propagation, water quality research, and campus sustainability and outreach.
Among the other highlights of the year was the 22nd Annual RVCC Foundation Golf Classic in June, which raised $162,075. Held at the Neshanic Valley Golf Course, the event also raised $6,500 for a special “FUEL THE RIDE” initiative, which benefits the RVCC Resource Center and Food Pantry. The balance of the net proceeds for the event support scholarships, educational programming, and other strategic initiatives at the College.
The Resource Center and Food Pantry also benefited this year from an anonymous, $50,000 gift—its largest in the College’s history. The Resource Center and Food Pantry addresses food insecurity and provides students with basic needs, helping to alleviate any barriers that might prevent students from achieving their educational goals.
The RVCC Foundation exists to expand support for the College and its key priorities and initiatives. Students are central to the Foundation’s fundraising efforts, as it seeks to supplement support beyond public and tuition income, and to help the College maintain its standing as a premier academic institution serving Somerset and Hunterdon counties.
For those seeking additional information about ways to support the College and the work of the RVCC Foundation, contact Mike Marion at 908-648-8567 or michael.marion@raritanval.edu, or visit https://rvccfoundation.org.
RVCC is located at 118 Lamington Road in Branchburg, NJ. For further information, visit www.raritanval.edu.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 17, 2026
Media contact: Donna Stolzer, 908-526-1200, ext. 8383
PR #6
