Bainbridge State College has witnessed an early success in their “Deeply Rooted. Firmly Driven” capital campaign, raising $869, 550 of an initial goal of $1.15 million. With seventy percent of the goal already reached, the BSC Foundation Board of Trustees has increased the goal to $1.3 million by the end of the year.

Members of the Bainbridge State College Foundation Board of Trustees and campaign chairman celebrated the official public launch of the campaign Wednesday at the BSC Kirbo Center.

“I am especially proud to present a check to Dr. Carvajal and the college, on behalf of the Foundation, for gifts and commitments already received in the amount of $897,052,” campaign co-chairman Dan Ponder said while presenting a check to BSC President Richard Carvajal.

Other co-chairmen for the campaign are Dewey Robinson and Charlie Kirbo.

Funds raised from the campaign will be allocated to four areas.

Funds for excellence, designated to receive $350,000, will provide BSC with the flexibility and the mobility to act on timely opportunities as they emerge, such as new academic programs or open source textbooks.

Student scholarships are set to receive $600,000 of the campaign funds. BSC offers endowed scholarships, retention “GAP scholarships and recruitment scholarships for students.

The continuation of the Arts and Lecture Series is set to receive $150,000 and $50,000 is planned to go toward Global Perspective, which creates programs to bring visiting scholars to BSC and send students to study abroad.

As the first capital campaign created by BSC, it has received a 99 percent participation rate from faculty and staff since it’s inception. Of the 465 donors to date, 306 are new donors who have never before given to the college.

“For me personally, I got involved in Bainbridge State College’s Foundation many years ago,” Ponder said. “The work they have done and the return on my investment in the Foundation has never let me down. Being involved in BSC isn’t just a way for my family to give something back; it is a way that keeps this part of Georgia we love a good place to live. It gives us not only hope for the individual students, but hope for our communities.”

With the recent success BSC has had in graduating and sending students to other colleges and universities, the University System of Georgia has named BSC as a Vanguard College, Carvajal said.

“This is a designation given out to us because they appreciated the amount of effort, the amount of innovation and the amount of success this institution was enjoying in that area,” Carvajal said.