Your Dollars at Work

Putting Our Community to Work For a Stronger Economy

Education and skills training can take a person from a low-income job to a family-wage career, with economic independence and hope for a stable future.

Here’s how your BTC Foundation donation can transform lives for good:*

•  Students obtain the advanced skills employers need, to successfully compete for family-wage jobs.
• An associate’s degree in Whatcom County means a mid-career income of $38,600—35% higher than a high-school graduates.
• Financial security for BTC grads means demand for goods and services increases.
• BTC students’ increased incomes, plus the boost in productivity from the businesses that employ them, expand Washington’s tax base by an estimated $14.4 million each year.
• BTC students are less likely to draw welfare or unemployment benefits, commit crimes, smoke or abuse alcohol.
• Children are healthier, and families are strengthened.
• A BTC education reduces poverty, crime and the need for social services, saving the public nearly $840,000 in annual associated costs. These benefits will accrue for years into the future.

Your donation to BTC puts people to work right here—and elevates the entire region. Please consider making a generous gift.

*Source: Economic Modeling Specialists Inc., The Economic Contributions of Bellingham Technical College, February 2011. Data sources include: the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; U.S. Census Bureau; and various studies and surveys related to education and social behavior.