With the establishment of an endowment at the College of Lake County, more students will be able to afford and complete their education there well into the future thanks to a record $6.065 million donation from Schreiber Philanthropy.

Unlike donations earmarked for a building or project, CLC President Lori Suddick said the gift will be used for scholarships and other student-centered needs, making the school more affordable and stress-free for a larger number of students.

“This gift will open the door for access to a college education for hundreds of students who would never have the opportunity because of the financial cost,” Suddick said. “This will give access to students who would not have considered college before.”

Schreiber Philanthropy made the record donation to the college on Monday, benefiting its three campuses in Grayslake, Waukegan and Vernon Hills, in part to create an endowment enabling scholarships now and well into the future.

Donors to the college since 2014, Suddick said Schreiber Philanthropy is a significant benefactor. This contribution is more than double the contributions received from any benefactor at one time.

Divided into four components, Leigh Ann Jacobson, the executive director of the College of Lake County Foundation, said the major portion of the donation is earmarked for the establishment of an endowment to allow scholarships to continue well into the future.

Most of the money going into the endowment will form what Jacobson termed the “corpus,” which will eventually generate revenue to fund scholarships indefinitely.  A smaller amount will be used to help finance students’ education in the immediate future until the endowment matures.

“This gift is meant to do more than support today; it is meant to inspire tomorrow,” Jacobson said. “Since it’s a pooled endowment, the gift is inspirational in its generosity to encourage others to give. Part of the gift will support students now while the endowment is growing.”

Bethany Williams, Schreiber Philanthropy’s Lake County portfolio manager, said in a news release from CLC, that finding a way for students to pursue their education without financial pressure was a goal of the endowment and the donation overall.

“We asked the CLC team to dig into data on the number of students each year who have unmet need,” Williams said in the release. “This grant will help make a CLC education possible for many students who are furthest from opportunity, but there are still more who need support.”

Suddick said while community colleges like CLC are significantly less expensive than four-year universities, public or private, some students on the school’s three campuses still face financial barriers to their education.

“We know of at least 450 students who face unmet financial costs,” she said. “We want to prevent students from having any debt. When they can focus on their education, the outcomes are better for them, for the community and for the workforce.”

Along with money for the endowment, Jacobson said a portion of the Schreiber Philanthropy donation will help “build overall student success and provide collateral relevant for student-centered services.”

“They will provide a sense of welcomeness to the campus,” Jacobson said. “They (could) translate materials like signage, brochures and pamphlets into languages such as Spanish.”

A portion of the record donation will be used to supplement the Lancer Emergency Assistance Fund (LEAP). Jacobson said LEAP provides money for basic needs like housing, transportation or utilities when a crisis arises.

“Our goal is to remove the needs barrier,” Jacobson said. “We want to take these barriers away so students can stay on their path to completion of their education.”

With a significant number of CLC students being parents with young children, Jacobson said the donation will also help fund child care services.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/07/college-of-lake-county-record-donation/