Fund allocation and Priorities

Organized fund-raising has been identified as an important element of the activities of the NSAC and the establishment of the Development and Alumni Relations Office is recognition of that priority. There are a number of priorities that the NSAC has identified as potential for fund-raising efforts by faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the NSAC. Additional details on these priorities are available by contacting staff of the Development Office. Funds will be sought for these areas through annual fund-raising efforts, major gift solicitation and corporate sponsorship.

Scholarships and Bursaries

The NSAC has one of the best student scholarship programs of any university in Canada. In 2003 for example it dispersed more than $750,000 in awards. In addition to the many named scholarships sponsored by individuals and organizations (both endowed and contributed to annually) there are many other scholarships funded by NSAC and government for students.

There is an additional need to secure and expand these awards by other means. It takes approximately $25,000 in an endowed fund to support a $1,000 annual award. Although there are many undergraduate scholarships, there is a need to expand the awards to support graduate studies as well as international students. Additional awards are needed in the following categories.

scholarships for Technician, Technology, Undergraduate and Graduate degree students
International student scholarships
student research awards
bursaries of all types

The Second Century Endowment Campaign is designed to address this objective.

Teaching Development Fund

Teaching and Learning represent one facet of the academic mission at NSAC, the other two being research scholarly activity and service to the College and beyond. In most cases the larger portion of the workload of a faculty member is associated with teaching courses within the three academic streams, technical, undergraduate and graduate. This is expected of all teaching professionals and yet it does not generate the same level of support from sources external to the College as research generally does. The Teaching Development Fund of NSAC bridges that gap by providing funding to qualified teaching personnel specifically to support teaching and learning.

Some examples of the use of resources from this fund include:

Provision of teaching/learning workshops and seminars on the NSAC campus
Purchase of teaching/learning software
Provision of travel support for a teaching professional to attend a conference
Support for the purchase of discipline-specific materials required for teaching
Support for faculty members to further the generation of classroom materials
Funding of new classroom equipment purchases. The Adopt-a-Classroom project is designed to provide funding in this area.
Provision of honoraria to encourage respected educators to visit NSAC

Infrastructure Capital Fund

The NSAC is fortunate to have some of the best facilities of any university in the province. However there is a constant need to be able to maintain, upgrade and expand as the years go by and demands change. Provincial budgets have not kept pace with this demand and an additional source of funding is required. There is a long list of needs for funding in this category.

Library expansion and Improvement
poultry facilities
greenhouse and landscape horticulture facilities
Cox Institute/Plant Science renovations and modernization
Student Union/Centre Project
Improved ventilation system for Alumni Theatre and Athletic Centre
Alumni Gardens improvements and other outdoor infrastructure
Improvements to residences
campus centerpiece project (proposed to be a clock to be located centrally on campus)
campus and roadside signage
athletic centre sports medicine clinic facilities

Library Development Fund

Support of the Library has always been a priority of the NSAC. A trust fund has long been established to help support the functioning of the library helping to purchase new equipment, books and periodicals. The library development fund needs additional capital to become self-sustaining

Athletics Development Fund

Athletics is an important element of student life on the NSAC campus and we are fortunate to have an excellent Athletic Centre and committed staff to support it. However, there is always a need for additional funding sources for projects and activities such as training, team travel etc.

Research Program Matching Funds

The NSAC has been very successful in the last few years in attracting support for research infrastructure and personnel through various government programs. The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) has awarded support for the agronomy, fur and poultry programs. The Canada Research Chairs program has allocated four positions to the NSAC. There are several applications for funding from the Atlantic Innovation Fund (AIF). All of these programs require an element of "matching funding" to capture the full amount of the federal grant. Money is sought from provincial sources or from internal budgets of the NSAC, however our ability to meet all the required amounts is increasingly strained. For this reason we are turning to private sources for the required matching amounts.

The NSAC will establish a fund where matching funding can be found for the various projects. In some cases there will be sub-funds created that will be endowed for long term support of specific programs. In other cases the matching funds will be expended in support of the project on a one time basis. Committees made up of various interest groups will work to raise and allocate the funds necessary for each project. There are already several projects currently active and looking for matching funds and others will be established as warranted.