TRAVERSE CITY — Northwestern Michigan College’s Aviation Division has received two anonymous gifts, one of $150,000 and the other of $100,000, to expand its hangar, purchase additional aircraft and relocate its classrooms. The gifts are the largest received to date by Next Level: The Campaign for NMC Aviation, a fundraising initiative to build the Aviation Division’s capacity and admit more students into the program each year.
The Next Level project, with a price tag of $14 million, will be funded by a combination of government support, bonding, and private philanthropy. The college has received $3.75 million in support from the state of Michigan and $550,000 in federal funding toward the project. The NMC Foundation aims to raise $1 million in private philanthropy toward the project. The two anonymous gifts bring the Foundation’s fundraising total to $390,000.
“We are thrilled and so grateful to these two donors for supporting the Next Level campaign,” said Alex Bloye, Aviation Division director. “As the only two-year flight school in the state, we have the unique opportunity to efficiently train the pilots our world desperately needs. Expanding our hangar and fleet will increase the number of students, and ultimately the number of future pilots, we can admit each year. It’s a win for them, a win for our regional economy and a win for our world, which is relying more and more on air travel every year.”
Next Level: The Campaign for NMC Aviation will expand the Aviation Division by:
- Acquiring at least four new, technically advanced aircraft including two Cessna Skyhawks and two multi-engine planes to increase flight capacity (each additional aircraft allows ten additional students in the program)
- Expanding the hangar’s cold and warm storage capacity, creating space for eight additional planes
- Modernizing the hangar infrastructure including the HVAC system, windows and exterior, reducing energy costs
- Relocating Aviation classrooms to the Parsons-Stulen building, revitalizing and reconfiguring the existing space for simulations, testing and flight planning, ensuring NMC Aviation delivers the most efficient and effective training
To learn more about supporting Next Level: The Campaign for NMC Aviation, visit nmc.edu/next-level or call the NMC Foundation at (231) 995-1021.
Ground was broken on the hangar expansion in October. The NMC Foundation is one of the top 20 community college foundations in the United States. In 2019 the NMC Foundation received a Sustained Excellence Award from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).
Release date: DECEMBER 6, 2024
For more information:
Dino Hernandez
Chief Advancement Officer, Northwestern Michigan College
(231) 995-1103
dhernandez@nmc.edu