Successful Bond Levy Campaign:

From Passage of Vote to Construction

Rural Community Colleges Alliance Conference

October 7, 2008

Panelists• Coordinator: John Noel, VP for Finance and

Administration, noelj@nicc.edu

• Penny Wills, President, willsp@nicc.edu

• Ken Vande Berg, VP for Economic Development, vandek@nicc.edu

• Tracy Kruse, Director of External Relations, kruset@nicc.edu

Outline• Overview of NICC (Penny Wills)

• Community/Economic Development Activities (Ken Vande Berg)

• Bond Levy Strategies (Tracy Kruse)

• Facility Planning and Construction (John Noel)

• Lessons Learned (All)

• Questions and Answers

NICC District

Planning Measures2004 2008

• No College Strategic Plan

• V7 NICC Strategic Plan

• Ltd. Facilities Master Plan

• Facilities addressed in the Bond

• Lack of Enrollment Management Plan

• SEM

• Significant Deferred Maintenance

• Plant Fund becoming solvent

• 2 Distinct Campuses and Various Centers

• One College

Economic Impact• How NICC demonstrated its economic

impact to the constituents– Yearly financial impact of the college and

its students– Partnerships and relationships with

communities– Impact of business and industry

relationships and training– The payoff

Economic Impact• Yearly financial impact of the college

and its students– College service area economy receives

roughly $235 million each from college and student expenditures (3.1% of the area’s total income)

– $21.1 million for local purchases and wages

– $88,000 in student spending from students outside the district

– $215,329,100 in past student productivity

Economic Impact• Area taxpayer sees a 10% return on

every dollar invested in NICC

• For every dollar a student invests in their NICC education, they receive $7.60 in higher future earnings over their career

• NICC graduates add 36% to the area tax base

Economic Impact• Partnerships and relationships with

communities– Active membership in 7 county

development organizations

– Active membership in 1 urban/regional development organization

– Active membership in 11 Chambers of Commerce/Commercial Clubs

– NICC Centers in district communities

Economic ImpactImpact of business/industry relationships & training

Iowa New Jobs Training Program(260E)– 208 projects with 136 industries– $41,230,000 for industry training– Creation of 10,748 new jobs

Iowa Jobs Training Program(260F)– 239 projects with 128 industries– $2,273,081 for industry training– New or enhanced skill training for 6,207

incumbent employees

Iowa ACE(Accelerated Career Education) program– $367,000 annual allocation for career and technical

program creation or expansion– Industry sponsorship

Leveraging our Impact• Feb. 2007 – Our first bond levy

defeated– How do we do things differently?– Clarus Study results showed low

community awareness and name recognition

• We needed to maximize our relationships and demonstrate our impact

First Campaign in Feb. 2007

• A lower profile campaign – Grasstops vs. Grassroots

• Media Relations = A couple press releases and a handful of letters to the editor

• Our Message = How the money would be spent, the buildings we would build, etc.

• A small committee with limited involvement from outside of the college

• Very little marketing dollars spent – only one direct mail piece and a brochure

Second Campaign in Dec. 2007• A second campaign can almost never be

“lower profile”• Grassroots – we reached out to the

community and even neighborhood level.• People outside the college were involved at all

levels• More faculty and staff involvement – a larger

oversight committee w/ more subcommittees• Marketing dollars increased significantly

(from <$10,000 to nearly $150,000)• Most importantly, our message changed.

Ballot MeasureCentral themes

• Educational Campaign– What the College is? (inclusive picture)– What the College does?– The important role the College plays in

educating students AND the communities it serves.

• Make it personal– What does this mean to me personally– What does this mean for my community

Ballot MeasureCentral Educational Themes

• NICC educates a majority of our nurses, EMT’s, medical technicians, police, human services workers, firefighters, etc.

• NICC’s annual impact on our district is estimated to be $235 million

• 1 out of every 6 Northeast Iowa residents has used NICC’s services in the past year

• Provided over $40 million in Business and Industry Training that created over 10,000 new jobs

• 87% of NICC Graduates live, work and pay taxes in Northeast Iowa.

District-wide Marketing• By the Numbers Brochure and insert• Popcorn bags• Buttons• Movie ads• Billboards• Newspaper/magazine ads • Radio ads• Cable TV• Door Hangers• Yard signs• Career Focus Magazine

Examples of all items at: http://web.nicc.edu/files/levy

County Specific Materials

• In addition to district-wide materials, each county committee had its own county-specific materials including:– County-specific economic impact poster– Testimonial posters featuring county and

community leaders– County-specific “By the Numbers” brochure– Newspaper insert with “By the Numbers” info,

community testimonials and county polling sites– News releases featuring area students, graduates

and businesses benefiting from NICC

External Community Initiatives

• Community events/activities (ex. t-shirts)• Perkin’ with Penny events • Advisory Committee meetings• Meetings with newspaper editors• Speaking engagements with community/civic groups,

staff groups, neighborhood associations, school boards, boards of supervisors, etc.

• Provide chambers, economic development, etc w/ information for dissemination to members

• Provide materials to business & industry (ex. packets with pledge cards)

• Displays in libraries, banks, grocery stores, schools• Very active mailing and calling campaign – 5 mailers,

3 robo calls and 2 “live” calls

The Results• A 54% positive vote in Feb. 2007 to a

63% positive vote in December 2007• All counties increased yes % -- two

counties by 17%• An increase of nearly 4000 votes

cast, all positive• Renewal of Instructional Equipment

Levy in September 2008 with 67%

After the Vote: Facility Planning & Construction

• Why a Construction Manager?– Lack of in-house expertise– Multiple projects– Multiple locations– Multiple phases

Construction Management

• Has not been commonly used• Construction manager (CM)

represents the owner• Brings construction expertise to

project from the very beginning• Replaces general manager• Assumes some on-site responsibilities

of architect

Our Experience So Far• Selection of architects• Reduction of costs during design

phase• Preparation of bid documents• Pre-bid and pre-construction meetings• On-site management of project• Participation in meetings with Steering

Committee and with architects

Advantages of CM• Reduction of change orders• On-site foreman working for owner,

not general contractor• Potential for participation by greater

number of contractors• Coordination of effort across multiple

projects

Lessons We Have Learned

• Lessons we have learned• Questions• Thoughts• Thank you!

Contact:Penny Wills, President

Email: willsp@nicc.eduPhone: 563.562.3263 ext 201

Ken Vande Berg, VP for Economic Developmentemail: vandebk@nicc.edu

Phone: 563.562.3263 ext 221

John Noel, VP for Finance & AdministrationEmail: noelj@nicc.eduPhone: 563.562.3263 ext 202

Tracy Kruse, Director of External RelationsEmail: kruset@nicc.eduPhone: 563.562.3263 ext 251

PDF samples of work can be found at: http://web.nicc.edu/files/levy/