Gift Categories
Central Ohio Technical College greatly benefits from the generous charitable contributions from our communities which includes gifts from alumni, parents of students, friends, corporations, associations and foundations. These “gifts of education” continue to be used to further programs, facilities and learning opportunities for our greatest asset, our students.
Create Your Legacy
We are pleased to recognize planned gift donors with lifelong membership in The 1971 Legacy Society at Central Ohio Technical College. Aptly named, this distinguished honor celebrates the legacy of giving that you have created.
The 1971 Legacy Society recognizes alumni, faculty, staff, retirees and other friends who have named COTC as the beneficiary of a planned gift. The name of the society highlights the year COTC received its charter to meet the technical education and training needs of students and employers in the area. This mission continues to be the driving force behind every decision made at the college, and your generosity as a planned gift donor will further enable COTC to meet this important mission.
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Be a Champion for Our Students
Our students are our greatest assets, and your gifts enable the campus to improve the quality of our student’s experience, enriching their lives through education.
Providing job-focused, career-driven technical education, scholarship recipients can earn close to 50 associate degrees (including all options and majors) or certificates, and obtain the high-tech skills and training needed to compete in today’s workforce. Hands-on training in state-of-the-art laboratories prepares COTC students to excel. COTC is the only technical college in the state operating four Higher Learning Commission accredited full-service campuses, Newark, Coshocton, Knox and Pataskala.
The majority of our students are central Ohio residents and, after graduation, and most of our students stay in state, becoming the workforce that powers the Ohio economy and the heart of our neighborhoods, businesses and communities.
Please join us in helping students achieve their educational goals by giving to the scholarship fund of your choice. Your generosity will support scholarships for deserving students who aspire to enrich their lives. We appreciate and thank you for your help in making their dreams become a reality.
There are two options for donating to scholarship funds; the Premier Faculty/Staff Scholarship and the COTC Alumni Scholarship.
Click here to make a gift online.
Honor Nursing Excellence: The Elizabeth Barnhart Award
The Elizabeth Barnhart Award for Nursing Excellence was established by her family to honor the memory of COTC nursing student Elizabeth Barnhart’s commitment to the nursing profession and to offer support to graduates of COTC’s nursing technology program as they begin their career. A 2015 COTC graduate, Barnhart was just beginning a promising career as an emergency room nurse when she was killed in February 2017.
The Barnhart Award will honor a graduating student who exemplifies the highest ideals of the nursing profession: intelligence, commitment, sacrifice, integrity and a compassionate connection to others. Recipients will receive a certificate and a $300 cash stipend to help defray the cost of equipment and career-related fees, including testing and licensure. It will now be the highest honor a COTC nursing graduate can receive.
If you prefer to send a check, please make payable to COTC Elizabeth Barnhart Award and mail to: the Office of Advancement, 1179 University Drive, Newark, Ohio 43055.
Click here to make a gift online.
Support A Future Peace Officer
The Officer Thomas W. Cottrell, Jr. Award for Character and Dedication to Public Service was established by Cottrell’s mother, Melissa Osborn, and is given out at each Peace Officer Basic Training graduation ceremony during the academic year. The $1,000 award assists the recipient with equipment purchases and other expenses associated with beginning a career in law enforcement.
The award is presented by the Cottrell family in memory of Officer Thomas W. Cottrell, Jr., who was senselessly killed in the line of duty while working in the Knox County town of Danville in January 2016. Cottrell was born in Newark and graduated from COTC’s basic police academy in 2002. He served in law enforcement for more than 14 years. It is the highest honor a COTC Peace Officer Basic Training cadet can receive. The college has received up to $30,000 as a matching gift for monies contributed to support this fund.
COTC and Osborn now aim to endow the Cottrell Award. Endowing the fund will allow for three $1,000 awards annually from the endowment’s interest, leaving the fund’s principal untouched so the award can exist in perpetuity. To reach endowment, $60,000 must be raised. Through the generosity of The Ariel Foundation, an avid program supporter of programs that impact the lives of first responders, all donations to the Cottrell Award will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $30,000.
You can make your gift by check or contact the Office of Advancement to discuss other options at 740.364.9514. If you prefer to send a check, please make payable to COTC Cottrell Memorial Fund and mail to: the Office of Advancement, 1179 University Drive, Newark, Ohio 43055.
Help a Dream Come True
The COTC Diversity Scholarship will be awarded to students with demonstrated financial need pursuing a degree in the college’s healthcare technology or law enforcement technology programs. Priority will be given to African American female students followed by African American male students and then students of all diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds.
Click here to make a gift online.
Help Military-affiliated Students Overcome a Financial Crisis
The Veterans Emergency Fund will provide financial assistance for veterans, active duty service members and reservists for expenses caused by unforeseen circumstances that threaten their academic progress and are not covered by military educational benefits or scholarships. Those wishing to support veteran and military students may make a tax-deductible contribution to this fund online at go.cotc.edu/veteransfund or by check written to COTC. Designate Veterans Emergency Fund on the memo line and mail to: Advancement Office, 1179 University Drive, Newark OH 43055. For questions about donating, please contact Melanie Bolender, assistant director of advancement, at bolender.16@mail.cotc.edu.
Help a Student Across the Finish Line
Ken Ollish, associate professor, director of the Radiologic Science Technology program and 32-year COTC employee, hopes to continue to make an impact in perpetuity with the creation of a new scholarship, the Radiologic Science Technology Alumni and Friends Scholarship. When fully funded, it will be awarded to at least one second-year radiologic science technology student with demonstrated financial need. Please consider making a monetary gift to this scholarship fund.
Click here to make a gift online.