With construction well underway, the Â鶹´«Ã½AVeast Regional College has moved onto the next task of filling the Saskatchewan Energy Training Institute.
The college and the Â鶹´«Ã½AVeast College Education Foundation held an open house Thursday in the Canyon Technical Services shop to officially kick off the capital fundraising campaign for the SETI facility that is scheduled to open later this year.
Although the cost of the institute - $14 million - has been well documented, what many in the public are unaware of is that money is only for construction costs. The regional college still needs to raise as much as $3.5 million more for everything from desks to equipment for the various classrooms. The college also introduced a donor recognition program that will allow interested businesses or donors to purchase naming rights or sponsor scholarships. The program also includes a number of special partnership options.
Craig Brown, the CEO of the regional college, said they will be approaching a number of businesses in the energy industry and asking them to help the college make the institute the best it possibly can be.
"We have worked with many of you in the past. You have helped us shape the type of programming we want to do in the building, we want you to continue to work with us and continue to be our partner so that we can make sure that we have absolutely the most state-of-the-art programming taking place in that building and that we have the equipment and resources necessary so that we can deliver that top quality programming," said Brown.
"That is where you will come in helping us to move that next step forward."
Ian McLennan, the executive director of the education foundation, said none of the money raised in the capital campaign will go towards the construction of the institute. It will be used solely to provide the necessary elements to help the facility function on a day-to-day basis.
"We have three training labs there so what we are looking for is the equipment to go into the labs," said McLennan. "For instance there might be an instrumentation training lab, safety and first aid, WHIMIS; we'll need equipment for that and basic equipment we'll need for standard classrooms. You think about what you'll need on a drill site, that is what we are going to be looking for."
McLennan said they haven't set a target date for raising the money but he is confident that all the legwork they have already completed will help them hit the $3.5 million mark within a year.
"I think we'll do it within a year if not sooner," he said. "We have done a lot of work now and with (foundation chairman Jim Wilson's) support, we have come up with a list and we'll be chatting with them."
Wilson, who along with McLennan, has the task of raising the $3.5 million, shares the executive director's confidence and said he also expects a number of local companies will also step up with work in kind support.
"We anticipate once we know exactly what is going to go in the facility, the local businesses will step up and make that happen whether it's well heads or blow-out preventors," Wilson said. "We actually have some commitments that at this point we don't want to mention. There has been a lot of interest and we are dealing with quite a few companies."
Wilson said in designing their fundraising campaign, they took pains to make sure all companies, big or small, would be able to make contributions whether it be financial support or equipment. He said they will also allow groups to spread their contributions out over a 10-year period, a tactic that was met with great success in other programs such as the Spectra Place fundraising campaign.
"It's very difficult to ask head offices for hundreds of thousands of dollars in one lump. But a commitment over five or 10 years is very doable and measurable. There is naming rights, a wall of fame type place where we'll recognize all donors. We are finalizing this and seeing how people step up."
