Business View Magazine | April 2019

157 kids can have a great education, not only in pre-school and kindergarten, but even post- secondary. So, seven years ago, we brought a community college to our downtown – Ivy Tech Community College. We took another derelict corner of our downtown; we partnered with the private sector and county government; we fundraised $2.1 million from the private sec- tor and matched that with some public funds; and built a beautiful, new community college campus in the heart of Frankfort. “We are going to be approaching the City Council about launching what we are call- ing the Frankfort Promise Program. Any young person who lives in Frankfort and graduates with a high school diploma or a high school equivalency, if they want to go through the Ivy Tech Community College Foundation process, get a state scholarship or a school scholarship, and then if there’s a funding gap for them to receive that two-year degree or certificate, the City of Frankfort, partnering with Center Town- ship of Clinton County and the private sector, will take care of those last dollars. So, we’re guaranteeing our young people that they can at least get an Associate Degree or a workforce certificate. “We just launched it and hope that it will be implemented this year. We’re going to put in $50,000 to start; Center Township is putting in $38,000 to start, and we have a goal of fund- raising another $50,000 from the private sec-