GCCC Awarded Over $130,000 in State Tax Credits

Garden City Community College

[Garden City, KS] July 10, 2020 – Garden City Community College has been selected by the Kansas Department of Commerce to receive Community Service Tax Credits in the amount of $130,708.

The program will allow the GCCC Endowment Association to sell 70% tax credits towards the purchase of two mobile anatomage tables that the college will share with about a dozen local western Kansas high schools, according to GCCC President Dr. Ryan Ruda.

“We are grateful to the state of Kansas for their support of this worthy project,” said Dr. Ruda said. “This program ensures that we can help provide cutting edge biological health science education with state-of-the-art tools to the students in our region.”

Anatomage tables provide three-dimensional, high-resolution mapping of both human bodies and select animal cadavers. They are generally more precise than traditional cadaver labs.

They also provide students with a hands-on learning environment that allows individuals to digitally dissect and rotate incredibly complex anatomical structures.

“The hands-on experience will improve learning for students in remote settings and generate homegrown talent for STEM careers in western Kansas,” Dr. Ruda added.

Once purchased, the portable equipment will be loaned to area high schools on a rotating basis specifically in communities with less than 15,000 residents.

GCCC will also be collaborating with Fort Hays State University to develop training and continuing education for K-12 educators to optimize teaching and use of these high-tech learning tools.

Community tax credits are a tool that dramatically enhance fundraising efforts, providing a 70% tax credit to qualified donors in rural communities of less than 15,000 population, according to state commerce department.

For example, a donor making a $100 gift in a rural community receives a $70 tax credit when they file their state taxes, making the net cost to the donor only $30.

GCCC is one of 25 Kansas non-profits from across the state who were selected based on a competitive, score-based selection process. A total of 53 agencies applied for funds.

“These Community Service Tax Credit awards will be a major factor in the success of these important community projects,” said Kansas Secretary of Commerce David Toland in a release.

Local donors interested in purchasing state tax credits for this project should contact GCCC Endowment Director Jeremy Gigot at 620-276-6570 or jeremy.gigot@gcccks.edu.

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