The Peralta Colleges Foundation, established in 1971 as an auxiliary nonprofit of the Peralta Community College District, will host several fundraising events to support students grant and scholarship opportunities throughout the year. Here’s a look back at the most recent event hosted by the Foundation, and two of their scheduled upcoming events.
Peralta Piano Party
On Feb. 27, The Peralta Colleges Foundation hosted its inaugural Peralta Piano Party fundraiser at the district’s service center atrium. Donors and sponsors were invited to “be part of the impact” by “directly investing in the success of our students.”
Guests found themselves surrounded by atmospheric lighting with plenty of drinks, appetizers, a charcuterie board, desserts and live music to enjoy.
District Chancellor and Foundation Officer Tammeil Gilkerson told The Citizen that the goal for the night was to have fun and raise money for the Foundation.
“The Peralta Colleges Foundation is there to support students through our scholarships, through Basic Needs support and [in] many, many different ways. So the more funds we raise, the more opportunity to provide scholarships and support for the colleges and students,” Gilkerson said.
General admission tickets were priced at $50 per attendee, while sponsorship prices started at $1,000 and went as high as $12,500. Guests were encouraged to make additional donations throughout the night by paying for song requests from the live band.
The nights featured artists were the Felix and Fingers Dueling Pianos cover band, to entertain attendees. Guests could engage in bidding wars over the music by making extra donations to skip other guests’ songs.
Felix and Fingers Dueling Pianos played songs like Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” and Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline.” Some songs requested by guests included AC/DC’s “Sweet Child O’mine” and Bad Bunny’s “Tití Me Preguntó.”
The event was a full community effort. The night also featured Laney College’s culinary students, who helped serve appetizers to guests.
“We always want to feature our students and their incredible work,” said Gilkerson. “We’re always excited to always highlight the talent of our students.”
In an email to The Citizen, Peralta’s Chief Operating Officer Greg Nelson wrote that the event raised $87,500 in total.
Event Sponsors
Sponsors for the event included Alten Construction, the construction company contracted by the district for work on College of Alameda’s Transportation Technology Center.
Additional event sponsors were previous district contractors Keenan Associates, Backstrom McCarley Berry & Co LLC, and Future Flooring Group.
Other sponsors included investment bankers Piper Sandler and Siebert William Shank Foundation, who became district contractors on March 24.
The Citizen spoke to President of Future Flooring Group, Conrad Sotelo. According to Nelson, Sotelo is a big supporter of the Peralta Colleges Foundation.
“I was a community college student,” said Sotelo, “I know how tough it is to financially stay in college right now, so anything that we can do for the Foundation, for the college[s], to help the [students] out is awesome.
Future Fundraising Events
On March 20, District Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chancellor Greg Nelson announced at the Planning and Budgeting Committee meeting that the Peralta Foundation will host its annual golf tournament and the second annual Peralta Pumpkin Pursuit later this year.
The Dr. William ‘Bill’ Riley “Swing for Student Success” golf tournament will take place on June 8 at the Richmond Country Club in Richmond, CA. Participants will be able to register for $400 per person and $1,600 for a team of four. Nelson said the district is working to get sponsors for the event.
The Peralta Pumpkin Pursuit will return on Oct. 17 where attendees will be able to register for a 5 kilometer or 10 kilometer race. Last year’s event saw over 300 participants race across the Oakland Hills at Merritt College and raise over $75,000 for the Peralta Foundation.
