• In 1998, a major Jesuit university announced plans to build a new dental school to be open for classes beginning in the fall of 2002, replacing an outdated facility constructed in 1922. The funding for the dental school was to be provided from the State, private sources, and it was hoped, the federal government. Collins & Company immediately began researching potential funding sources and interviewing key congressional staff about the best way to achieve the goal. Collins & Company identified one of the few remaining sources of funding for health care facility construction and worked closely with the University to establish a plan to secure federal appropriations from this account. Collins & Company, and senior officials at the school, worked with key leaders in the government of the State and the state Dental Association to establish broad-based support for the issue, and provided critical information to the congressional delegation. Collins & Company then worked closely with the delegation and key committee staff members of the Subcommittees on Labor, Health and Human Services, and the full Committees on Appropriations to ensure success of the project. To date, the dental school has received $5.2 million.
  
  
• Over a four-year period, Collins & Company worked with key Members of Congress and committee staff members to secure $7.8 million for a library and technology center for a small, private higher education institution. By identifying and cultivating new and innovative funding opportunities and creatively marketing the project in this current environment of limited bricks-and-mortar funding, Collins & Company has ensured that the College is well on the way to securing its federal funding goals for the library.
  
  
• Collins & Company understands the critical nature of the Representative-constituent relationship. It is important, therefore, to bring Members face-to-face with leaders in their communities so policy makers can hear first-hand what community needs are, how polices affect them, and what remedies might be pursued. Collins & Company, working with a National Association, initiated and organized an annual “Washington Fly-In” for state Chief Information Officers (CIOs). CIOs from up to 20 states participated in May 2001, 2002 and 2003, attending nearly 100 meetings over a period of a day and a half. The CIOs spend the last half-day in an “intergovernmental roundtable” which featured CIOs from several federal departments; the 2003 Fly-In this included over 10 federal CIOs. Collins & Company’s initiation of the Fly-In, enabling direct communication between Members and state leaders, and interaction with their federal counterparts, has moved the Association’s Washington agenda to a new level of visibility.
  

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