• In 1997, the president of a major state university approached Collins & Company with the idea of forming an informal coalition of universities to address the precipitous decline in funding for international agricultural development by USAID. In 1985, funding for international agriculture was $1.2 billion. However, by 1997, that figure had fallen to only $240 million. The president of the university believed that international agriculture needed an advocate; the environment, HIV/AIDS, women, and population causes, employing lobbyists, had seen large increases in funding. He saw an important opportunity for university leadership and he asked Collins & Company to assist him in forming the International Agriculture Group and in ensuring that the coalition had an impact. In 2000, the IAG formally became part of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC) and was renamed the International Agriculture Coordinating Committee. Collins & Company has worked closely with the leadership of the group to advocate for increased funding for international agriculture and rural development with Congress and USAID. By presenting a unified and consistent message, IACC has achieved success: the Administration requested $400 million for fiscal year 2003, a 60% increase from the time of our first intervention. The fiscal year 2004 request was over $470 million. This dramatic increase is attributable to the work of the coalition – the only voice in support of this issue for a long time – and the knowledge and expertise of Collins & Company. The original goal the group established was to have international agriculture funded at $500 million. With continued efforts, this goal – representing a doubling of the budget – that once seemed improbable can soon be achieved.

• 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 an environment of reduced “bricks-and-mortar” funding, Collins & Company has helped ensure that the College is well on the way to securing federal funding goals for the library.

• 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announced plans to build a new dental school to be open for classes beginning in the fall of 2002, replacing an outdated facility constructed in 1922.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 achieve funding for the project. To date, the dental school has received $5.2 million.

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