VIRGINIA FOUNDATION FOR INDEPENDENT COLLEGES
Founded 1952

Mission and Purposes
The mission of the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges (VFIC) is to advance the distinctive values and strengths of these smaller, undergraduate, residential Virginia member colleges. We do this by securing financial support from the private sector, increasing visibility, facilitating innovative and collaborative initiatives between the colleges, and supporting initiatives which ensure that this personalized educational experience remains an affordable choice for tomorrow's citizen-leaders.

• To provide collaborative opportunities to strengthen the liberal arts mission and external message of the Member Colleges
• To solicit and receive funds for the benefit and use of the Member Colleges
• To distribute funds to the Member Colleges: 60% equally and 40% based on full-time undergraduate enrollment
• To foster and promote the progress of the Member Colleges and to stimulate interest among alumni and friends
• To interpret the aims, functions and needs of the Member Colleges to better articulate their importance to the state and nation
• To strengthen and complement the Member Colleges' ongoing efforts to become more diverse and inclusive communities for students and faculty

Current Priorities

• Unrestricted funds to support the Member Colleges’ operating budgets
• Scholarships and financial aid for deserving students
• Faculty development funds to enhance instructional excellence
• Providing students from under-represented populations with the opportunity for a college education
• Research opportunities for undergraduate students to work with faculty mentors
• Ethics and character development through annual Ethics Bowl and campus programs
• Grants to support new academic or co-curricular program initiatives that can be addressed collaboratively and collectively by a consortium rather than individually by each institution

Benefits of Attending a VFIC College

• VFIC colleges and universities offer a supportive, personalized environment where students can succeed
• Professors are accessible with student to faculty ratios averaging around 10:1 Nearly 50% of VFIC student graduate in four years as compared to just 28% in Virginia public colleges and universities
• VFIC colleges average about 1,200 undergraduate students and classes rarely have more than 20 students—individualized attention from Ph.D. faculty members is the norm, not the exception
• VFIC campuses have extensive opportunities for students to lead and participate in a myriad of academic, volunteer, and athletic programs
• Graduates of smaller, liberal arts colleges and universities fill over 50% of corporate CEO positions in America despite that only 25% of diplomas each year are awarded from these colleges
• 60% of the VFIC’s Member Colleges have been tapped for chapters of Phi Beta Kappa, the highest percentage of any state association in the nation

Economic Impact in Virginia

• The 15 VFIC institutions enroll 21,000 full-time undergraduate students; eight of the VFIC colleges have graduate programs
• VFIC colleges employ over 6,000 people statewide and have a combined payroll of almost $225 million
• 11,000 out-of-state families send their children to VFIC colleges each year and invest millions of dollars in Virginia's economy
• VFIC colleges contribute more than $1 billion annually to Virginia's economy
• VFIC colleges save Virginia’s taxpayers millions of dollars each year by providing a strong alternative to the state’s crowded university system
• Annually, 3,000+ graduates from VFIC colleges and universities strengthen Virginia’s workforce
• Of the 180,000 living alumni from the VFIC colleges, 90,000 reside and work in Virginia after graduation