In response to recent economic strictures imposed by state and local property tax structures and inflation, those responsible for operating community colleges have been forced to look for supplementary sources of funds at the state and federal levels. With this reach for necessary supplemental resources have come both explicit and subtle inducements encouraging the community colleges to develop specific types of programs. To examine the real and imagined impact of federal financing on community college operations, the Center for the Development of Community College Education at the University of Washington cooperated with interested trustee groups in Washington, Oregon, and California to organize an educational "federal funding" conference for trustees and administrators of public community colleges. The topics explored at this conference included: (1) the funding crisis endemic in higher education; and (2) the problems and pitfalls as well as the advantages of community college grantsmanship and the structure, philosophy and operational problems of federal funding agencies. (Author/AL)