“Team Drive” strategy can boost annual fund dollars through increased volunteer participation
All across the nation, athletic departments are relying more and more on the efforts of volunteers to assist in the securing of private funds. Whether it be because development staffs are winnowing in size due to budget cuts/rightsizing, or, because athletic departments are facing larger cuts and the need to increase private funds is a matter of maintaining the course, volunteer fundraising boards and “team drive” strategies are becoming more and more popular.
Most athletic boards already require a minimum donation/attainment for participation, but even that isn’t enough these days. In 2009, Northwestern State University introduced a minimum attainment standard for members of its Board of Directors that could either be met by making personal donations or assisting the department in soliciting donations or ticket sales.
This year, for the 2010-11 Demon Victory Fund drive, we’ll introduce a team drive concept. Individuals who have been identified as people interested in assisting the department in fundraising efforts have been asked to form teams of four. Those teams will be supplied with annual fund literature and call lists/prospect lists as requested. They will then compete against other four person teams to see who can raise the most money and sign up the most new members. We are optimistic about signing up a minimum of 15 teams, and are hopeful that we can sign up even more.
Each team will receive membership benefits based on how much they raise (if a group raises $X, they receive the membership benefits based on $X). The team that signs up the most new members will receive a home football prize package that includes a tailgating party, sideline passes, and passes to watch a home football game from the President’s Box. The team that raises the most money will receive flight and hotel accommodations, as well as passes and a Friday evening meal with the team for our September 3rd-5th trip to Colorado Springs where we will take on the Air Force Academy in our season opening football game.
I will post each week on the progress of this team drive, as the next two weeks will be our recruitment phase. Then, for the next eight weeks, we will have the team drive competition. Finally, I’ll announce the final tally once the competition concludes on august 15th. Wish us luck, and let me know if you have similar initiatives at your institution.
Dr. William Broussard, Associate Director of Athletics, Northwestern State University