Arkansas State Red Wolf Club partners with local businesses

Arkansas State’s Red Wolf Club is building on the success of a football promotion to bring local businesses to the newly renovated Tomlinson Stadium and Kell Field. ASU worked with the Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce during football season on the annual “Paint the Town Red” promotion that rewarded Jonesboro area businesses on showing their Red Wolf pride. The Red Wolf Club is bringing ten category winners to ten different games to show its appreciation for the organization’s participation in “Paint the Town Red.”

Baseball at a lot of schools can be an afterthought, but Arkansas State has invested quite a bit of money in its program in recent years with its $250,000 stadium upgrade. The Red Wolf Club is showing off these renovations to local area businesses that have already shown an interest in ASU Athletics. Bringing the business to the games along with 50 employees or clients allows the Red Wolf Club development staff to get in front of Jonesboro area citizens within its upgraded stadium.

While not every school has the facility options that Arkansas State does, these events brings in supporters from local area businesses engaged in the football program to a baseball game. Tying it in with a successful football program that has community buy-in increases its chances of success.

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Sean Phifer

UNCW delights donors with “Dancing with the Stars” event

The University of North Carolina Wilmington used a unique fundraising event to raise money for student-athletes through its “Dancing with the Wilmington Stars: Seahawk Style” banquet. The event raised $110,000 for the Seahawk Club, the development arm for UNCW Athletics. The contest Wilmington-area celebrities paired together and included a champion based on a judge vote and a fan vote. The fan vote was conducted based on people in attendance and an online poll. UNCW charged $10 per vote, with all funds benefiting Seahawk student-athletes.

The Dancing with the Stars event was the first of its kind at UNCW and the results exceeded department expectation despite bad weather the night of the event. The concept ties together the extremely popular television show with UNCW athletics in a banquet-type format. Participants danced to popular music from different decades and delighted 450 attendees of the event.

This kind of event is a great way to involve donors in a fun environment outside of the stadium or arena. It provides a new fundraising event strategy from the more common auction used at many schools. It rides the popularity of the television show “Dancing with the Stars,” which is popular amongst older demographics. Other events similar to this could have similar success around shows like “Dancing with the Stars” or “American Idol.” These events might also gain support if they involve student-athletes.

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Sean Phifer

Professional Conduct: Development Officers are Never ‘Off-Duty’

Read and pondered Ross Bjork’s post on NAADD this morning (found here: http://www.nacda.com/sports/naadd/spec-rel/020810aab.html) about professional conduct.  In it, Bjork, Senior Associate Director of Athletics at UCLA, points out that first impressions, presentation skills, and professional etiquette are all important to the work that we do, and most importantly, that “It is okay to have fun socially but be mindful of your surroundings and who is watching.”

Because first impressions create the lens through which we may be seen for an extended period of time, it’s important to keep in mind that even though we are off the clock, we’re not really ever off-duty.  Recently, I was invited to attend a gathering by a generous supporter of the program, and got to put this adage into practice.  We have a tradition down here, affiliated with Mardi Gras, called “12^th Night.” In the Catholic faith, it’s the 12^th night after Christmas, purportedly the night when the wise men first meet Jesus. In the Louisiana faith, it’s the first Mardi Gras party night of the year (officially, anyhow)!

In attendance at this party was our Athletic Board president, two other Board members, several co-workers, our largest annual donor, and many other alumni and friends of the university.  Without indemnifying anyone in particular, I’ll say that the beverages were in no short supply, and everyone was feeling A-OK.  I had a drink or two, as is my custom (there is a great John Lee Hooker tune, that I use as my guideline in such situations) and, by the end of the evening, I am certain that I was among the most sober folks in the room.  I made several visits, made some good connections, and even established a couple of follow up meetings (I had to work quickly!) and, by avoiding the temptation to follow suit and let my hair down, hopefully made a good impression on everyone in attendance (at least so far as they could remember!).

Monday morning, our largest annual donor emailed me and complimented me on my professionalism in the face of such temptation.  Actually it was a good-natured ribbing about ‘always being on the clock,’ but I figure that has to be worth something.

If nothing else, it’s better than the alternative, which could be losing the support of that donor because of actions that I may not have even remembered.

Ross says it better than I do, so please, check out his write-up on the NACDA/NAADD website:http://www.nacda.com/sports/naadd/spec-rel/020810aab.html.

William Broussard

Signing Day events take center stage

UCF Athletics

National Signing Day took place on Wednesday, February 3^rd, marking the first day high school seniors could sign a National Letter of Intent to participate in collegiate athletics. In recent years, this event has become somewhat of a national holiday for college football fans. As a result of the excitement surrounding Signing Day, athletic departments nationwide hosted Signing Day parties to harness the buzz generated by fans.

The University of Central Florida’s Signing Day Party, a popular annual event, was open to the public for the first time this year at UCF Arena. An appearance by head football coach George O’Leary highlighted the evening, as he officially announced the 2010 recruiting class. Performances by cheerleaders, a silent auction, and free food and beverage all contributed to the spirited environment.

The Golden Knights Club, the official fundraising arm of UCF Athletics, also leveraged the excitement in a distinctive way. A pre-event social was held for Bronze-level donors ($1,000) or higher prior to the beginning of the public festivities.

Development personnel need to recognize the unique opportunity Signing Day presents the department. The promise of future players taking the program to new heights has the ability to excite an entire sports community. On this day there are no losses, only optimism.

With a number of non-development related groups (i.e. LSU Tiger Gridiron Club) currently hosting their own celebrations on Signing Day, more schools need to follow the example set by programs such as UCF and focus this special excitement toward one athletic department sanctioned event.

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Matt Kirinovic

Schools shift temporary fundraising focus to Haiti

After disasters like the earthquake that occurred in Haiti two weeks ago, many schools and athletics departments change their fundraising focus from the student-athlete to people in need. It is times like these that show the true character of individuals and schools alike as they work to help people they have never even met. There is a different objective in asking for donations for a disaster than for asking for money for a facility upgrade. Instead of focusing on developing student-athletes and athletics departments for the future, I am going to highlight some of the steps being taken by schools to help the people of Haiti through this crisis.

Southeast Missouri collected donations for the American Red Cross Haiti Relief and Development Fund at each of its basketball games as well as the WWE professional wrestling match it hosted. Kentucky raised over $1 million for Haiti in five hours using a last-minute telethon that featured Men’s Basketball Coach John Calipari and had the #1 Wildcats basketball team answering phone calls. The University of Utah’s Student-Athlete Advisory Council partnered with Soles4Souls to collect gently used shoes for Haiti. They collected the shoes and spare change at Utah’s Men’s Basketball and Gymnastics meets last week. These are just a few of the hundreds of commendable fundraising efforts being done by schools across the county.

There are a few distinct differences between fundraising for relief efforts by athletics departments and the day-to-day fundraising done by athletics departments. Relief fundraising is more dependent upon normal events taking place at the school. Southeast Missouri not only took advantage of its home basketball games but also a WWE event that came to campus. While development takes place everyday and at every sporting event, you will very rarely see collection boxes for a scholarship fund at a basketball games. Schools collecting aid for Haiti aren’t expecting to receive major gifts; those will be given directly to the Red Cross, UNICEF, or another aid organization, whereas a large percentage of schools have development staff devoted to major gifts. Collecting money for Haiti is a great public relations move by a school, but schools rarely release press releases when they are putting on a donor specific event because that is part of its day-to-day operations. In the end, fundraising for Haiti and for an athletics department has similarities, but they each fill a different objective for the athletics department.

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Sean Phifer

Watch parties allow schools to target out-of-town alumni

Two Missouri Valley Conference schools have utilized basketball game watch parties this past week as a way to engage alumni and supporters across the country. Bradley University and Creighton University took advantage of nationally televised games to connect with alumni outside of Normal, Illinois and Omaha, Nebraska, respectively.

Bradley attempted to stir its supporter base with “BU Coast to Coast” broadcasting the Braves game against Missouri Valley Conference pre-season favorite Northern Iowa on Tuesday, January 12. Bradley pitched the watch parties by saying “BU Coast to Coast” is the next best thing to cheering on the Braves in Carver Arena. While the Braves ended up losing to Northern Iowa, the national exposure provided a unique environment for local alumni chapters to gather across the country and wear their school colors with pride.

Creighton put on a similar event with its “Get Blue National Game-Viewing” on Saturday, January 16. The Jays took on Missouri Valley rival Wichita State on ESPN2, and many of Creighton’s 20 national alumni chapters participated in the event. The Jays squeaked out a 57-56 victory over the Shockers, much to the delight of the alumni watching across the country.

Many schools across the country use watch parties for bowl games or rivalry football games, but they are not as common with other sports. Bradley and Creighton are both non-football schools that have men’s basketball as its main revenue generator. Watch parties represent a great way for any athletics department to partner with the alumni association and take advantage of national television exposure.

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Sean Phifer

TCU Baseball Leverages Celebrity Appearance at Annual Banquet

The Texas Christian University Baseball team will host its 7^th annual First Pitch Banquet on Friday, February 5^th. Current ESPN analyst and former Texas Ranger and New York Mets manager Bobby Valentine will make a guest appearance at the event along with the members of the 2010 TCU baseball team.

The First Pitch Banquet includes a silent auction and reception dinner to benefit the TCU baseball program. The cost of registration is $100 per seat, with all support being used to offset scholarship, equipment, and travel aide expenses. The banquet serves as the signature event for the baseball team each year.

The majority of athletic departments allocate a large portion of their annual donations to supporting the general scholarship fund, offsetting yearly scholarship costs for all varsity sports. The TCU baseball team illustrates how individual teams can also contribute to raising money for their program. The First Pitch Banquet is a great example of using an event to cultivate, solicit, and steward avid baseball supporters, as well as strengthen fans’ relationships with the coaching staff and players. Additionally, leveraging relationships with celebrities like Bobby Valentine will help create an unforgettable experience for all who attend the event. This unique, targeted approach will continue to pay dividends for both the baseball team and the athletic department.

by Matt Kirinovic

Women at Play Fundraiser Event

Athletics Development Frontier has reported previously about how schools are cultivating female donors and engaging their former female athletes.  Kent State recently received a large gift from former associate athletics director, Judy Devine, and several universities use football clinics dedicated to women to build excitement for their football programs.  At the University of Northern Iowa, the Panther Scholarship Club is using Comedy as their medium to attract female donors and support the nine women’s athletics teams on campus.

On Friday, January 29, the athletics department will host an evening event at the local Joker’s Comedy Club in Cedar Falls Iowa featuring comedian Rex Havens.  The event, which includes a VIP reception, a silent auction, complimentary hors d’oeuvres and spirits, and a night of guaranteed laughs, is put on entirely to support women’s athletics at UNI.  Tickets, which cost $40 ($45 at the door), are available to the public and all proceeds from the event go to the Women at Play Endowment, the UNI female student-athlete scholarship fund.

The night’s events are a fantastic example of creativity within a development department and a unique attempt at growing a female donor base.  With six years of history, the Women at Play Fundraiser Event does not show any signs of slowing.

Rob Norris

Two Teams, One Goal

The economic woes that have injured so many athletic departments across the nation have been especially crippling in the state of California.  According to the New York Times, California education has been hit with an $8.1 billion cut in funding this year, and next year is expected to be worse.  At California State University, Fullerton, the funding cuts have caused their athletics department to consider cutting sports, including women’s gymnastics.  After being told they would need to raise at least $280,000 to keep the program afloat, the program team had their hands full.

The team was able to reach their goals thanks in part to creativity and dedication by their head coach, Jill Hicks.  In an interesting demonstration of thinking outside the box and utilizing personal relationships, Fullerton teamed up with UCLA for a benefit gymnastics exhibition with proceeds benefiting only CSUF.  This remarkable display of goodwill by UCLA did not stop with their appearance.  Bruins head coach Valorie Kondos Field also arranged for 5-time gold medalist Nastia Liukin to participate in the exhibition which attracted fans from all over southern California.

Combined with a pre-event banquet with Liukin at $400 per plate, the day’s events raised almost $30,000 for the gymnastic program which was on the brink just months ago.  This event demonstrates how coaches can use their relationships with larger programs to team up for a truly philanthropic event and save a program.  Time will tell if gymnastics will continue at Cal State Fullerton in the years to come, but efforts and creativity like this demonstrate how departments must think outside the box during difficult fundraising environments.

For a video recap of the event, click here.

Rob Norris

Bowl travel packages provide engagement possibilities

Two Big Ten schools heading to BCS Bowl Games are setting up Bowl Tours for donors and alumni. Ohio State has created the Exclusive Buckeye Club Rose Bowl Tour for its first trip to the Pasadena bowl game since 1997. Iowa has set up two different packages for its Orange Bowl appearance, UI Alumni Association Tour and another through the Winebrenner Red Carpet Travel Tour.

Ohio State’s Exclusive Buckeye Club Rose Bowl Tour is a trip designed for Buckeye Club members that will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis. The package includes flight from Columbus to Los Angeles, hotel accommodations, tickets to the Rose Bowl Game and Parade, and exclusive tours on-site. The tour also includes tickets to Buckeye Bash Pep Rally and a New Year’s Eve Reception. Uniglobe Travel Designers is organizing the trip for the Buckeye Club.

The Hawkeyes’ second trip to the Orange Bowl since 2003 is being accompanied by two packages aimed at two groups. The UI Alumni Association Tour is targeted at Iowa alumni. The Alumni Association Tour is serving alumni throughout the state with three different departure cities (Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, and Moline). The Winebrenner Red Carpet Travel Tour is positioned more towards the average Hawkeye fan. This package allows travelers to choose from seven Miami-area hotels and includes rates for both air and land travel.

Many schools do bowl packages to some extent for donors and alumni. Some schools use bus trips while other plan out every detail of the trip. Bowl games provide a great opportunity to encourage donations from enthusiastic supporters, the key is setting up the best travel accommodations to do so.

by Sean Phifer