STRATEGIC PLAN FOR

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY-KINGSVILLE

ATHLETIC DEVELOPMENT

October 27, 2015

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 3

Marketing and Communication ......................................................................................... 5

Alumni Relations .............................................................................................................. 11

Annual Giving ................................................................................................................... 15

Endowments and Capital Projects ...................................................................................... 23

Stewardship ....................................................................................................................... 27

Benchmark Reporting ........................................................................................................ 32

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INTRODUCTION

Purpose

The Javelina Club is the fundraising entity for the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics

(DIA) at Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK).

Mission

The Javelina Club provides financial support to DIA so that talented Javelina student-

athletes may enjoy top-tier education and athletic experiences. All donations to the

Javelina Club directly benefit our student-athletes.

Goals

Athletics will have three primary development goals:

Engagement – DIA will engage our alumni, staff, parents, students, and friends in

an effort to keep them informed about Javelina Athletics.

Cultivation – DIA will educate our constituents on the growing costs of

Intercollegiate Athletics and how their support can have a transformational impact

on the lives of our student-athletes.

Fundraising – DIA will build upon the current constituent group in an effort to

grow the annual fund and create opportunities for new endowments and capital

projects. The ideal donor should feel invested in the program, allowing the

Javelina Club to fully capitalize on the donor’s relationship to Javelina Athletics.

The goal is to grow financial support for Javelina Athletics and execute the vision

provided by the Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics and Campus Recreation. The

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strategy will provide financial stability through annual giving and develop a pool of

donors for future endowment and capital projects.

Strategies

The Assistant Director of Development – Athletics (ADDA), in collaboration with the

Office of Alumni Services and Giving (OASG) and DIA will execute five strategies in an

effort to achieve these development goals.

A robust marketing and communications plan to engage and inform our alumni,

parents, staff, students, and friends of news in Javelina Athletics.

A strong alumni relations plan to cultivate and educate our constituents on the

growing costs of Intercollegiate Athletics and how their support can have a

transformational impact on the lives of our student-athletes.

A financially stable annual giving program to provide our student-athletes the

yearly supplemental resources they need to compete in the LSC and Division II

athletics.

Create and develop a pool of donors who have the capacity to make

transformational gifts towards endowments, capital projects, and scholarships

which transform the student-athlete experience.

Implement a stewardship program to maintain engagement and retain our current

donors and provide opportunities for donors to feel invested in the athletic

programs.

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MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION

Introduction

A strong marketing and communication plan provides DIA the opportunity to engage

alumni, parents, staff, students, and friends of Javelina Athletics. The ADDA will

collaborate with DIA, OASG, and MARCOMM to execute the marketing and

communication strategies. The marketing and communication pieces will focus on

general mass communication and affinity driven alumni-athlete communication.

The communication strategies will include:

Digital communication (email, web, and social media)

Print communication

Phone communication

Face-to-face meetings

Software

DIA and OASG have made investments into SIDEARM Sports and NetCommunity to

track and monitor their department’s marketing and communication strategies. The

ADDA will utilize the best resources provided by DIA and OASG to develop a

comprehensive communication and marketing strategy that maximizes both departments’

resources.

Founded in 1996, SIDEARM Sports has become the leading provider of collegiate

athletics websites across the country. They currently provide website services to the

entire Lone Star Conference. Currently, all LSC members have their athletic development

information hosted on their athletic website. SIDEARM Sports provides DIA and OASG

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with a professional website platform that is customizable to our needs and allows all

athletic information to be accessible through javelinaathletics.com. DIA signed a five

year contract in April 2014 with SIDEARM Sports.

Blackbaud NetCommunity is one of the leading communication and marketing softwares

available for nonprofits. NetCommunity is easily integrated with Blackbaud Raiser’s

Edge, the database software used by OASG, and provides OASG with online fundraising

and email marketing capabilities. NetCommunity, similar to SIDEARM Sports, is fully

customizable and provides DIA and OASG with the ability to create a customized brand

for the Javelina Club. OASG signed a three year contract in July 2015 with Blackbaud

NetCommunity.

Digital Communication

Website

The Javelina Club will develop a website at javelinaathletics.com, utilizing the SideArm

Sports software purchased by DIA. The ADDA will work with the Director of Sports

Information to execute the website strategy. The Javelina Club website will be redesigned

and provide a variety of information to our donors. The main navigation bar on the

Javelina Athletics website will include a “Donate” button, which will direct users to the

Javelina Club main page.

The redesign will feature the following navigation categories:

Donate Now: link to the Javelina Club giving page setup in NetCommunity.

Annual Giving: features information on general athletic support, as well as

support for our 12 athletic programs

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Endowments and Capital Projects: features endowments and capital projects

currently being fundraised for by the DIA

Upcoming Events: features information on any upcoming alumni events being

held by the Athletic Department

Contact Us: features staff information and the ability to contact our office directly

through a survey

Social Media

The Javelina Club will not have their own social media platform; rather they will

continue to encourage alumni to subscribe to the Javelina Athletics social media pages,

the Javelina Alumni Association social media pages, and the sport-specfic team pages.

The ADDA will work with DIA and OASG to work on a social media strategy that will

include information about annual giving and alumni events using the established social

media platforms.

Case Study

The website strategy is a combination of strategies developed by Texas State University

(TSU) and Northern Kentucky University (NKU).

The website content developed by TSU have been recognized by The National

Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and has led to substantial

growth in athletic donations and donors. TSU’s content includes information about the

Bobcat Club, ways to support the program (annual giving and endowments), a list of

upcoming events, and information about capital projects. Since 2008, TSU has increased

annual athletic donors by almost 300%. In addition, this past fiscal year TSU reached the

$1 million dollar mark in monetary funds raised for their annual fund, marking a 400%

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increase from 5 years ago. Please see Appendix A for website content and more

information.

The design of the NKU Norse Fund website was a recommendation from the Director of

Sports Information. Like TAMUK, NKU is also a partner of SIDEARM Sports and has

developed a dynamic website that includes all aspects of donor engagement. Please see

Appendix A for a screenshot of the NKU Norse Fund website.

Emails

The ADDA will collaborate with OASG to implement an email strategy through

NetCommunity. The NetCommunity email system provides the ADDA with an

opportunity to track alumni engagement through a variety of different benchmarks.

The ADDA, in collaboration with OASG and MARCOMM will create a customized

template for each sport which will feature their schedule, roster, social media accounts,

and the ability to donate directly to their program. The emails will also feature a soft ask,

participation, and fundraising goals.

The ADDA will collaborate with the Javelina head coaches and the Director of Sports

Information to develop content for a quarterly communication schedule. These emails

will be distributed to each sport’s alumni-athletes and donors. The email calendar will

include a season preview, a non-conference recap, a season recap, and an end of the fiscal

year appeal. Emails will also be sent on a case-by-case basis, i.e. a victory over a top 25

opponent, or to advertise an upcoming event with the constituent list to be determined at

the time of the event.

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Case Study

The email strategy comes from a strategic plan developed at La Salle University. La Salle

saw an increased renewal rate among alumni-athletes by 80% since implementation and

saw an increase of online donations by over 125%.

In addition, all donors who previously contributed to La Salle before in pledge payments

received an email to renew their gift online and create a payment plan through the online

system using their credit card. This removed the need to send pledge reminders and

created a system where OASG and DIA had less than 3% lapse pledges.

The email system also created an opportunity to continue to engage former athletes and

reconnect them with their programs. This return saw a 45% increase in event

participation from alumni-athletes and a 21% donor participation increase from alumni-

athletes.

Please see Appendix B for email examples from La Salle University.

Print Publications

The ADDA will collaborate with DIA and Director of Sports Information to implement

print publications throughout the year, which inform and educate donors on the Javelina

Club. These publications will serve as marketing and collateral pieces for the Javelina

Club.

The ADDA, in collaboration with OASG and MARCOMM will create a new brochure

that will highlight life as a collegiate athlete at TAMUK. The brochure will also inform

donors on the rising cost of intercollegiate athletics. These costs will be displayed

through a variety of infographs and charts.

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Testimonials from student-athletes and coaches will demonstrate to donors that their

support is improving the student-athlete experience. The brochure will also include a

stewardship note from the Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics and Campus

Recreation.

The final page of the brochure will feature the ways to give, including mailing address,

online website, phone number, matching gift, securities, stock, and bequest information.

Face-to-Face Meetings / Telephone Conversations

The ADDA and the OASG will collaborate with DIA to generate more personal visits

and contact call opportunities with our Javelina Club donors and season ticket holders.

Season Tickets

The ADDA and the OASG will work with the Ticket Manager to utilize season tickets as

an opportunity to generate more personal visits and contact calls. Our goal is to generate

face-to-face meetings to discuss athletic / university news and fundraising opportunities.

These meetings can also be stewardship opportunities to thank season ticket holders

and/or donors for their continued support of Javelina Athletics.

Telephone Conversations

The ADDA and the OASG will utilize telephone conversations as a way to continue to

cultivate and engage donors and steward them for their continued support of Javelina

Athletics. These conversations will also provide opportunities to endorse upcoming

Javelina athletic events and share news about the Javelina Athletics and TAMUK.

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ALUMNI RELATIONS

Introduction

The development of an alumni relations plan creates an opportunity for DIA to engage

and cultivate alumni, particularly former student-athletes. The ADDA will collaborate

with the Director of Alumni Relations to execute an alumni relations strategy. The goal is

to educate our alumni-athletes on the importance of giving to the Javelina Club and how

their gift enhances the student-athlete experience.

The alumni relations strategies will include:

General Athletic Events

Sport-Specific Alumni Events

Alumni Speaking and Networking Opportunities

Advisory Council

A fresh look at an alumni relations strategy will allow DIA to utilize existing

relationships with alumni in an effort to expand and grow the Javelina Club network. In

addition, it provides opportunities to develop connections between coaches, student-

athletes, and alumni. These connections create an opportunity to cultivate new donors and

provide student-athletes the chance to meet fellow alumni.

General Athletic Events

The ADDA will coordinate with OASG and DIA to utilize current athletic and alumni

events as opportunities for athletic administration, coaches, and student-athletes to

interact with alumni and donors.

Current events include the Javelina Club Bar-b-q, Hall of Fame Dinner, Homecoming,

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the football spring game, and the Women’s Spring Gala. These events are designed to

make the donor feel invested in the program and speak with the students to learn how

their gifts are making an impact on the athletic experience. The focus of these alumni

events will be on creating a connection between alumni, donors, and current student-

athletes.

Affinity Sport-Specific Events

The ADDA will work with the Director of Alumni Relations and the head coaches to

create an event calendar for their programs. Each team is encouraged to organize at least

two alumni events per year. The invitations for these events will go to their alumni-

athletes and donors. These alumni events feature an opportunity for alumni-athletes to

engage with coaches and current athletes. Donors and alumni have an opportunity to

interact with student-athletes to learn about the current student-athlete experience at

TAMUK. These alumni events allow the department to discover and cultivate new

donors, while allowing our coaches and student-athletes to steward and thank our current

donors.

Career Networking

The ADDA will coordinate with the Director of Alumni Relations, Associate Athletic

Director of Corporate Sponsorship, and the Coordinator of Student-Athlete Services to

create career programming and networking opportunities for our student-athletes. The

goal is to teach our student-athletes how to transition into a professional environment.

These opportunities include an alumni speaker series, alumni networking events, and

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internship opportunities. Career networking events will serve two purposes:

Provides development officers the opportunity to cultivate and engage donors

Creates an opportunity for student-athletes to connect with the community’s

corporate leaders

Javelina Club Advisory Council

The most loyal and dedicated supporters of Javelina Athletics will be invited to join the

Javelina Club Advisory Council (JCAC). The purpose of the JCAC is to help DIA fulfill

its mission to student-athletes and achieve its highest potential. In fulfilling this role, the

JCAC develops strategies, identifies strengths and opportunities, assists in the

identification of new directions and initiatives, helps determine sources of new funds, and

develops relationships with constituencies. Members of the JCAC are professional,

community leaders at large from various backgrounds who are committed to ensuring the

success of Javelina Athletics.

There are four expectations of the JCAC:

Connect: Promote the visibility and value of Javelina Athletics by participating in

the development and execution of effective communication to alumni and the

general public through events, publications, and personal contact.

Go: Convene twice a year for JCAC meetings. Actively participate in discussion,

strategizing, and voting during meetings. In addition, represent the JCAC by

attending at least one Athletic organized event, including, but not limited to the

Javelina Club Bar-B-Q, Homecoming, affinity events, Football Spring Game,

Hall of Fame Weekend, etc…

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Help: Provide advice and counsel to the Vice President for Intercollegiate

Athletics and Campus Recreations, ADDA, and staff on issues of importance to

the future of Javelina Athletics, including strategic planning, program evaluation,

and necessary improvements.

Give: Engage in, assist, support, and lead the fundraising efforts of Javelina

Athletics, in cooperation with the ADDA. All members are expected to make

annual contributions to the Javelina Club at a minimum of $1,000. Members are

encouraged to make additional contributions and/or find additional support for

Javelina Athletics in keeping with their interests and ability.

Please refer to Appendix C for a copy of the JCAC volunteer agreement.

Leadership Captains

Similar to captains on a sports team, the leadership captains will serve as the liaison

between the ADDA and their programs. These positions do not serve in an official

capacity, but will provide the ADDA with an opportunity to rely on an individual to lead

support for events, fundraising, and comradery. These captains are called upon during

reunions, alumni events, and fundraising initiatives to help the ADDA and the OASG

gain traction in the alumni community.

For example, Richard Ritchie was a leadership captain for the recent induction of the ’74

and ’75 Championship Teams into the Javelina Hall of Fame. Richard assisted in

gathering team members and ensuring the team was aware of the upcoming ceremony.

Leadership captains can be former players, coaches, managers, or trainers who the

ADDA, DIA, and OASG feel can have an impact on influencing our message to the alumni

community.

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ANNUAL GIVING

A strong annual giving program provides financial stability to the DIA and enhances the

experience of our student-athletes. Annual giving develops the supplemental resources

needed to compete on a national level. In addition, it also creates constituents that can be

considered and cultivated for major gift solicitations and supports all programs in

Javelina Athletics.

Case Statements

General

The Javelina Club will supplement funds to four key areas of athletics:

Grow scholarship funds for our student-athletes

Enhance recruiting funds to attract top-quality athletes

Support travel for our athletic programs

Improve academic services, facilities, and equipment

Program specific

Each program will be invited to collaborate with the ADDA to create a case statement for

their programs. The case statement will serve as the program’s strategic plan for the

upcoming year and will provide our fundraising staff with materials to share with our

donors. The case for support will focus on four key areas:

Vision for the sport

o Where do you project the program in a year?

o Where do you project the program in 5 years?

o Championships, Academic Awards, etc…?

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Sport Specific Needs

o Recruiting budgets

o Scholarships

o Travel

Fundraising participation and monetary goals

Steps to achieve the fundraising goals for the year

o Alumni Event Calendar

o Soliciation Calendar

o Email Calendar

o Personal Visit strategies

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Javelina Club Structure

Current Structure

Athletic Development

Javelina Club (area of greatest need)

Javelina 365 (scholarship support

for programs)

General

Baseball

Men's Basketball

Cross Country / Track and Field

Football

Women's Basketball

Women's Golf

Softball

Women's Tennis

Volleyball

AOF (operational funds for sport

programs)

Baseball

Men's Basketball

Cross Country / Track and Field

Football

Women's Basketball

Women's Golf

Softball

Women's Tennis

Volleyball

Sack Club

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New Proposed Structure

Javelina Club

Unrestricted funds (area of greatest need)

Javelina Athletic Scholarship Fund

Restricted Funds (sport-specific

funding)

Baseball

Men's Basketball

Cross Country / Track

Football

Women's Basketball

Women's Golf

Softball

Women's Tennis

Women's Volleyball

Sack Club

Athletic Training

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The newly proposed Javelina Club structure provides ease of use for the donor, while

maintaining the strategy developed by the previous structure. The Javelina Club will

consist of 10 designations:

General Fund (area of greatest

need)

Javelina Athletic Scholarship

Fund

Restricted Funds

o Baseball

o Men’s Basketball

o Cross Country / Track

and Field

o Football

o Women’s Basketball

o Women’s Golf

o Softball

o Women’s Tennis

o Women’s Volleyball

o Athletic Training

o Sack Club

The newly created structure provides an opportunity to capitalize on the brand awareness

of the Javelina Club, while organizing athletic giving under one umbrella. The

designations will provide an opportunity for donors to make their gift to the area of

greatest need or restrict their funds based on their area of interest.

The ADDA will work with the Assistant Athletic Director for Financial Operations and

the advancement services team to implement the new structure. The funds for each

account will be provided by the Assistant AD for Financial Operations, while the

advancement services team will deposit, steward, and develop the paperwork for OASG

and DIA. Funds will be tracked using Raiser’s Edge and the reports will be readily

available to DIA and OASG.

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Giving Levels

The giving levels of the Javelina Club will change to reflect the current giving levels

established by OASG. These new levels provide an opportunity to accurately steward our

donors. The newly established giving levels are:

>$100

$100 - $249

$250 - $499

$500 - $999

$1,000 - $1,999

$2,000 - $4,999

$5,000 - $9,999

$10,000 and above

Solicitations

The Javelina Club will have two general mailings and two email solicitations a year

directed towards various constituent groups. The ADDA will coordinate with the Director

of Annual Giving and OASG to coordinate these solicitations:

The first mailing will feature a current student-athlete and provide donors with an

understanding of what it is like being a TAMUK student-athlete.

The second mailing will come from a successful alumnus who attributes his or her

success in life to their experience as a student-athlete at TAMUK.

The first email will be at the end of the calendar in an effort to have alumni make

their last minute gift for fiscal year tax credit.

The second email will be at the end of the university fiscal year in an effort to

make a final push toward the athletic fiscal year goals.

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Friends and Family

The friends and family campaign is a grassroots campaign that will feature personalized

message from a student-athlete soliciting their friends and family to support their

program. The friends and family program is similar to the current hometown sponsor

program but eliminates the sponsorship benefits tied to the gift. The letter will ask the

constituent to donate and support the current student-athlete by directing their gift to his

or her specific sport. This letter will also go to alumni-athletes who are non-donors and

lapsed donors (SYBUNTS). The ADDA will work with the Assistant AD for Academics

and Compliance to ensure all NCAA regulations are met.

Alumni-Athlete Challenge

In an attempt to acquire lapsed donors and increase giving from alumni-athletes, the

Javelina Club will organize an annual competition between programs. The competition

will be based on the percentage of their alumni-athletes who donated to the program in

the previous fiscal year. The prize will be determined Vice President of Intercollegiate

Athletics and Campus Recreation and the CEO and Executive Director of the Foundation.

The alumni-athlete challenge provides DIA and OASG the opportunity to engage our

alumni-athletes in a competitive way. These funds will go directly to support their

athletic programs and assist in providing supplemental resources our teams need in order

to compete in Division II.

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Case Study

The Rider University athletic department implemented the Raise Your Game Athletics

Fundraising Challenge in 2009-10. The challenge provides a $6,000 prize for the first-

place program, a $4,000 prize for the second-place program, and a $2,000 prize for the

third-place team. Since its inception, Rider Athletics has increased its number of annual

athletic-alumni donors by almost 400%. (Please see Appendix E for more information on

the Raise Your Game Athletics Fundraising Challenge at Rider University)

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ENDOWMENTS AND CAPITAL PROJECTS

Introduction

Endowments and capital projects are vital to the long-term financial stability of any

athletic program. Through an endowment or capital project, Javelina Club donors know

they will have a lasting impact on Javelina Athletics. Endowment and capital project gift

solicitation will be done strategically so that these solicitations don’t impact annual

giving gifts.

Texas A&M University–Kingsville Foundation Endowment Guidelines

Endowed funds are designed to be permanent, perpetual funds and can be created with

gifts totaling a minimum of $25,000. All endowed funds will be invested through the

Texas A&M University–Kingsville Foundation (TAMUKF). The average spending

threshold on an endowment in the TAMUKF is 4.5%, which usually yields $1,000 per

$25,000 invested.

Endowed funds are required to have a name and criteria established by the donor or

donating party. The ADDA and OASG are available to help the donor create the criteria

for the endowed fund. Endowed scholarships are awarded to deserving students based

upon major, merit, financial need, academic achievement and/or other criteria that does

not conflict with law or policy. TAMUK must agree to special award conditions

established by the donor for this reason. (Please see Appendix E for a sample of the

TAMUK Foundation endowment agreement)

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Endowed Funds

Endowed funds provide the opportunity for donors to secure their legacy in the Javelina

Athletic Department, reaching future generations of Javelinas. It also provides DIA with

longer term financial stability and growth.

Types of endowed funds include:

Endowed Athletic Scholarships: Awarded by the Department of Athletics based

on the criteria provided by the endowment donor agreement.

Programmatic and Coaching Endowed Funds: Awarded to the program of the

donor’s choice for the highest priority needs of their program – often recruiting

The current cost to endow full and half scholarships at TAMUK are the following:

$500,000 – Endowed Full Scholarship

$250,000 – Endowed Half Scholarship

Based on the cost of attendance strategy provided by the Vice President for

Intercollegiate Athletics and Campus Recreation and the average spending rate of a

TAMUKF Endowed Fund, it will cost $68,150,000 to endow all 136.6 athletic

scholarships at TAMUK. (Please see Appendix F for the COA Strategy)

Capital Projects

Capital projects are vital to sustain long-term success in collegiate athletics. Modern

facilities are essential to keeping a program viable and are a key component in the

recruitment of both coaches and student-athletes. Facilities tell a story about a university

and capture the minds of the young men and women who are considering playing for the

Javelinas. Building and renovating facilities reaffirm TAMUK’s commitment to its

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athletic programs and donors are able to leave their legacy by providing students with an

improved student-athlete experience.

Maintenance endowments are growing in popularity at universities. These endowments

ensure the building is up-to-date and will alleviate funds needed from the university’s

operating budget for maintenance repairs. They are established to ensure the longevity of

the structure and provide security to the donor’s investment. Maintenance endowments

eliminate financial strain put on yearly operating budgets for building maintenance.

Planned Giving

Planned giving provides donors an opportunity to leave a legacy gift at the institution

through wills or annuities. Planned gifts provide support for generations of future

Javelinas and are available in a variety of different options – simple bequest, a

beneficiary designation, a charitable gift annuity, or a charitable trust. Planned gifts

provide a creative, strategic way to support Javelina Athletics far into the future while

also providing the donor with tax benefits.

Bequests in a will or living trust are the most common type of planned gift and are

typically personal property or assets. Estate planning attorneys can include a provision in

wills that leaves a lasting gift to Javelina Athletics. Bequests could be a gift of specific

assets (such as vehicle, artwork, etc..) a dollar amount ($100, $1,000 or $10,000) or a

percentage of your estate (3%, 5%, 10%). A bequest could also be made from the residue

of a donor’s estate or what is left after all gifts have been made to a donor’s heirs. (Please

refer to Appendix G for more information on charitable bequests).

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STEWARDSHIP

A strong stewardship program is essential to maintain a successful annual giving and

major giving program. The stewardship plan provides opportunities for donors to feel

connected to the program; while our major gift donors are assured that their gifts have

transformed the athletic program and the lives of our student-athletes.

Benefits

DIA and OASG will look to move most benefits currently affiliated with the Javelina

Club to those who purchase season tickets, in an effort to create a philanthropic

environment in athletic development and mimic what the University is doing in annual

giving. These benefits include T-Room passes, season tickets, window decals, and

plaques.

With the removal of season tickets and other benefits, the donor is able to achieve 100%

tax-deductibility while having the ability to purchase season tickets through the ticket

office.

The removal of the benefits system in the Javelina Club creates flexibility for the ADDA

and the OASG staff to engage in more stewardship opportunities rather than entitled

benefits.

These removed benefits include:

T-Room Passes

General Parking

Reserved Football Season Tickets

Plaque

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Scoreboard Runner

Priority Seating

Window Decal

The Athletic Director’s Circle

The AD’s Circle is a prestigious group of alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of the

University whose leadership giving and enthusiastic support to Javelina Athletics set a

standard of commitment.

Donors become a member of the AD’s Circle after making an annual gift of $1,000 or

more, including matching gifts. Endowment or capital project gifts are not included in the

AD’s Circle.

As a member of the AD’s circle, donors will receive invitations to exclusive AD Circle

events, including halftime hospitality (formerly Champions Club tent) and preferred

parking. The donor will also receive a special item commemorating their gift to the AD’s

Circle.

The AD’s Circle is designed to continue unique opportunities for our donors at $1,000,

while providing them with a 100% tax-deductible write-off. The AD’s Circle is designed

to mimic the TAMUK’s President’s Circle and has the same standards and opportunities.

Please refer to Appendix J for more information on TAMUK’s President’s Circle.

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Case Study

Loyola University Maryland

In 2013, Loyola University Maryland Director of Athletic Development Mark Harris was

published in NACDA on the entitlement of donors. The article entitled “Athletics Annual

Funds: Transitioning from Entitled Benefits to Donor Stewardship” discusses how the art

of stewardship had been lost in Athletic Development and had been replaced with the

promise of elaborate benefits. In 2011, Loyola eliminated the promise of any benefits

related to athletic giving, other than the satisfaction of knowing your gift positively

impacts students. Over that time, Loyola has seen an increase in season ticket holders

(donors have been happy to pay for their tickets above and beyond their contributions)

and their annual fund has continued to grow in both dollars and donors. The new model is

based on the idea of under promising and over delivering. The lack of benefits, allows the

staff to focus more time for stewardship and less time on the fulfillment of benefits.

The other strength of this model has been the increasing number of invitations to

hospitality receptions. By working with corporate partners, Loyola was able to create

low-cost, high-quality events at home contests which donors receive an invitation to

attend. For the full article on transitioning from entitled benefits to donor stewardship,

please refer to Appendix H.

Study of All 346 Division I Universities

The ADDA evaluated the reporting structure, benefit offerings, and the name of the

organization of all 346 universities currently competing at the Division I level.

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The recent shift of the reporting structure in athletic development has 38% of institutions

having a dual reporting structure, while 63% still maintain a direct report to athletics.

According to the research, 55% of universities who have a dual report structure to the

university development and athletic departments have eliminated the advertisement of

benefits to their constituents. These universities include DePaul, Rhode Island, San

Francisco, Providence, Princeton, Dartmouth, and Pennsylvania.

For the full research study, please refer to Appendix I.

Endowment and Capital Project

Ribbon Cutting / Kick-off Celebration

The ADDA will collaborate with the OASG to create a ribbon cutting or an endowment

kickoff event to celebrate the establishment of a new endowment or the completion of a

capital project. Each of these celebrations will feature comments from the CEO of the

Foundation, Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics and Campus Recreation,

University President, and a donor. Additional stewardship will be conducted on a case-

by-case basis and will be determined by the ADDA, CFO of the Foundation, and Vice

President of Intercollegiate Athletics and Campus Recreation

Kick-off Reception

All donors to the Javelina Club will be invited to join us at an annual kick-off event held

every August. The event will be exclusive to previous fiscal year athletic donors and will

provide an opportunity for our donors to interact with coaches, senior student-athletes,

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and staff. Our goal is to thank donors for their continued support and foster relationships

with our current student-athletes.

Currently the Annual Javelina Bar-B-Q serves as this keynote event each August. DIA

and OASG will evaluate this event and continue to build opportunities to enhance our

current events to improve the impact on our donors.

Coach Stewardship

Head coaches and staff will be invited to participate in a restricted giving stewardship

program for their sport. Each month, coaches will be provided a list of donors who

contributed to their program and corresponding blank postcards. Coaches will be

encouraged to write thank you notes to their donors and extend their appreciation for the

donation. This stewardship system provides coaches with a great opportunity to foster

relationships with their donors and inform them how their gift can impact the program. In

addition, these reports serve as a reporting tool to inform head coaches on their

fundraising progress.

Please see Appendix K for a design of the proposed postcard.

Thank-A-Thon

Student-athletes will be asked to participate in a thank-a-thon each September –

December to steward athletic donors from the previous fiscal year. The ADDA will

coordinate with the Office of Admissions to utilize their phone bank to execute the phone

calls. This provides an opportunity for our student-athletes to steward and connect with

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our donors. This also allows the opportunity for our student-athletes to steward the

donor’s contribution.

New Donor Packets

The ADDA will coordinate with the Director of Annual Giving to develop a packet for

all new and lapsed donors. Our goal with these packets is to make the donor feel

appreciated and show their gift has an impact on the student-athlete experience. It is a

unique way for DIA and OASG to engage and cultivate our donors. The new donor

packets will be compliant with NCAA and IRS regulations.

The goal of these packets is to provide an opportunity to steward and foster a relationship

with the donor in hopes of a higher annual giving retention rate.

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BENCHMARK REPORTING

The ADDA will produce monthly reports for the Executive Director of Development,

Chief Development Officer, and the Vice President of Athletics and Campus Recreation.

The report will feature an update on alumni engagement, fundraising strategy, and

progress towards the annual participation and monetary goals. Included in this report will

be a summary of donors and what designation they contributed to during the year.

Email

Raiser’s Edge provides an in-depth reporting database for emails sent through

NetCommunity. The report includes the following data:

Delivery Summary

Summary of Messages Sent

Summary of Undelivered Messages

Click-through data

Conversions (how much money the email has raised)

Summary of Recipients

These reports will provide DIA and OASG with the opportunity to track alumni and

donor engagement through the data above. In addition, OASG will be able to clean data

based on the reports developed by NetCommunity, allowing us to increase our visibility

and engagement.

Reports will be provided monthly to the Executive Director of Development, Chief

Development Officer, and the Vice President of Athletics and Campus Recreation. Email

reports will also be given monthly to coaches who distributed emails during the month.

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Please see Appendix L for an example of the monthly executive report.

Face-to-Face Meetings / Telephone Conversations

Face-to-Face meetings and contact calls are vital to sustain relationships with our donors

and alumni. The ADDA will be expected to make 24 contact calls per week and 12

visits per month. These benchmarks have been developed by the Executive Director of

Development and can be changed at any time by the Executive Director of Development

or CEO of the Foundation.

The ADDA will develop monthly action reports for the Executive Director of

Development, Chief Development Officer, and the Vice President of Athletics and

Campus Recreation which will contain information in relationship to these goals.

Please see Appendix L for an example of the monthly executive report.

Event Reporting

Event reports will provide another benchmark to evaluate alumni engagement. Event

reports will consist of two key features:

Expense Report

List of attendees

The budget analysis provides DIA and OASG an understanding of the expenses and

incomes from the event. In addition, it provides an understanding of ways to improve

expenses and provides our Corporate Sales team with an understanding of how much

each expense costs.

The list of attendees provides us with an understanding of alumni engagement. The list

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also provides DIA and OASG the opportunity to understand the alum’s involvement at

TAMUK, understand their interests, and also steward the donor accordingly.

Please refer to Appendix L for an example of the monthly executive report.

Fundraising Report

The ADDA will produce a monthly fundraising report that will include annual giving

funds and funds raised for endowments and capital projects. It will also feature an update

on the fundraising strategy and progress in relationship to the annual goals. Also included

will be a list of donors and their designation for the current fiscal year.

Coach Reports

A similar report will be developed for coaches and will feature their sport’s fundraising

progress in relationship to the goal. In addition this report will serve as a valuable

stewardship piece for coaches moving forward as we involve our coaches in the

stewardship process.

Please refer to Appendix L for an example of the monthly executive report. Please refer

to Appendix M for a copy of the coaches’ stewardship report.

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PLAN FOR IMPLEMENTATION

September – October: Approval by the CFO and Executive Director of the

TAMUKF

October – November: Approval by the Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics

and Recreation

November – December: Reviewed by an internal committee of athletic and

development staff members

December: Review by the JCAC and other members of an external review board,

including alumni-athletes and former coaches.

January - April: Personal visits scheduled with all Javelina Club donors to explain

the changes and how it will affect them (season tickets, donations, etc…)

April: Announce the new Javelina Club on Spring Football weekend to the public.