Athletic Dept. Fundraising Idea

[gmartin]

Over the past year I went to a few games at Northwestern as well as a couple games at Michigan. I haven't really took the time to tour the campus in Evanston since I graduated in 1998 but I took 2 days several weeks ago and noticed something both Northwestern and Michigan both have and I wonder how successful it would be at BG. At Northwestern they do not charge for admission to soccer games, tennis matches and swimming events. However they do have purple kettles set up around its venues for people to donate to the athletic department. BGSU does not charge for its Men's or Women's soccer games. Over a year BG has roughly 15,000 total attendance for both sports. If each person would donate just $2, that's $30,000 toward the athletic department. Fans can donate at will and not feel pressured. BG Women's soccer team is in 1st place and riding a 9 game winning streak. Also, the Men's team is in 2nd place. Furthermore set up kettles at other venues, including volleyball which is currently in 1st place. Several volleyball games this year admission is only $1.

Finally, and this is my biggest push. Do a round-up campaign on campus. All meals or purchase get round up to the next dollar. Students need to eat and if each student would round up just $1.00 a week on its meal plan, purchases, etc, that would generate $640,000, not including summer school. Is a college student going to really miss 20 cents a day? If their meal is $6.70 you round up to $7.00 and $.30 donated to the athletic department.

BG could easily raise money for its athletic programs if they are just a little bit creative. Do you like my idea? Should I forward it on for further discussion?

[BillyLP]

BG could easily raise money for its athletic programs if they are just a little bit creative. Do you like my idea? Should I forward it on for further discussion?

Students already pay through part of their tuition, and as someone who will be paying back student loans for about another 20 years, I'm anti-asking students to bankroll anything on campus - athletics or not.

I do like the idea for collecting at soccer games. Even if it's $10,000 a year, that could go towards taking care of the grounds and make an impact.

[mbenecke]

I think both are fair ideas.

[footballguy51]

BG could easily raise money for its athletic programs if they are just a little bit creative. Do you like my idea? Should I forward it on for further discussion?

Students already pay through part of their tuition, and as someone who will be paying back student loans for about another 20 years, I'm anti-asking students to bankroll anything on campus - athletics or not.

I do like the idea for collecting at soccer games. Even if it's $10,000 a year, that could go towards taking care of the grounds and make an impact.

I'm also not a huge fan of hitting up students for more, but I like the idea of the cashiers asking the question. How often do stores ask if you'd like to round up, or donate a dollar, to benefit XYZ Foundation. We could offer the round-up option in the dining areas, the bookstore (Falcon Outfitters), the concessions at games, the pop-up team store at games, etc.

As for the donation kettles, they could honestly be placed at any sporting event, but I like the idea of putting them at the non-revenue sports (hey, you got in for free, toss in a buck). Imagine the funds we would get if these were at games for baseball, softball, soccer, tennis, swim, and gymnastics. We also offer golf, cross country, and track, but I could see that being a little more difficult to pull off (but worth the attempt).

Between both options, a decent amount of money could be raised. That money could go towards student scholarships or general operations.

[Falconwriter]

BG could easily raise money for its athletic programs if they are just a little bit creative. Do you like my idea? Should I forward it on for further discussion?

Students already pay through part of their tuition, and as someone who will be paying back student loans for about another 20 years, I'm anti-asking students to bankroll anything on campus - athletics or not.

I do like the idea for collecting at soccer games. Even if it's $10,000 a year, that could go towards taking care of the grounds and make an impact.

I'm also not a huge fan of hitting up students for more, but I like the idea of the cashiers asking the question. How often do stores ask if you'd like to round up, or donate a dollar, to benefit XYZ Foundation. We could offer the round-up option in the dining areas, the bookstore (Falcon Outfitters), the concessions at games, the pop-up team store at games, etc.

As for the donation kettles, they could honestly be placed at any sporting event, but I like the idea of putting them at the non-revenue sports (hey, you got in for free, toss in a buck). Imagine the funds we would get if these were at games for baseball, softball, soccer, tennis, swim, and gymnastics. We also offer golf, cross country, and track, but I could see that being a little more difficult to pull off (but worth the attempt).

Between both options, a decent amount of money could be raised. That money could go towards student scholarships or general operations.

I like the kettles at the non-revenue sports idea...and doing a "round up" campaign at other places in the region (not focused on students). Here in Columbus, Kroger has a program where you can round up your purchases with the extra going to the area food banks. I realize that's a more urgent need than BG football, but there is probably a way to do this. One idea I had was adding $1 to BG paraphernalia being sold (clothing, hats, etc.) Not $1 each, but maybe ask about rounding up on each total purchase.