Feb 22nd 2024 Update: Giving Day Details and State of the Program
Dear Marist Rowing Alumni Family and Friends,
As I’m writing to you this morning the crane is out behind the Martin BH lifting our docks into the Hudson. I’m excited that we’ll be out for our first row of the spring season tomorrow morning! Today’s update has two and related items. The first is a deeper dive into details about our giving day and the second is my annual state of the program document.
GIVING DAY IS MARCH 20th 2024: MARK YOUR CALENDAR
The next month is going to be very busy for the Red Fox Navy as we will be gearing up for and completing our annual giving day. Last spring the Red Fox Navy led the way in shifting our giving platform to a specific giving day where we would focus our efforts to energize the whole crew all at once (an idea used by many colleges and universities). This year, I am pleased to announce that we will once again be implementing this giving day strategy but this time we will be joined by the entire athletics department and the campus community as we seek to maximize fund raising goals across the entire Marist Campus! The date for the event is March 20th. Before I go further I just want to note that ALL DETAILS ABOUT GIVING DAY ARE ON OUR MARIST ROWING WEBSITE
Why to Give and Where Your Money Goes.
As with past giving campaigns, the majority of our fund raising will take place on our online platform using GiveCampus.com. Using this platform, 100% of your donation goes directly to the Marist Men’s Rowing Gift Account which is controlled by the coaches with the oversight of the Athletics Directors to maximally benefit our team. I know I am not alone in saying that my involvement in the sport of rowing has had a transformative impact on my life in many areas both personal and professional. The stories I have heard from all of our alumni illuminate the incredible power of this sport to unite people in a common cause and teach them valuable life lessons about hard work, discipline, leadership, and teamwork all while providing a supportive social network on campus that acts as your friends and family both during your collegiate rowing career and after. Funds raised by the Red Fox Navy help to fund the team’s equipment needs including rowing shells, oars, launches, engines, transportation equipment, and indoor training tools like ergometers. In recent years funds have also supported online platforms like FirstBeat, CoachNow, and CrewLab which have become valued tools in our training process! It is important to note, too that while your donations are valued for the financing they provide, they also act as an important and vital indicator and message to Marist College that our organization is strong and that our alumni and families wholly support the men’s rowing team and it’s various missions.
Giving Day Goals:
1) Surpass 225 donors: Last spring we had roughly 180 unique donors to our giving campaign. This year, we have set a goal of more than 225 unique donors to the men’s rowing team during the challenge.
2) ~$80,000 in funds raised: Last spring we raised just under $70,000 for the men’s rowing team. We’re hoping to find a modest improvement this year on the back of our improved donor count
3) Compete and win inter-team fund raising challenge: Since our team will be joined by the other athletics teams for the first time, there will be a department wide challenge for an additional gift that will be achieved if we can win the giving challenge as a group. The full details of this challenge have not yet been released but will be based in part of donorship by percentage in relation to our roster size. We are hoping that with our deep and strong donor base, men’s rowing can come out strong and win this challenge
How Can you help us achieve these goals?
1) DONATE: Obviously the first step is to donate. There are details below about the Red Fox Navy and giving levels etc. You should read the details but just know that any and all involvement by our rowing alumni, family and friends is deeply appreciated regardless of the amount.
2) CONTACT TEAMMATES: get a group text started or a phone chain. Make sure everyone knows about the giving day. Make sure everyone’s ready to do their part! Remind each other in the days leading up to the event and ON giving day.
3) SHARE ONLINE: Put your Instagram and facebook accounts to work. Share our giving day info with friends and family in the lead up to and during the event. Make sure the world knows its Marist Giving Day and to GET ON BOARD!!!
Giving Day Dates and Details
Dates: All donations made to the team starting today and moving forward to March 20th will count towards the giving day challenge so don’t be afraid to give early if you want!
Where to Donate: Follow the link below OR visit the DONATE page on our website: https://rowmarist.com/donate
Give Campus Day of Giving
https://www.givecampus.com/schools/MaristCollege/marist-day-of-giving
NOTE: If you do decide to give early, you will not see your gift live on the Give Campus site until March 20th but you WILL receive a receipt from give campus so you know your gift has been entered.
Challenges
Note that we have a number of amazing donors who are planning, like last season, to challenge our crew with challenge gifts on giving day. Early gifts WILL count towards those challenges which will all unlock extra gifts to the team! Special thanks in advance to our challenge givers who will be announced in due course!
Red Fox Navy Membership and Giving Levels
Just like a well honed crew, the best results of fund raising happen when we ALL dip our oar in the water to help, even if that help is just a little bit. The Red Fox Navy is best fueled when we all come together to lend a hand in whatever way we can. We also recognize that our alumni, families and friends, especially the youngest, are often faced with a variety of challenges and must decide where to spend limited resources. In line with these goals, the challenge gift for the Red Fox Navy and our recommended giving levels for each athlete are to give $20 for each year since you’ve graduated up to 15 years or $300. This donation level will earn you a place on the current year roster of Red Fox Navy members. Families and friends are invited at a fixed donation of $100 or greater. Your participation, even in the smallest quantities, is an essential piece of our fund raising that makes us stronger as an alumni crew and a family. We also recognize that many of you, after career and family success, have funding available to support our efforts in greater quantities. We continue to be incredibly grateful to the fantastic alumni and families that go above and beyond the RFN base membership level and to honor their commitment we have established several Red Fox Navy ranks. Donations at these higher levels will earn you recognition amongst your peers and more prominent presentation on our RFN website as well as at the Boat House!
Red Fox Navy Ranks
Red Fox Navy Member
$20 for each year since graduation or up to $300
Lieutenant
Single Donation of $500-$999 OR Donated 5+ years in a row to the Red Fox Navy
Commander
Single Donation of $1,000-$4,999 OR Donated 10+ years in a row to the Red Fox Navy
Captain
Single Donation of $5,000-$9,999 OR Donated 15+ years in a row to the Red Fox Navy
Admiral
Single Donation of $10,000 or more OR Donated 20+ years in a row to the Red Fox Navy
Commodore
A special commendation earned through the joint nomination or the coaching staff, athletics administrators, advancement office and Red Fox Navy Leadership. Commodore status can be earned through exceptional leadership, exceptional financial support or exceptional service to the team, members or alumni.
STATE OF THE PROGRAM
Finally, we recognize that your donation to the men’s rowing team is an investment in our crew, family, and culture and that our alumni and families have an important and vested interest in the future of the program and how we are spending funds raised from the Red Fox Navy. In an effort to provide transparency and a clear accounting of our needs and how we plan to meet them, I have once again published a state of the program document for interested alumni who would like to understand how we’re operating on a deeper level. You should not feel under any obligation to read this as it’s long and dry work but for those interested, I am posting the document updated for spring 2024 here. If you ever have any questions about the RFN and our gift account spending in any given year, please feel free to reach out!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WFFZSp8DivUTarSMhWvbpNJ00IuIzB9YUppwPUHThO8/edit?usp=sharing
If you made it this far (I applaud you!), Thanks in advance for your support on this year’s giving day and Go Red Foxes!!!