Newly appointed "Senior Associate A.D. for Development" aka chief fundraiser. Tracy comes to us from Dayton where he led the athletics dept. to 3 record breaking fund raising years in 5. Also spent some time managing the Phoenix Club at Elon.

What I'd like to know...and what they aren't telling us...is what are the goals we'd like to achieve with fund raising? What's on the athletics department's wish list?

Whatever goals they are, they're aggressive goals according to Gillin.

A lot to like with this hire. Checks a lot of boxes.

-He led Dayton’s fundraising program to three all-time highs over the past five fiscal years and secured the two largest planned gifts in university history.

-Highest single-sport revenues ($16.6 million in men's basketball) for a non-football school.

-Helped set donation and ticket sales records at Elon.

Between Tracy and Gillin, App has some serious fundraising muscle now. Setting up a good base to build the right way if football or basketball starts serious winning.

Fund raising will be tough. Our base is tapped out at $3.0 million and traditionally the giving comes from that alumni base or the community corporations. Sponsorships and advertising will need to be increased ( like the New Nike contract) and 90% of fund raising time will need to be spent off the mountain. We need to find that sugar daddy I.e. McColl and Richardson like Charlotte did. Of course nothing helps more than winning programs.

I don't think the base is tapped out-not even 10% are giving to the university. It might be worth an effort to engage the entire base, including those who have given before but aren't currently. Maybe a flier doesn't cut it with those donors.

I agree that our base hasn't even been remotely tapped out. Maybe the folks posting here all the time are, but we would be considered the exception.

Folks for the most part just go to college and then move on with their lives, maybe attend a game here or there if it is convenient, homecoming, or something out of the ordinary is going on. These are the types of people who should be targeted heavily to boost fundraising and support. I think the direction our current administration is moving to is just what we need.

When I said the "Base" I meant the current givers....I cant do anymore than I give currently. I'm of the opinion that anyone that hasn't given after our past successes isn't going to step up to the plate now or at least very few.

I agree with Rek, the current 3-4% of alumni that give to athletics are tapped out or close to it. If you look at Yosef Club given it isn't a traditional pyramid. The largest number of donors sit at the $1,500 and $2,500 levels.

We need a real campaign to increase the smaller donation levels, which can be built upon as alumni age and accumulate wealth.

Do that for long-term growth and concentrate on companies for short-term growth.

I'm 31...absolutely LOVE what I do but I don't make the kind of money that allows me to both go to games and give on the side. I give by buying tickets and pushing our GM and ESPN Upstate jocks to talk about App football.

Rekdiver wrote:Our base is tapped out

That is the problem with our traditional thinking and why we need some people running things that look beyond the obvious. When a business reaches a plateau with their sales the challenge is finding how to tap the untapped market. There is money out there to be had but someone has come up with some other ways to get there.

Businesses that succeed at the highest levels do not accept that BIG challenges cannot be overcome. I hear this attitude from many people that support ASU athletics and it stinks. We can beat out larger players by outsmarting and out manuevering them and thinking outside the box. The way to do that is to bring in people that are not intimidated by the challenge and are creative. I hate the defeatist attitude. I think that creativity, energy and "can do attitude" is what Gillin and Tracy bring to the table.

I am very optimistic.

I don't think it's that big a challenge, actually. We have a huge and largely untapped contingent of younger donors who could give a little something if properly motivated. Yosef Club memberships ostensibly start at any level, and you get into parking-level benefits at 250/yr, right? That's less than 5 bucks a week. That's less than what most people spend on one lunch at McD's. I think there are thousands of alumni who would give if they were asked the right way and if they saw the benefits of membership, both for themselves and for the university.

AtlAppMan wrote:

Rekdiver wrote:Our base is tapped out

That is the problem with our traditional thinking and why we need some people running things that look beyond the obvious. When a business reaches a plateau with their sales the challenge is finding how to tap the untapped market. There is money out there to be had but someone has come up with some other ways to get there.

Businesses that succeed at the highest levels do not accept that BIG challenges cannot be overcome. I hear this attitude from many people that support ASU athletics and it stinks. We can beat out larger players by outsmarting and out manuevering them and thinking outside the box. The way to do that is to bring in people that are not intimidated by the challenge and are creative. I hate the defeatist attitude. I think that creativity, energy and "can do attitude" is what Gillin and Tracy bring to the table.

I am very optimistic.

You would make a good politician taking things out of context...

let me put my earlier comments into a simpler form...Don't keep going to the well for more money. Time to dig some new wells....not in the same places either.

Is this a new position or just filling a vacant spot?

I remember somebody (not so long ago) holding forth about how we should not blame the Cobb administration for its inability to raise corporate money...excusing them because it is "so difficult" to make that happen. I disagreed then, and I disagree now.

The only thing holding us back in that regard was a lack of competent corporate fund-raisers.

I applaud the hiring of Gillin, and I applaud his hiring of Mr. Tracy.

Well said.

AtlAppMan wrote:

Rekdiver wrote:Our base is tapped out

That is the problem with our traditional thinking and why we need some people running things that look beyond the obvious. When a business reaches a plateau with their sales the challenge is finding how to tap the untapped market. There is money out there to be had but someone has come up with some other ways to get there.

Businesses that succeed at the highest levels do not accept that BIG challenges cannot be overcome. I hear this attitude from many people that support ASU athletics and it stinks. We can beat out larger players by outsmarting and out manuevering them and thinking outside the box. The way to do that is to bring in people that are not intimidated by the challenge and are creative. I hate the defeatist attitude. I think that creativity, energy and "can do attitude" is what Gillin and Tracy bring to the table.

I am very optimistic.

Rekdiver wrote:let me put my earlier comments into a simpler form...Don't keep going to the well for more money. Time to dig some new wells....not in the same places either.

Then we agree!

Dmanuhone wrote:Is this a new position or just filling a vacant spot?

Taking over Beasley's asst AD position with more responsibilities.

asu66 wrote:Happy to have you in the Appalachian Family, Brian. You'll enjoy the company, the experience and the work. Oh yeah, there's a lot of work to be done, but I'm confident you will be enormously successful. Don't ever let anyone tell you that Appalachian can't!

Appalachian has done so many things in the last ten years that someone in the crowd vowed to the very heavens "we can't" that it just isn't a believable excuse any more.

Of course, there will certain limitations, but SET YOUR GOALS HIGH! There are 130,000+ living alumni out here to help you reach them!

Soldier on, man!

Amen, Any Goal, Any Size, Any Day
Go App, Climb the Mountain