Multimillion gift announce (January 2004) in Sioux Falls

[SDSUFAN]

As I type this message a press conference is going on at the Holiday Inn Centre, downtown Sioux Falls about some major gifts to SDSU for athletic scholarships. *I was unable to get KJJQ who was covering the news conference as a direct hook-up on the internet. *KJJQ will probably have a storied tape of the press conference. It's just not available live.

I am sure that the Mildred White gift from what I have heard is in the $2.4 million range is one of the gifts. Sid Bostic who literally won the 1963 NC with his Hail Mary mid court shoot, has been working on raising funds for the D1 movement. *This is about all I know at this time. **Having the press conference in Sioux Falls as all loyal Jack fans can figure out has a purpose.

[SDSUFAN]

Here is the link to KJJQ in case you dont have it earmarked as a favorite

http://www.depotradio.com/sports.php

[SDSUFAN]

Here is an update on the gift announcement. Steve Imming of WNAX did not cover the press conference, but he said in his 10;15 sports show that Mildred White gave 2.75 million. Sid is giving one million and they have an additional number of small gifts that give the HPER over four million in additonal endowment funds for scholarships. This money will always be there and only the interest earned will be used to fund scholarships in any given year. At five per cent that would earn $200,000 each year and with the full ride for a In-state student being $7,000. that will mean funds for about 28 more scholarships. I think we will be okay.

[89rabbit]

Those dollars will help us with our Journey to D-I! ;D

Go State!

[SDSUFAN]

Another update, from WNAX *the small gifts totalled 600,000 so there is a grand total of 4.4 million addition to endowments. *This does not mean we cant still the support the Jackrabbit Club. *Those 25 to 50 dollar gifts are just as important as the big ones. One of the failures of the Staduim for State Drive is that they tried to get alums to pledge long term giving and turned down small gifts, SDSU learned a painful lesson long time ago. So all gifts no matter what size are important.

[89rabbit]

I just had time to listen to the press conf. VJ's story was great. God Bless Mildred Stoker White.

Go SDSU!

[JACKGUY]

This should help keep some of the naysayers at bay for a while that think the money is not there to make this move. I agree no gift whether large or small is insignificant. I hope this is just the beginning as there is so much to do that will require a lot of money. Did the money come from a land sale that was part of her estate?

[89rabbit]

Didn't sound like it, in VJ's story he talks about Mildred calling him up year after year and saying "sat down with the accountants. . .and I had a good year" and then having a check cut for State! *It sounded like she and her husband had done well for themselves.

[SDSUFAN]

The White's as VJ said were very sucessful. *I do know that she lived in Winnetka near Evanston and Northwestern U. *I have only driven through that area, did not live there and had no friends and relatives living their. Its a very nice neighborhood and very nice homes.

We were very forunate here. *I am impressed with Sid efforts besides his own gift in that he has found $680,000 so far, and I dont think Sid has been working for more than a year on this project. *It sounded like there is some more gifts to be announced in the near future.

I remember asking Fred once if after reviewing the Foundation Annual report if Mildred was finished giving money to SDSU. Fred replied "ooooh nnoooo, not by any means" and that is all he said. *Now I know today what he meant by is *enthuasitic but indirect reply.

[filbert]

I sent my $1,000 check to the Jackrabbit Club this past Tuesday. Was feeling really good about that until now :P

[89rabbit]

That is still BIG TIME to me. I am dropping off my $100 check for the Jackrabbit Club tomorrow. I wish it was more, but we give what we can. :D

Go SDSU!

[SDSUFAN]

You guys have a right to be proud of your gifts no matter the size.
I said in a prior post that long ago when they made the first fund drive for the staduim, they made a big blunder by turning down small gifts and went for pledges that just turned off a ton of people. The Staduim for State was a hard sell to begin with, and add to that a little arrogance and you have what we know today as Coughlin Alumni Stadiums.

So gifts all sizes are important. If you talk with Dave Marquart and other staff members they will tell you they appreciate gifts to the Foundation and Jackrabbit club, no matter what the size in terms of dollars.

[jackmd]

As I sit here sipping from my brand new stainless steel SDSU coffee mug, courtesty of the Jackrabbit club as a thank you for my membership in the 2nd century club, I only hope I am fortunate enough to make a donation similar to Mildred'd or Sid's in the future. In the meantime I will continue to give what I can and encourage others to do the same.

I believe it is a worthwhile cause as it improves the future for those who attend SDSU and all citizens of the state of SD. I wish to express my appreciation to Sid, Mildred, and all the others who have donated anything (time, money, effort) to SDSU. Thank you and God bless you all.

[SDSUFAN]

This should help keep some of the naysayers at bay for a while that think the money is not there to make this move. I agree no gift whether large or small is insignificant. I hope this is just the beginning as there is so much to do that will require a lot of money. Did the money come from a land sale that was part of her estate?

No doubt selling her home was one of many details in winding up her estate affairs. *Like many other people who start a manufacturing company and are very sucessful, when they sell out they do so with a high cash price tag. I suspect that may be the bulk of her assets came when the company was sold. *One of the staff people in HPER and I dont recall who said she was a very prudent investor and watched Wall Street daily.

My wild guess would be her home sold for over a million dollars, as the Winnetka neighborhood is very classy. *No doubt selling the home and doing her final tax return took those accountants some time.

If I recall correctly Mildred passed away in early 2002 so its taken some time before the Foundation could announce the gift that was announced today.

My expirence with the Foundation Staff is that they are very careful to not announce things, until they have received the funds.

I have breakfast and coffee with some high school class mates everytime I am in Brookings. I am going to be curious what the conversation will be this coming Saturday. *We have a few naysers in the group.

I am sure there are going to be a few die-hards who will still complain, but the money issue is one that is all but off the table.

I was a student when Sid Bostic played basketball. His uniform was soaking wet by the end of each game. He had heart had could bring down those boards when no one expected him to do so. I think he worked everyday day of his banking career as though it was the National Championship game. As a fellow Econ major I am very proud of Sid.

[DanceswithRabbits]

SDSUFAN,

Tell your FES friends hi from all of us on the board. ;)

[SDSUFAN]

The press conference was not front page news in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, but Chris Solari has a good feature article in the sports section.

SDSU kicks off fund drive
Chris Solari
csolari@argusleader.com

published: 1/9/2004

Sid Bostic cemented his place in South Dakota State history with one shot. Now, the former Jackrabbit basketball player is making an equally-big pitch for the university's future.

Thursday, Bostic returned to Sioux Falls to formally begin the school's "Lifelong Champions" fund-raising campaign. Bostic pledged $1 million and also revealed a $2.75 million donation from the estate of Mildred Stoker White.

The fund-raising drive is an integral part of SDSU's move to Division I, with a goal of raising $20 million over five years. Additional funding is required for new scholarships and facility improvements needed to compete at the higher level.

"We've been right at the top of Division II for a long time," said Bostic, volunteer chairman of the effort who made the game-winning, buzzer-beating basket in the 1963 Division II national championship game. "Considering everything, we're ready for this move, and it's very appropriate."

With those announcements and about $700,000 of anonymous and unnamed donations, the school currently has raised more than $6 million. That includes $2 million already in an endowment, Athletic Director Fred Oien said.

Interest from the endowment, not the actual donations, funds the scholarships. Thursday's two major donations will provide about $265,000 annually in revenue.

"This gives us a level source of funding forever, because we don't touch the principal. We're only touching the earnings off the endowment," Oien said.

Bostic, a retired banker and 1964 alumnus, now lives in Rio Verde, Ariz. His gift bears both his name and that of his wife Bonnie, a 1967 SDSU alumna who died in 2000.

"In my mind, it's payback time," Bostic said. "I'd say that the reaction (of prospective donors) has been 95 percent positive. We have a lot of things in the mill right now that I am very confident that are going to come to fruition in terms of additional money that is going to come in."

White was born in Sioux Falls and graduated from Washington High in 1930. She made her first donations to SDSU in the 1990s to honor her husband Roger White, who attended the university for 12 weeks in 1929 before the Great Depression ended his formal education.

Roger White, a 1929 Washington High grad, went on to start his own furniture company in Illinois and died in 1972. Mildred White died in March 2002. She previously had donated more than $600,000 to SDSU and even has an athletic scholarship named after her dog, Dakotah.

White's generosity was sparked by a Sioux proverb her mother taught her while growing up in Sioux Falls.

"That was, ÔNothing can enter a clenched fist,' " said V.J. Smith, executive director of the SDSU Alumni Association. "If you want to receive in life, you must first learn how to give, because truly whatever goes out of your hand comes back to your hand. And she learned that lesson well."

Keith Mahlum, the school's athletic director for external affairs and major gifts, said White's donation will fund 12 full scholarships annually. SDSU has received $2 million of it already, with the remainder arriving once her estate closes.

"The long-term strategy here is that every athletic scholarship is funded from this kind of a source," Oien said.

April is goal to have conference in place

South Dakota State athletic director Fred Oien and four other university officials left Thursday for the NCAA Convention in Nashville, Tenn.

They will take part in a training session for schools in the first year of the transition to Division I, and Oien also may talk with other athletic directors who hope to form a new Division I-AA football conference.

Schools discussing the conference are SDSU, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Southern Utah, California-Davis, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo and St. Mary's (Calif.).

Gene Taylor, athletic director at NDSU, said no formal meetings are planned between the schools, since it's likely that only four of the universities will have representatives in Nashville. The convention ends Monday.

Though no agreement has been finalized, April is the target month to have everything in place for the yet-to-be-named league. That's when the NCAA Division I Membership Committee meets to review applications.

"If we run into one another, since not everyone's going to be there, we'll catch up and see if anybody has questions," Taylor said. "We're still talking."

Reach Chris Solari at 977-3923.
Copyright 2003 Argus Leader. All rights reserved

USA Today | USA Weekend | Gannett Co. Inc. | Gannett Foundation | PheasantCountry.com

[dnk]

Congratulations!!! Great news for the Jacks!!. :)

[Alumguy]

From what I understand in talking to my friends in the Athletic Department, some of their biggest gifts come from people who started out giving $25 to $50 per year. Evey person who gifts a gift, no matter the amount, should feel good that they are "going above and beyond" to help. Many people feel their support comes through their ticket purchase. So, a person who gives a gift in addition to the ticket price is doing a great service to SDSU.

A few years ago I read a story about a woman who worked in the Athletic Office of I believe the University of Utah. Maybe it was Idaho. Anyway, she won an 86 million dollar lottery. Guess who the second big winner of that deal was? Yup, that athletic department.

It is just heartening that so many people give extra money to help the Jacks. We are the envy of SD.

[89rabbit]

Here is the Register's take:

Donors support D-I move: University receives gifts totaling nearly $4.5 million

By John Andrews

South Dakota State University got a shot in the arm in terms of fund-raising Thursday as officials announced they have secured $4.42 million to be used for athletic scholarships as the university moves into Division I.
The bulk of that sum, $2.75 million, comes from the estate of Mildred Stoker White, an Illinois woman who died in 2002. SDSU alumnus Sid Bostic has pledged another $1 million. The remainder comes from various anonymous donors.
The money will go towards the "Lifelong Champions Campaign," launched to help move SDSU into Division I beginning next year. Bostic, a retired banker now living in Rio Verde, Ariz., serves as the volunteer chairman for the campaign.
"This isn't going to change the values that we've had at South Dakota State University and, on a broader base, in South Dakota," Bostic said at a Sioux Falls press conference. "We will still have student-centered athletes with high graduation rates and good values. And we're not going to go all over the world recruiting athletes. We'll primarily recruit from the same area as we did before with a little expansion, perhaps."
White, a native of Sioux Falls, never attended SDSU. But her husband, Roger, did — for 12 weeks in 1929. He ran on the track team during his stay, which was cut short because of the stock market crash and the ensuing Depression. He eventually went to work for Montgomery Ward, and in 1955, the Whites began their own furniture company in Pontiac, Ill. Roger White died in 1972.
Twenty years later, V.J. Smith, who was working in the SDSU athletic department, got a call from Mildred White. She wanted to fund a scholarship in memory of her late husband. She sent the university a check for $40,000.
"We didn't find Mildred White," said Smith, who currently serves as the executive director of the SDSU Alumni Association. "Mildred found us."
Over the next 10 years, White continued to donate money to the university, and each year, the amount got a little larger. Eventually, SDSU had scholarships for Roger, Mildred, Mildred's brother (Melvin Stoker) and her sister (Jennie Stoker Helwig). And she even had one named for her dog.
"You go to the athletic department right now, and it lists all the perpetual scholarships," Smith said. "Right there in the center, it has the name Dakotah, because that was the name of her dachshund."
In all, White donated more than $3.5 million to SDSU. The university has already received $2 million of her final gift, with the remaining amount to come when her estate is officially closed.
"For some time, we had known that SDSU was to be a significant part of Mildred's estate plans. She told us," Smith said. "But Mildred was intensely private as to her net worth. Frankly, we were ecstatic for all she had done for us, and would have been eternally grateful if she had done nothing more."
White's gift will provide 12 full scholarships annually, the first of which will be distributed for the fall 2004 term.
Bostic is most famously known among the SDSU family as the man who sank the game-winning shot to give the SDSU men's basketball team the 1963 NCAA Division II national championship. Now, he's trying to be the man who raises a significant sum of money for SDSU over the next five years.
He called the Lifelong Champions Campaign a two-pronged campaign. The first priority is to raise $20 million in endowment money, the earnings from which will be used to fund scholarships. Secondly, officials hope to generate at least $700,000 annually to provide student-athletes with scholarships. He said the drive is off to a good start.
"I think there will be other good announcements coming very soon relative to the financial piece of this campaign," Bostic said.

[Cowbell]

Does anyone know the status of this campaign? The article said Bostic wanted to raise 20 million in five years. Its been more than five years.

[filbert]

Didn't this get swept into the big "It Starts With State" campaign?

[Cowbell]

Don't know where it got swept to. I was hoping it wasn't under a rug. I just wanted to know the progress to date. Over five years ago some great intentions were stated and its past their self imposed deadline. I'm curious about how far they've come.

[Nidaros]

I believe the part not raised at the start of the current campaign was dove tailed into the current campaign " It begins with State." When the current campaign was announced I was pleasantly surprised about the amount to be raised for Athletics. The Visons campaign in the early 1990's did not have much except for the Wellness Center and the East side of CAS. I am sure Jack #! Fan can elborate more on this subject.

[filbert]

Changed thread title.

[Cowbell]

I noted 89rabbit's reference (in another thread) to bringing up an old thread(s) and making light of it. Here's my take as an alum, longtime financial supporter and season ticket holder - the athletic department made a big deal out of announcing, in a very public way, that they were undertaking an aggressive fund raising campaign. Since then we have heard nothing. Every fundraising campaign I know of (United Way, SDSU Foundation, etc.) has given periodic updates on progress, especially at the conclusion of the campaign. I don't think its to much to ask that we hear the results, good or bad. I just want to know how they are doing about something they said they were going to do.

[jack power]

I noted 89rabbit's reference (in another thread) to bringing up an old thread(s) and making light of it. Here's my take as an alum, longtime financial supporter and season ticket holder - the athletic department made a big deal out of announcing, in a very public way, that they were undertaking an aggressive fund raising campaign. Since then we have heard nothing. Every fundraising campaign I know of (United Way, SDSU Foundation, etc.) has given periodic updates on progress, especially at the conclusion of the campaign. I don't think its to much to ask that we hear the results, good or bad. I just want to know how they are doing about something they said they were going to do.
Simple solution: Pick up the phone, call the athletic department, and ask THEM.

[Jacks#1Fan]

I noted 89rabbit's reference (in another thread) to bringing up an old thread(s) and making light of it. Here's my take as an alum, longtime financial supporter and season ticket holder - the athletic department made a big deal out of announcing, in a very public way, that they were undertaking an aggressive fund raising campaign. Since then we have heard nothing. Every fundraising campaign I know of (United Way, SDSU Foundation, etc.) has given periodic updates on progress, especially at the conclusion of the campaign. I don't think its to much to ask that we hear the results, good or bad. I just want to know how they are doing about something they said they were going to do.

It was a $20 million goal campaign. It didn't make its goal, before the new overall campaign was started, and so it got folded over into the $190 million campaign. I believe there may be several major gifts for capital ventures out there that may see fruition in the next few years, but are not fully decided and not public. I'm not sure what is out there in regards to growing the endowments. Check back again in a couple of years.

[1stRowFANatic]

Cowbell,
You are correct that there hadn't been any public announcements recently, but I believe those ended when it was folded into the overall campaign. When it was still on its own, I heard reports from the foundation, the athletic dept, and the president's office regarding the drive. Since it is not in play anymore, not sure why they would talk about.

IIRC, the Foundation announced at the last SES luncheon they are past the half way mark dollar wise on the overall campaign, which is ahead of where they planned to be at this time.

[Nidaros]

I can understand the silence from the SDSU Foundation position, especially with individuals who have resources to donate. No matter who the benefiicary is, you advertize your intend only when you want to aggravate some one who thinks they are part of the estate plans when they are not.

My experience with the SDSU Foundation is that they have been very discrete and I am just a small donor compared to some of the potential big gifts that may be out there.

I question how much effectiveness progress reports would have been when the progress was slow. We(SDSU Community) open ourselves up to critics when we have less than positive results to report. Especially with the reclassification to D1, it was not a popular move as we should all recall.

Jack#1Fan has a life-time career in the inter circle of SDSU happenings so I trust very much what he is telling us and understandablely knows a great deal more than what he has said on this board.

Small gifts count too, so do not be overly concern about SDSU receiving large gifts. We got people working on these things and they will happen.

[89rabbit]

I noted 89rabbit's reference (in another thread) to bringing up an old thread(s) and making light of it. Here's my take as an alum, longtime financial supporter and season ticket holder - the athletic department made a big deal out of announcing, in a very public way, that they were undertaking an aggressive fund raising campaign. Since then we have heard nothing. Every fundraising campaign I know of (United Way, SDSU Foundation, etc.) has given periodic updates on progress, especially at the conclusion of the campaign. I don't think its to much to ask that we hear the results, good or bad. I just want to know how they are doing about something they said they were going to do.

Just to clarify I have no problem with people bringing back old threads, I just thought it was interesting that on the same day several threads were resurrected.

Without even looking at the date I knew that they were old because I was still living in Kansas City when I contributed to them and I was still the moderator of the board. I just celebrated my 2 year anniversary of being back in Brookings so those threads seem like ancient history to me that was my only point (plus I just enjoyed making a Rocky and Bullwinkle reference, you don’t get to do that everyday). In the words of filbert "play on".


Go State! :)

[Cowbell]

The responses to my request for information, with all due respect, have left me puzzled. It seems that those people, supposedly on the inside of sdsu athletics, are giving a pass on the campaign saying its been folded into the next foundation campaign. Sid Bostic, with the blessing of the athletic department, said they were going to raise 20 million dollars in five yrs. They already had about 5 million on hand in when they made the announcement. It seems they raised very little money since then. To me, that campaign has been a failure, pure and simple. If I'm wrong, please tell me how much money has been raised. That seems to be reasonable. I don't want to hear about what they want to do, I want to know how much money they came up with.

Before you write me off as some knucklehead, I think its a barometer of the support out there for a field house, new and improved football stadium and a bunch of other projects.

[filbert]

The responses to my request for information, with all due respect, have left me puzzled. It seems that those people, supposedly on the inside of sdsu athletics, are giving a pass on the campaign saying its been folded into the next foundation campaign. Sid Bostic, with the blessing of the athletic department, said they were going to raise 20 million dollars in five yrs. They already had about 5 million on hand in when they made the announcement. It seems they raised very little money since then. To me, that campaign has been a failure, pure and simple. If I'm wrong, please tell me how much money has been raised. That seems to be reasonable. I don't want to hear about what they want to do, I want to know how much money they came up with.

Before you write me off as some knucklehead, I think its a barometer of the support out there for a field house, new and improved football stadium and a bunch of other projects.
Can we assume you've contacted the Foundation directly by letter, phone, or e-mail and not gotten an acceptable response?

[jackmd]

Can we assume you've contacted the Foundation directly by letter, phone, or e-mail and not gotten an acceptable response?

I've always received what I consider a satisfactory response when inquiring at the foundation. Perhaps my definition of satisfactory is different than others. I'd say its sound advice from filbert. I'm not sure there is much to discover here.

[Nidaros]

The responses to my request for information, with all due respect, have left me puzzled. It seems that those people, supposedly on the inside of sdsu athletics, are giving a pass on the campaign saying its been folded into the next foundation campaign. Sid Bostic, with the blessing of the athletic department, said they were going to raise 20 million dollars in five yrs. They already had about 5 million on hand in when they made the announcement. It seems they raised very little money since then. To me, that campaign has been a failure, pure and simple. If I'm wrong, please tell me how much money has been raised. That seems to be reasonable. I don't want to hear about what they want to do, I want to know how much money they came up with.

Before you write me off as some knucklehead, I think its a barometer of the support out there for a field house, new and improved football stadium and a bunch of other projects.

Did they reach their goal? No!! Did they raise 5 million they did not have before ? yes. Was it a failure? Well it was not a complete success would be a more gentle explanation. Why beat up on the guy that got us a National Championship in 1963? Sid is a great person and was very successful in the banking business. I was on campus the same time Sid was and I only wish I had taken the course Money and Banking more serious and studied as hard as Sid did. This course probably got his foot in the door in the banking business and he did real well, but he appreciated everything SDSU did for him. I think its unfair to start pointing fingers here especially since Sid was an unpaid volunteer. He had some help from the foundation but the money donors were not there for athletics.

From my view, athletics are very secondary in the minds of many of our alums who have been successful in other fields. Many have been generous but they have been generous in other things such as non athletic scholarships and buildings.

I do agree that the task of fund raising for athletic facilities is not ever going to be a popular subject nor easy. You would be surprised how all the alumni from NDSU view athletics. Not all of them that I have met are "go-go rahrah gobision folks". Some of them think its all a waste of money despite the national championships they managed to accumulated during the D2 Days. I suspect we got these type folks amongst our alums as well.

So its up to us who feel very passionate about athletics at SDSU to do all that we can in supporting financially. One thing that has recently given me hope and if I had been more involved or been on the hiring committee of Justin Sells I would have picked up on this sooner is that AD Sell was involved in a number of details at UNI that yielded their new basketball facility. I would think that AD Sells has expericence from that work that will be very helpful in getting the job done. Dr Oien never had that opportunity in building facilities that Sell has had already. Justin Sell has a clue. So I think we can get over the hump and maybe the support for new facilites is now there that was not 50 years ago in the Staduim for State drive. That movement literally stalled and lets hope that does not happen again.

[Nidaros]

I've always received what I consider a satisfactory response when inquiring at the foundation. Perhaps my definition of satisfactory is different than others. I'd say its sound advice from filbert. I'm not sure there is much to discover here.

I would have to agree. At one point in time, the annual report from the foundation was very detailed and might have appeared real "nosey" to those who want to keep their actions and appreciation to SDSU quiet.

[Jacks#1Fan]

The responses to my request for information, with all due respect, have left me puzzled.

I'll give you a straight-forward answer Cowbell, if that is what you so desparately need:

1) The athletic department wanted to raise $20 million for athletic scholarship endowments.

2) Sid Bostic agreed, when asked, to chair the campaign.

3) Sid gave $1 million to the campaign as a kickoff gift.

4) Getting scholarship endowments for athletics is a slow process. The campaign progressed slowly.

5) When the new, larger campaign began, various entities had portions of the goal. The athletic scholarship endowment became part of the goals the department had in the larger $190 million campaign.

End of story. If you want to call that a failure...go ahead. Not sure what you want after that, though, on what is now a non-story. With all the capital demands for better facilities (completion of Dykhouse SAC, a new indoor field house, a new, improved football stadium, better facilities for baseball and softball, etc.), I'm sure the goal of $20 million in new endowment funds will continue to be a very slow process.

BTW, any posters who would like to see it be more successful, the Foundation now offers an ACORN endowment when you can get the money started, contribute to it as you can, and eventually, if you give enough, will become a full-fledged endowment (athletic, if that is your choice).

[Roy]

I will vouch for the ACORN endowment. (This is the good ACORN!) As #1 said, there are a lot of SDSU needs that deserve our support, but by hanging in there and contributing $$ over time, I also will have an athletic scholarship in my name. (That is, if the kids don't get wise)

[jackmd]

I will vouch for the ACORN endowment. (This is the good ACORN!) As #1 said, there are a lot of SDSU needs that deserve our support, but by hanging in there and contributing $$ over time, I also will have an athletic scholarship in my name. (That is, if the kids don't get wise)

I'll vouch for it as well, just finished setting one up this year. Should be fully funded in the next 3-5 years. If anyone wants details just let me know.

[Nidaros]

One of the benefits once an award is made to a student athlete is the invite to attend the Endowment Banquet where you get to meet and dine with the student athlete that received the award in your name. This has been going on now for only two years, but its a great chance to meet the people who will be receiving your support. I am glad they started this banquet, and the one this year was much better attended than than last year. Its catching on. Before you got a handwritten thank you note from the student athlete and that was it.

With the endowment income earned help defray some of the aid for a student athlete. I believe to generate a full ride for one student athlete, the endowment has to have at least $200,000 in the endowment earning income at the rate of return of roughly 5 percent for a full year. I am assuming a full ride would be in excess of $10,000. Probably more like 13k.

The perpetual scholarship funds are tied to the economy pretty much and I think as Jack #1 Fan pointed out the investments by the foundation are very conservative, but as many learned this past year, every investment fund got hit very hard. I been trying to get some education on deriviates, swaps and what have you and its complicated, but like everyone else the Foundation assets took their share of the hit went the market fell apart a year ago. Things are lookin up though.

I hope we get more people to jump on the Acorn Bandwagon as Roy and Jackmd have. You will not regret doing so.

[SoDakJack]

One of the benefits once an award is made to a student athlete is the invite to attend the Endowment Banquet where you get to meet and dine with the student athlete that received the award in your name. This has been going on now for only two years, but its a great chance to meet the people who will be receiving your support. I am glad they started this banquet, and the one this year was much better attended than than last year. Its catching on. Before you got a handwritten thank you note from the student athlete and that was it.

With the endowment income earned help defray some of the aid for a student athlete. I believe to generate a full ride for one student athlete, the endowment has to have at least $200,000 in the endowment earning income at the rate of return of roughly 5 percent for a full year. I am assuming a full ride would be in excess of $10,000. Probably more like 13k.

The perpetual scholarship funds are tied to the economy pretty much and I think as Jack #1 Fan pointed out the investments by the foundation are very conservative, but as many learned this past year, every investment fund got hit very hard. I been trying to get some education on deriviates, swaps and what have you and its complicated, but like everyone else the Foundation assets took their share of the hit went the market fell apart a year ago. Things are lookin up though.

I hope we get more people to jump on the Acorn Bandwagon as Roy and Jackmd have. You will not regret doing so.


It was brought up in the thread about the ORU indoor facility, but I think that there are alot of folks out there that are under the impression that since they can't donate thousands of dollars every year that their donations are somehow less important. We all know that is not the case, and in this area they may even be more important.

[jackmd]

It was brought up in the thread about the ORU indoor facility, but I think that there are alot of folks out there that are under the impression that since they can't donate thousands of dollars every year that their donations are somehow less important. We all know that is not the case, and in this area they may even be more important.

Exactly. If you can contribute $1000/yr you can set up and endowed scholarship in academics or athletics. Contact your family members who are SDSU grads or Jackrabbit fans and see if they are willing to commit a couple hundred bucks per year (about $20/month), pick a name for your acorn endowment and the subsequent scholarships it produces and get the ball rolling. That is how we did it. Its really as easy as calling the SDSU foundation or Ned Gavlik in the athletic department.