Multimillion gift announce (January 2004) in Sioux Falls

[Cowbell]

Re: Multimillion gift announce (January 2004) in Sioux Falls

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]

Re: Multimillion gift announce (January 2004) in Sioux Falls

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]

Re: Multimillion gift announce (January 2004) in Sioux Falls

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]

Re: Multimillion gift announce (January 2004) in Sioux Falls

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]

Re: Multimillion gift announce (January 2004) in Sioux Falls

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]

Re: Multimillion gift announce (January 2004) in Sioux Falls

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]

Re: Multimillion gift announce (January 2004) in Sioux Falls

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]

Re: Multimillion gift announce (January 2004) in Sioux Falls

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]

Re: Multimillion gift announce (January 2004) in Sioux Falls

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]

Re: Multimillion gift announce (January 2004) in Sioux Falls

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]

Re: Multimillion gift announce (January 2004) in Sioux Falls

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.