An idea from a new University of Northern Colorado athletics department staff member led to the creation of a new matching-gift fundraising campaign with a goal to raise $100,000, UNC athletic director Darren Dunn said.
As reported by Greeley Tribune, the athletic department’s first Building Champions Giving will open at midnight Oct. 15 and run through noon Oct. 16.
The 36-hour campaign is more of a “coordinated and concentrated effort" than typical year-round fundraising efforts, according to Dunn said. It is designed to raise money for athletes and teams in 12 UNC programs: baseball, women’s and men’s basketball, cross country/track and field, football, women’s and men’s golf, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, volleyball and wrestling.
“I like this concept,” Dunn said. “It condenses the efforts and prompts cross-promotion of the programs, and hopefully it creates more awareness in the community.”
As reported by Anne Delaney of Greeley Tribune, Dunn said the giving campaign was the idea of Angelica Sena, who has earned two degrees from UNC and has served as the university's associate director of athletic development for about 18 months. She has worked for Division I athletic programs such as Virginia Tech, Washington and Utah.
The giving campaign is a matching-gift effort, meaning all donations will be matched up to a certain amount based on team and program objectives. Dunn said fewer than six anonymous donors are providing the matching donations. Dunn said he’d like to see this campaign bring in $100,000, which will then be matched by the donors.
“We have a lot of needs and a lot of donors who want to help, and we’re super appreciative,” Dunn said.
Here are the 12 programs and their fundraising goals:
- Baseball: $10,000
- Men’s basketball:$10,000
- Women’s basketball: $25,000
- Football: $10,000
- Wrestling: $4,000
- Volleyball: $6,000
- Softball: $5,000
- Track and field and cross country: $20,000
- Swimming and diving: $10,000
- Soccer: $2,500
- Men's golf: $2,500
- Women's golf: $2,500
Men’s basketball coach Steve Smiley also likes the idea of the new campaign, Delaney reported. Smiley’s program is trying to raise funds to travel abroad in 2025. The team is looking at options to go to Canada, South America, the Caribbean and Europe among other destinations depending on how much is raised.
