Topic: Alumnus and Corporate Sponsors

[l heck]

It is time to let things rest on other topics and ask yourself some questions on the following topics.

Last week the BOG determined projects for future facilities, but where is this money coming from.  We the fans contribute but not in the dollars needed to complete these projects.  The university needs large donations from corporations and wealth alumnus.  So where are they at? The weak athletic marketing department seems not to know how to reach these personnel, so maybe someone out side of this office could assist them to obtain these funds.

Question is why can't we get one of these corporations to donate and name the facility after them,  Most universities over the US does this why can't we.  if my memory is correct in the Marshall magazine didn't they list CEO or Presidents of major corporations.  One was the president of Hyundai why can't we get him or his corportation to donate a large contribution and name the facility after him or the business.  

Another suggestion is how about the so called supporter that helped to have the program placed on probation which not only lost us schloarships but also revenue make a large donation towards one of the projects. I know many will say but he assisted the university on hiring Donnie Jones, but really did that equal the losses we had over the 5 year period.

Yet most of all where is our Alumni association on obtaining funds for these projects!

As for the athletic marketing department, the football season gave the department a large mailing base, but now will basketball season coming on just now many none ticket holders received ticket information,  If you are like me I received nothing, but intend to try and attend several of the games this year.

In other words where truly is our so called leaders not only in the athletic department but in the organizations supporting our different athletic sports.

[svherd]

Our leaders wouldn't know how to market to a big corp. if their life depended on it.
Akron is getting their new stadium because of a corp. sponsorship from Infocision. UCF has them, as you say, everyone does.
 Yes, I am very grateful to Joan and James Edwards but MU has to realize, there are not too many Edwards, Marshall Reynolds out there unless you beat the bushes and make an effort - which we don't.

[HerdNerd in Cincy]

C'mon, guys, use your thinking caps:  there just aren't big-dollar companies in Marshall's back yard.  

There is a reason the Tri-State is depressed - there are few large employers at all, and the ones that are have low wage jobs.  We don't have middle- and upper-management opportunities for individuals to contribute, and we don't have large corporate sponsors who can contribute.  

We have 2 BCS schools within 2 hours, and an in-state BCS school that has been established in sports for YEARS.

Don't blame the individuals who donate - our $100 is a lot to us, but there is not a huge base of humans to draw from.

Barring multiple years of success and great players who prosper in the NFL, we are destined to be an athletic program forced to operate on a shoe-string budget.

I'll always love and support the Herd, but will never be able to stop giving money to help them get over the hump...

[l heck]

I realize that we are not in a high manufacturing company area, but we do have alumnus that are upper executives in corporations that could possible donate in their name.   We do have banks, steel companies, Marathon Oil in Ashland Ky and Cisco how about them.

[herd1986]

75 people died in the plane crash.  How about 110 people get 10 different people to contribute $1.00 for each person that died in the plane crash ($75.00) each month for a year in honor of the people that died in the plane crash. (Total of 1100 people contributing $900 over the course of the year). At the end of the year you basically have $1,000,000.00. How about we dedicate the money to a museum and indoor practice facility to honor the plane crash victims.  Many of the family members of the plane crash victims would be happy to get 10 people to contribute 75.00 per month for a year to honor those lost in the crash.   It is a start and you can see the idea.  To really raise money an important person has to work the phones and get commitments and follow up and follow up and follow up.  Nobody from our athletic department has ever contacted me or my law partner (whose parents died in the crash).   We would contribute if asked.  Without a doubt, we can do a better job of raising money.  In fact, I am about ready to take matters into my own hands and approach the powers to be myself.

[banker]

The Marshall Foundation has hired a new CEO.  His name is Ron Area and he comes to us from Oklahoma State were he was unbelievably successful as a fund raiser.  I can't stress enough how important this is.

For those that don't know what the foundation is (or even that it exists), here's a link: http://www.marshall.edu/foundation/

Basically the foundation has become the development arm of the University.  They are building the softball field, for example, then gifting it to the school.

They also handle all the investments of gifts, donations, etc. not only for themselves but also for the Big Green and the Alumni Association and everybody else who is raising money around campus.

The reason that the new CEO is so important is that the foundation has been an underused resource for years.  They only had one person really soliciting money, they are increasing that to at least four including a planned giving specialist (for things like large estate gifts).  Also, for the first time every, the solicitation of gifts will become coordinated.  Instead of getting something from the Alumni Assoc, the Big Green, the Foundation, and the Math club big donors, or potential big donors ,will be assigned a rep to coordinate their giving activities so they don't feel like they are always being hounded.

Ron Area will pursue the corporate angle with much more vigor than those before him and he will be successful.  He's a sharp guy.  I got the opportunity to sit with him for about an hour and I will tell you that he is a huge sports fan.  I would look for new boxes to be added to the east side of the stadium within two years (there for the 2009 season).  He sees it as a priority not only because it is a money maker (and there is a waiting list) but also because it increases corporate involvement.

Look for great things when it comes to facilities over the next few years for all phases of the school.

[Always THE HERD]

Anyone heard of these area corporations:

Toyota
Chesapeake Energy
Peabody Energy
Eastern Associated Coal Corp.
Massey Energy
Mountaineer Gas
AEP

[HerdNerd in Cincy]

 Nobody from our athletic department has ever contacted me or my law partner (whose parents died in the crash).   We would contribute if asked.  Without a doubt, we can do a better job of raising money.  In fact, I am about ready to take matters into my own hands and approach the powers to be myself.

Surely you aren't waiting for a formal invitation to start giving money????

If you support the Herd, make a good living and can afford it, I hope you're already giving generously.  If you're on this board, you must be a big fan - open your wallet.  If you need an invitation, here it is:  Please give!

[Olen]

The Marshall Foundation has hired a new CEO.  His name is Ron Area and he comes to us from Oklahoma State were he was unbelievably successful as a fund raiser.  I can't stress enough how important this is.

For those that don't know what the foundation is (or even that it exists), here's a link: http://www.marshall.edu/foundation/

Basically the foundation has become the development arm of the University.  They are building the softball field, for example, then gifting it to the school.

They also handle all the investments of gifts, donations, etc. not only for themselves but also for the Big Green and the Alumni Association and everybody else who is raising money around campus.

The reason that the new CEO is so important is that the foundation has been an underused resource for years.  They only had one person really soliciting money, they are increasing that to at least four including a planned giving specialist (for things like large estate gifts).  Also, for the first time every, the solicitation of gifts will become coordinated.  Instead of getting something from the Alumni Assoc, the Big Green, the Foundation, and the Math club big donors, or potential big donors ,will be assigned a rep to coordinate their giving activities so they don't feel like they are always being hounded.

Ron Area will pursue the corporate angle with much more vigor than those before him and he will be successful.  He's a sharp guy.  I got the opportunity to sit with him for about an hour and I will tell you that he is a huge sports fan.  I would look for new boxes to be added to the east side of the stadium within two years (there for the 2009 season).  He sees it as a priority not only because it is a money maker (and there is a waiting list) but also because it increases corporate involvement.

Look for great things when it comes to facilities over the next few years for all phases of the school.

Excellent recitation of the facts.

McRae Pennington is a personal friend and a colleague.  For someone that is not an alum, and that could have personal ties to the universities in KY (where she is from), she has worked extremely hard to help change the "cultural philosophy" of the Foundation - including looking into "new" ideas that are "radical" by Marshall Un. standards.  The "new" direction that started under Mr. Kinzer and that is amped up by Mr. Area correlates with McRae's philosophy on fund raising.  Hiring additional specialists will really cast the net that much wider.

Slowly, the culture is changing at Marshall Un. -- for the better.

[herd1986]

 Nobody from our athletic department has ever contacted me or my law partner (whose parents died in the crash).   We would contribute if asked.  Without a doubt, we can do a better job of raising money.  In fact, I am about ready to take matters into my own hands and approach the powers to be myself.

Surely you aren't waiting for a formal invitation to start giving money????

If you support the Herd, make a good living and can afford it, I hope you're already giving generously.  If you're on this board, you must be a big fan - open your wallet.  If you need an invitation, here it is:  Please give!

We give.  But having raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for political campaigns I can tell you from personal experience that you raise more money by calls that get committments and follow up, follow up and follow up.  The question is: How much money do they leave on the table with their current approach to fundraising?  My personal experience with the fundraising that I have witnessed to date suggests it is substantial.  The new fundraising CEO sounds like a good start.

[hookem herd]

Anyone heard of these area corporations:

Toyota
Chesapeake Energy
Peabody Energy
Eastern Associated Coal Corp.
Massey Energy
Mountaineer Gas
AEP

Add Marathon Oil, Sunoco Chemical, Sun Coke, Duke Energy.

[l heck]

this is what I was looking for when I started this message Ideas!!!
One of the major corporations I feel is the coal industry.  Why not have them come in as a group and come up with a name to show their interest in the southern part of the state and its employees.

[svherd]

Olen, as usual, you are dead on. MU has NEVER been proactive in these areas - increasing donors, corporate giving, heck, even student recruitment. Its time these ideas changed and we started being very aggressive in the above areas. If MU does not invest time and efforts to increase individual and corporate donors and student enrollment, this school will stagnate, basically affecting every area and losing ground to most schools in the country.
I never could understand why the powers that be in Old Main were so blind to these facts. It permeated in the Big Green for years and just now seems to be turning the corner. MU needs to learn from its business school professors - you've got to spend money to make money.

[svherd]

How about the Massey Indoor Practice Facility. Or Peabody Baseball Park.
Summers Eve Softball Facility! :shock:

[ThunderZone]

Add Marathon Oil, Sunoco Chemical, Sun Coke, Duke Energy.

You can forget about Marathon Oil ... That ship has sailed ... It did so the day that Marathon purchased Ashland Oil.

Ashland Oil was a great sponsor ... They used to donate a lot of money on top of a huge advertising campaign around MU ... You would see their logo all over the Henderson Center, Game programs, Radio adds, etc. etc. ...

That ended when Marathon bought them out ... Those decisions don't come from around here anymore ... The decision makers are located at Marathon's corp. offices in Findlay, OH ...

I would venture to say, and it's not much of a stretch, that all of their corp. donations and advertising dollars stay up there and go to OSU.

They choose to keep that money local ... The same way Ashland Oil used to do here with MU ... Things change ... This one was no fault of MU.

It's just a shame that buy out happened ... I've felt the effects from this buy out in my job ... Ashland Oil used to purchase all kinds of material and equipment from my company as well as some service contracts to keep equipment maintained properly ... A great account that we worked very hard on.

Now, nothing ... All of those purchase orders and decisions come from Marathon corp. and not locally ... They choose to send people down here from the Columbus area and buy all of their material from companies in that area ... Next to nothing happens locally anymore.

It's a shame.

[l heck]

I like the names on the last reply.  Why can't we get something going on this.  Isn't their away to get the BOG and other parties involved to have an open meeting to discuss some of this things.

Here's another question to this just how many of you that are season ticket holders received another on becoming new basketball season holders?  I didn't and I have been a football ticket holder for the last ten years and live here in the Huntington area.