(04-07-2015 08:31 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(04-07-2015 08:30 AM)Mecklund Wrote:  

(04-07-2015 08:13 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(04-07-2015 07:34 AM)Mecklund Wrote:  

(04-06-2015 05:21 PM)Northern Va. Owl Wrote:  Apologies if this was in the thread and I missed it, but what are the "aggressive goals" and is there anything in particular you have to do to count toward the matching funds when making a donation? Thanks.

The goal for this year is $2.1 MM and we currently have a little bit more than $1.8 MM accounted for. The $1.8 MM number is from mid-March, so thanks to some of the new contributions and upped commitments mentioned on this thread we may actually be a little bit closer. Thanks again for considering a gift to the Owl Club!

What is the time frame for this?

I need to confirm, but I believe the cutoff is June 30.

Yes, as with the Annual Fund, it's the academic calendar year-- July 1 - June 30.

Walt is correct. They are pushing to receive all pledges by May 30, to avoid the last minute scramble. With that said, donations will gladly be accepted and counted towards the current fundraising year until June 30.

The price keeps going up. Now it is going to take $1,000 to get in the Owl Room at a football game. It was $100 when I started in the early 1980s. It gets harder to come up with the money since entered semi-retirement and had to cut back the amount of work I do. I would probably not re-up if Greenspan was still mismanaging the department but there is a lot more to look forward to now.

Thanks for the info. I made a donation.

Maybe there should be a participation increase goal, too. It would also be good to promote this more widely.

Go Owls!

(The donation webpage is a bit wonky, at least in IE. I had to play with the display settings so that the blue bar, which I think should be at the bottom, didn't block the fields.)

Thank you for the contributions. The Athletic Department is sending out their mailing campaign this week. So the word should be getting out shortly!

The win over the Coogs got me fired up and I wanted to give yall a quick update. I spoke with Josh Thiel and he mentioned how much he appreciated all of the effort and contributions from the members of the Parliament. It sounds like Walt's post got the ball rolling and a number of you stepped up to keep things moving.

The Athletic Department has now kicked off their formal campaign and each of you should be receiving more information shortly. Hopefully with their efforts and the assistance from Rice's most loyal fans (All of you) we will hit the $2.1 MM goal and see a big bump in overall participation. Remember to tell your friends who love Rice that the only gift that is too small is no gift at all!

BTW, I had a long conversation with Tanner Gardner at the game last night. There are a lot of new and exciting things in the works within the athletic department, many of which I assume Dr. K will disclose when he gives his mid-year vision update on Saturday.

I will pass along one such effort...the AD have retained a market research firm to prepare a comprehensive survey/questionnaire on Rice Branding, which will be soon be sent to all students, alumni and season ticketholders. And, yes, it will include questions on Sammy!

Stay tuned.

I thought JK used the additional funds given to him by the university to hire Tanner, his business/consulting background, a director of business strategy and additional people in the marketing office to begin these surveys already. Any word on how all the other initiatives, surveys, business analytics, that have been in the works are working out? Crowds at baseball have seem disappointing.

Thanks.

(04-07-2015 05:41 PM)75src Wrote:  The price keeps going up. Now it is going to take $1,000 to get in the Owl Room at a football game. It was $100 when I started in the early 1980s. It gets harder to come up with the money since entered semi-retirement and had to cut back the amount of work I do. I would probably not re-up if Greenspan was still mismanaging the department but there is a lot more to look forward to now.

What is a snapshot of the cost - benefit comparison between the early 80s and now ?

(04-16-2015 12:51 AM)BufflOwl Wrote:  I thought JK used the additional funds given to him by the university to hire Tanner, his business/consulting background, a director of business strategy and additional people in the marketing office to begin these surveys already. Any word on how all the other initiatives, surveys, business analytics, that have been in the works are working out? Crowds at baseball have seem disappointing.

Thanks.

I do not have the numbers in front of me at the moment, but I know that attendance in all sports this year are up double digit on a percentage basis. I have talked with Tanner about attendance and I can assure you he is not satisfied with the improvement and expects more. His most recent project is focusing on football ticket sales and we will not be able to see the results until next year. I cannot promise you they will be successful, but I can promise you that there is a lot of work and thought going in to what they are doing.

(04-16-2015 06:27 AM)Da.Owl Wrote:  

(04-07-2015 05:41 PM)75src Wrote:  The price keeps going up. Now it is going to take $1,000 to get in the Owl Room at a football game. It was $100 when I started in the early 1980s. It gets harder to come up with the money since entered semi-retirement and had to cut back the amount of work I do. I would probably not re-up if Greenspan was still mismanaging the department but there is a lot more to look forward to now.

What is a snapshot of the cost - benefit comparison between the early 80s and now ?

I am not sure I have that information, but what I can say is that a $1,000 donation to Rice Athletics buys a fan/consumer much more access/value than at just about any school D1 program I am aware of. I know a $1,000 is not a small check to write, but I do believe the money supports a worthy cause and delivers fair value in comparison to other D1 schools. I know my two Texans tickets last year cost me $2,200 which earned me the privilege of watching mediocre football while enjoying $6.50 beers.

Unfortunately inflation has driven the cost up of many items over the past 30 years. I graduated from Rice in 1994 and tuition at Rice was $10,000 a year and it is now $42,000 a year. It was a top 20 school back then and still is today. Not sure the education is 4x better, but I do know it costs more! Not sure what tuition was in the early 80's but I am guessing it was a lot less than the $10,000 in my era. I believe it was free in the Rice Institute days.

I know the $1,000 is a meaningful commitment and I appreciate you giving it consideration. I know the Owl Club Board and the Athletic Department values having your support.

(04-16-2015 06:27 AM)Da.Owl Wrote:  

(04-07-2015 05:41 PM)75src Wrote:  The price keeps going up. Now it is going to take $1,000 to get in the Owl Room at a football game. It was $100 when I started in the early 1980s. .

What is a snapshot of the cost - benefit comparison between the early 80s and now ?

And remember that ultimately the Owl Club, like all of Rice, is a philanthropy: the gift given is SUPPOSED to be much more than the benefits received.

(04-16-2015 09:08 AM)georgewebb Wrote:  

(04-16-2015 06:27 AM)Da.Owl Wrote:  

(04-07-2015 05:41 PM)75src Wrote:  The price keeps going up. Now it is going to take $1,000 to get in the Owl Room at a football game. It was $100 when I started in the early 1980s. .

What is a snapshot of the cost - benefit comparison between the early 80s and now ?

And remember that ultimately the Owl Club, like all of Rice, is a philanthropy: the gift given is SUPPOSED to be much more than the benefits received.

+1000. Thank you!

I'd be very impressed if The Owl Club can raise $2 million. That's a lot of money for a school with such a small alumni base. I like the push that's being made and I like that the goals are stated. I wish I could make a donation and join. It sounds like a lot of fun. I'll be there in a couple of years.

I certainly hope that those running the Owl Club will do the right thing and allow those of us who give to SIGs to receive Owl Club benefits. It really doesn't even have to be one-to-one, but we still contribute to athletics and somehow we are invisible.

(04-16-2015 02:47 PM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  I certainly hope that those running the Owl Club will do the right thing and allow those of us who give to SIGs to receive Owl Club benefits. It really doesn't even have to be one-to-one, but we still contribute to athletics and somehow we are invisible.

Why don't the SIGs give SIG benefits to the SIG donors?

The SIG funds are separate from the Owl Club fund, IIRC.

(04-16-2015 03:10 PM)Frizzy Owl Wrote:  

(04-16-2015 02:47 PM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  I certainly hope that those running the Owl Club will do the right thing and allow those of us who give to SIGs to receive Owl Club benefits. It really doesn't even have to be one-to-one, but we still contribute to athletics and somehow we are invisible.

Why don't the SIGs give SIG benefits to the SIG donors?

The SIG funds are separate from the Owl Club fund, IIRC.

The SIGs cannot give perks like access to R Room or Trauber Suite or Reserve parking, etc. We know that the funds are separate, but they just avoid the middle man and go directly to the particular sport.

The "middle man" SIGs bypass is the athletic department, the budget of which pays for staff and maintenance of the facilities used to provide the perqs.

(04-16-2015 04:02 PM)Frizzy Owl Wrote:  The "middle man" SIGs bypass is the athletic department, the budget of which pays for staff and maintenance of the facilities used to provide the perqs.

Please give me a link to the detailed financial statement for the Owl Club, so I can see exactly where the money goes. Thank you.

(04-16-2015 04:10 PM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  

(04-16-2015 04:02 PM)Frizzy Owl Wrote:  The "middle man" SIGs bypass is the athletic department, the budget of which pays for staff and maintenance of the facilities used to provide the perqs.

Please give me a link to the detailed financial statement for the Owl Club, so I can see exactly where the money goes. Thank you.

That's beside the point. The SIG money doesn't go there, because SIG donors specifically don't want it to.

(04-16-2015 03:47 PM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  

(04-16-2015 03:10 PM)Frizzy Owl Wrote:  

(04-16-2015 02:47 PM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  I certainly hope that those running the Owl Club will do the right thing and allow those of us who give to SIGs to receive Owl Club benefits. It really doesn't even have to be one-to-one, but we still contribute to athletics and somehow we are invisible.

Why don't the SIGs give SIG benefits to the SIG donors?

The SIG funds are separate from the Owl Club fund, IIRC.

The SIGs cannot give perks like access to R Room or Trauber Suite or Reserve parking, etc. We know that the funds are separate, but they just avoid the middle man and go directly to the particular sport.

Not entirely true, as the Owl Club funding goes towards scholarships and the likes; whereas SIG contributions cover a different set of expenses.