This is my first post here. I've enjoyed reading the majority of the discussion here, it is far and away better than other Cuse sports content site. I'll likely leave my comments to a minimum on this board because there are clearly a lot of people on here who know a heck of a lot more than I do, but a couple of things about this fundraising campaign stick out to me.
1. Defaults matter a whole lot- There is a behavioral finance professor at the U of Chicago who came up with a theory called libertarian paternalism...the theory basically implies that people are stupid and we should try to influence them in ways that lead to better outcomes for the individual and the group, but do so in a way that respects their freedoms. One of the more obvious things he discovered is that people have an overwhelming tendency to select the default when forced to make a decision. He applied this to 401k plans and the rise of Life-cycle funds which sets the default at an appropriate asset allocation based on your age and time remaining until retirement. Also applies to blood donation and a million other things. In this case you have an opportunity to set the defaults in a way that maximize donations. For example, why is the default a one-off contribution?? Why isn't the default a monthly automatic withdrawal contribution. Someone who donates at the $144 level for example is able to give $30/month without much trouble...after the 5th month it's all gravy. I mean if we are truly 'IN' then we should be IN for the long haul. The other important default is the default donation size. You'll need two defaults, one for the automatic withdrawals and one for people who change that default and go with a one-off (obviously a higher amount here). To set the price right you need demographic studies - I am sure the people who ran the $1B academic campaign for SU have extensive data which you guys can use to get the price right. Then go hire some PhD candidate from Maxwell or a quantitative finance guy from the business school to analyze the data. Don't rely on your internal sports donation data because it clearly has never been run properly which gets me to my next point.
2. Where is the outreach? Gross is very very good at branding, but fundraising is a very different 'game'. I have never received a mailing, an email, a phone call or anything else from the athletic department requesting a donation. I attend probably 2 or 3 football games a year, try to go to the bowl games, and roughly the same number of basketball games and try to get to a tournament game or two if possible. I'm in my mid 30's, have a growing family and am doing well enough financially to start supporting the things that are important to me. Now I have personally gone out and sought to donate on my own accord but people need the nudge. But contrary to popular opinion, Syracuse sports carry significant weight for alumni in the memory of their college experience. Even for the casual fans and people who only went to a few games while they were on campus, the sports are part of the school's unique identity and the vast majority of alumni I know have great love for the school and only fond memories of their time there - there is something special and different about Cuse. $50/month to support those memories and the unique culture that is Syracuse, is well worth it to most of my friends - many of whom were and are not rabid fans. Even the former grad students I know share that sense of excitement when it comes to Syracuse even though honestly grad school sucks. My wife is getting an MFA in painting in Philly, and she recently had a studio visit with a guy running a museum and gallery in Portland Maine, they didn't discuss her artwork at all but ended up talking about the turnaround in Syracuse football since the guy had been at Cuse for his own MFA a few years prior. The place is magic and the sports are a big part of that. So I think it's time to start looking beyond the database of season ticket holders and past contributors, and turn this into a campaign that targets the entire alumni base. Either dedicate a staff member to this campaign or hire someone professional to do it. Hire some undergrad interns and start the mailings, start the calls, and start the emails - select interns who are excited about the school and feel 'like Syracuse'. Reach out...and get your defaults right.
sorry for a long winded first post, you won't see me here often - just felt strongly about this. The IPF is an opportunity to take fundraising to the next level and make it a sustainable driver of the athletic department long after the IPF is completed. Best of luck to Mr Poles and his team.
