Some time back we discussed the idea of the CAF giving free t-shirts with the WSU logo, CAF and a statement to the effect of "I donate" to those who had contributed. I promised to email them and encourage them to read the thread to see if this would be feasible or advisable. I did so and informed them that I would pass on their opinion to the board's readers. Never heard back which I suppose speaks for itself as to their interest in this method of advertisement. Just thought that I would let you know in case any were still wondering how that evolved.
CAF t-shirts
- Thread starter kayak15
- Start date
Apparently they don't see the need to get the average fan involved when they can lecture the people that already donate about the need to do more.
Logistically it would be a lot more work than it is worth - having to get sizes for everyone, put in a custom order, get the artwork made, having female donors upset because they don't like the way men's shirts fit so now you have to have a m/f option on the shirts, shipping, plus you have to put someone in charge.
From what I know of the people in and around the CAF, they are a skeleton crew with most of them doing more than 1 job, so creating another headache probably isn't high on their priority list. Besides, isn't the window cling and flag pin enough?
When the discussion came up before, one of the more compelling arguments was that if you give out shirts, every person that wears the shirt becomes a walking billboard for donating to WSU. That window cling probably never gets seen by more than a handful of people and a flag pin isn't visible from more than a few feet away. Done right, it conditions young alumni and fans to become donors to the program in a cheap way for both. Even if it doesn't raise a lot of money on itself, it helps build momentum over the long haul. Of course, like I said, why put in the work when they can just bitch about current donors not doing enough?
To WSU's credit, they have done some things to make the CAF more accessible, but they have done a terrible job of building on the bump they got from hiring Leach initially. Some of that isn't their fault, because crappy football is a hard sell. I'm hoping that we see a 1000 donor bump in the offseason.
BG&C, may I politely disagree with you regarding the difficulty. Sizes for everyone: S, M. L & XL. Done. Artwork? A crimson colored t-shirt with our logo and CAF and words like "I donate" on front or back or both. Done. It's not like we need a Paris fashion designer to figure it out. With or without boobs? If breasts are a problem just select a larger size. We have given out free t-shirts in the past and, unless I missed it, without gender related complaints. Nobody expects sartorial perfection in a free t-shirt. Just get one large enough to fit into and let it hang on you.
Yes, we have other goodies and trinkets. Is there a limit on WSU's variety? As Flat stated, what we are doing today obviously isn't getting the job done. The CAF needs to do more or something different or both.
As Flat noted and as noted in the original thread, it would be good- no, make that great- advertising. Especially regarding the younger alumni and current students. At my age you are either giving back to the school or you are not. Our philanthropic tendencies are well set and difficult to change. Flat's point about momentum with the younger Cougs is spot on and reflects the conclusion reached during the previous thread.
You may be right that they have limited staff and enough on their plate currently. That rings true and is understandable. However, this idea appears to be one that they should consider. If not now then during the offseason. We have all read a lot of stupid suggestions on this board but this is, in my opinion, not one of them. Maybe we should bypass the CAF and bring this proposal directly to Moos in another email.
Yes, we have other goodies and trinkets. Is there a limit on WSU's variety? As Flat stated, what we are doing today obviously isn't getting the job done. The CAF needs to do more or something different or both.
As Flat noted and as noted in the original thread, it would be good- no, make that great- advertising. Especially regarding the younger alumni and current students. At my age you are either giving back to the school or you are not. Our philanthropic tendencies are well set and difficult to change. Flat's point about momentum with the younger Cougs is spot on and reflects the conclusion reached during the previous thread.
You may be right that they have limited staff and enough on their plate currently. That rings true and is understandable. However, this idea appears to be one that they should consider. If not now then during the offseason. We have all read a lot of stupid suggestions on this board but this is, in my opinion, not one of them. Maybe we should bypass the CAF and bring this proposal directly to Moos in another email.
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As mentioned before, if you aren't getting stuff, you aren't donating enough.
There is NO reason to give clothing to $100 donors.
$5,000? $10,000? $50,000?
Sure.
There is NO reason to give clothing to $100 donors.
$5,000? $10,000? $50,000?
Sure.
The thousand dollar folks are already on board. The advertising aspect of the proposal is the crux of the issue. Get the potential hundred dollar folks involved. I don't donate for the free stuff. Nor would a free t-shirt encourage me to move the decimal point on my donation. We need to go after those who are not on board not those who already are.
I understand your point, but how many fans donate $5k or more? I'm guessing that it's not a big number. For me, a t-shirt isn't really a big draw, my wife buys me a new WSU shirt every six months and I've got dozens of WSU shirts in my closet, but I do like the concept of getting a fan who doesn't want to pay $100 to be a part of the CAF to get lured into the system with a $20 shirt and she would probably buy one for me anyway. It gets a new fan on a mailing list and provides WSU the ammunition to try and upsell them over time. It's a long term process and not instant gratification. We talk about spending five years to build up a football program but want a fanbase to flip in a day. Both take time and effort.
Penny ante bribery is not a sound financial strategy. Why spend time about what might motivate others to donate? Winning will solve the problem anyway
You are right that winning is the thing that will really make a big difference. Until we do that consistently, we are not going to see income from CAF membership change much from where it is in the short term.
I wouldn't but then I am not easily embarrassed anymore. Letting others know your financial support for WSU should not be considered posing, pompous or embarrassing. It should be considered normal behavior amongst the loyal alumni. I can see your point but disagree.
Why spend time growing the CAF and motivating others to join in the effort? Penny ante bribery? Don't see it. I don't know of any one who has had their attitude towards anything altered by a piece of clothing and a cheap piece of clothing at that. The t-shirt is not the issue, the message contained on it is.
Winning will solve the problem. But that does not mean we should just sit on our butts waiting for it to occur. While success on the field is by far the major factor in growing the CAF and perhaps even the general fund, other smaller and peripheral contributions need not be ignored. The currently discussed proposal, and any others we can think of, should also be run up the flagpole. Any and all other means of assistance, however small, should also be considered.
Fine. Buy 100 shirts and set up a booth at the game. Sign up, get a shirt - its a loss leader at that point.
But I'm telling you, having been directly involved with the CAF, it's not going to happen. First, its a slipperly slope, like I said. You give shirts, now people complain that they aren't cool enough, or like I said its not cut for a woman, or they want gray not red - bitch bitch bitch. And when you have big donors bitching about little things like a t shirt, you have to do something, so yeah its one more thing.
Also, lets make a business case for the t-shirts - There are what, 6000 CAF members? Lets say you get a smoking deal on some shirts and they cost $2 each, so you're in $12k. To break even, you divide average gift into that number - last I saw it was in the low $100's, so lets say $125. That's 96 new CAF members - at the average donation level - just to break even. Don't forget, for this to be a solid business case that growth has to be above what you are already projecting, due to additional costs.
Is that scenario possible? Its possible, but is it probable? Tough to say, but if I were making a decision on whether or not to commit time and resources to this as a revenue generator, I wouldn't.
If you want to make a case to do it as good will, that is another discussion altogether.
I come out the exact opposite on this. If you give $10,0000 or $50,000, you're unlikely to be the kind of person who would wear an "I donate" t-shirt. It also would be insulting to get a t-shirt for donating that kind of coin. You think Greg Rankich needs to wear an "I donate" shirt? I'd guess that 99% of big-time Coug donors are over 60, in any case. You think they really want or need to wear a t-shirt like that when up in their suite for the game? That's not how it is in the suites, especially with the older guys.
Instead, you give the t-shirt to everyone. The advertising angle is what's critical here, as is the peer / social pressure angle. If you go to a home game and all your friends have "I donate" shirts on, the question then becomes why you don't have one. It might even become a point of friendly conversation -- you could have your jersey on and say "of course I have one of those, but I wear the jersey to games." These kinds of conversations and displays are much more likely to drive CAF memberships than some obscure window clings. I can't really imagine a reason why we are *not* doing this.
To be fair, maybe "I donate" isn't the message. Perhaps it's instead "CAF Member 2015-16" or something of that ilk.
Sure, but they give away useless swag like pins, pens, and bracelets now. Why not give people something they'd at least wear around their neighborhood for $2?
We've won in the past - it didn't solve the problem. The AD didn't strike when the iron was hot? Fine, but Coug fans are notoriously stingy. They do need to work to keep donors involved and connected to the program. Is a tshirt the answer? I don't think so.
BC&G, I can see your point and maybe it would not make business sense immediately. What Flat and I see is more long term growth. Show the students how alumni are expected to behave. Implant that idea in their heads while still on campus. You may well be right in feeling that it would not be worth the effort. At this point I don't really know. What I do know is that the proposal may have some potential and is worth the consideration. And that doesn't cost us a dime.
I didn't even factor in shipping, which would probably be more than the shirt itself, but I digress.
The answer to your question is pennies compared to dollars.
Yeah, that's it. Crimson shirt with the WSU logo on front and that "I'm in" logo on the back (or vice-versa).
I get it, but they already waste a bunch of money on $50 - $100 donors and staff who, by all appearances, don't do much more than sit on their asses. You think an all-in one-time expenditure of $36,000 ($2 for the shirt, $4 for shipping, to 6,000 members) is really going to crush the budget? Maybe it would. I just find it hard to believe in view of the other stuff they do that doesn't seem to have much bang for the buck.
They could offset the cost by getting rid of some of the other trinkets nobody wants. Sure, hand out some pins in the suites and club seats, but nobody else wants or needs a Cougar pin.
Got it. Perhaps "I donate" is a bit blunt and unseemly. I'm fine with something more in the line with "I'm in", "I'm in, are you?" or "CAF member 2015". Anything indicating membership in some form would serve the purpose.
So you're only going to give tshirts to current members? Future members are screwed? (One time cost)
To your point, it sounds like you are making the case to give these out as good will, which is fine on its face. What we don't know is what other things are on the budget that they are weighing this against. Lest you have forgotten, the CAF is upside down every year - we have to take from the general fund to balance the budget due to lack of giving. So to say something like "lets spend $36k on donors, who by the way are last in giving and dollars per donor" is pretty bold.
I guess what I am saying is that, yeah $36k is a drop in the bucket of their budget, but considering that the AD isn't even in the black its a lot of money to just act cavalier about. Its like saying "well, I cant make my rent so I might was well get this latte". True, but poor money management.
One last thing - I think its lousy calling out the CAF staff like that. I'm no longer associated with the CAF, but when I was they were very hard working people, and like I said most of them wore multiple hats.
1. I'm envisioning an annual thing (hence the "2015-16" on the shirt), but they could do it as a one-time thing and see how it works.
2. To spell things out, yes, I think the value of increased CAF memberships and donations would more than overcome the $36,000 outlay, causing it to be accretive to the bottom line. I think this especially would be true if they cut some other trinkets nobody wants. I have a drawer full of the stuff.
3. If CAF staff are working hard, that's great, but I've heard they have some staff who are, shall we say, underutilized.
I'm not going to pound the table for this thing. It just seems like it makes sense. If they can distribute some of the shirts via means other than shipping them, too, the cost goes way down.
Now, to argue against myself, would it instead make sense to pay an independent contractor $36,000 to hit the phones and solicit donations? Maybe.
Preferred messaging changed -- see above. Anyway, I'm done here. It's not going to happen. It took these guys several years to improve the "joining packet" (which was pretty good this year with the improvements). They're not going to do something like this.
