The topic: how do you (guilt) convince more Cougs into giving?

[ttowncoug]

Was introduced on BX.

I personally am convinced Moos has done the right things. Put your eggs into the basket with the most (financial) fruit: football.

Once Leach gets us to be a legitimate contender annually, I think you see more Cougs stepping up.

In my opinion, this is a generational effort that has to start FIRST with students. When they graduate, there is an arguable 5 year window that many will enjoy prior to starting a family. From my perspective, those years were the most fun to come back to Pullman...more so than being a student because you actually had a little money.

On that note, you have a football program that didn't got to a bowl game for a decade. You have an athletic department under Sterk (and Wulff) that fed you BS, self-serving, propaganda.

You have grads in that era, whom I speak with, that say their team sucked and they don't have passion about Cougar football. They will watch on TV. They will buy gear. But they are reluctant of making the investment in something they perceive as a sinking ship. How many of us would give money to a charity that took our money and literally lit it on fire with a match?

If you think you are throwing good money at a bad cause, you aren't going to do it. Human nature. The "brain trust" at WSU needs to acknowledge the facts and create message that fans will gravitate towards. I've suggested something as simple as "bricks" with your name on it. I don't have the solution, but it's clear what we are doing is NOT working. Idea: try something new.

IF we get there, it will take time, patience and a little bit of creativity on WSU's part to think out of the box for alumni engagement. And when I see less and less Puget Sound alumni events -- no more golf tourney's in Tacoma (and WSU will say it costs too much to underwrite) -- are we "shocked' we aren't getting their?

 

[Coug95man2]

Was introduced on BX.

I personally am convinced Moos has done the right things. Put your eggs into the basket with the most (financial) fruit: football.

Once Leach gets us to be a legitimate contender annually, I think you see more Cougs stepping up.

In my opinion, this is a generational effort that has to start FIRST with students. When they graduate, there is an arguable 5 year window that many will enjoy prior to starting a family. From my perspective, those years were the most fun to come back to Pullman...more so than being a student because you actually had a little money.

On that note, you have a football program that didn't got to a bowl game for a decade. You have an athletic department under Sterk (and Wulff) that fed you BS, self-serving, propaganda.

You have grads in that era, whom I speak with, that say their team sucked and they don't have passion about Cougar football. They will watch on TV. They will buy gear. But they are reluctant of making the investment in something they perceive as a sinking ship. How many of us would give money to a charity that took our money and literally lit it on fire with a match?

If you think you are throwing good money at a bad cause, you aren't going to do it. Human nature. The "brain trust" at WSU needs to acknowledge the facts and create message that fans will gravitate towards. I've suggested something as simple as "bricks" with your name on it. I don't have the solution, but it's clear what we are doing is NOT working. Idea: try something new.

IF we get there, it will take time, patience and a little bit of creativity on WSU's part to think out of the box for alumni engagement. And when I see less and less Puget Sound alumni events -- no more golf tourney's in Tacoma (and WSU will say it costs too much to underwrite) -- are we "shocked' we aren't getting their?

I'd probably agree that something has to happen differently. Everyone, for over a decade, has been holding their breathe, hoping the W's come so giving can start up. While that's one facet, I find it interesting that this is the only REAL branch that has gotten any real traction. There's stuff out there, yeah but you know what I mean? TTown is right. There just isn't anything out there. No imagination on the giving process. If there is, it isn't being marketed well, anyways. If I don't play golf, I'm out of luck…

But when I read the "brick" idea, you made me realize I was at Baylor a while back and they have walkways, student and student athlete walkways that you can "donate" and you get your name on it. My friend got a brick for his birthday. Wife donated, the family name was put on. Very cool. How we don't brick the whole concourse on the North side, I don't know. How we don't brick the walk the players make prior to every game, going from the bus, to Butch and beyond… Great idea only because I've seen it work well in another place. The key is finding the contractor/brick layer willing to do all that work, at a "reasonable" cost...

 

[Flatlandcoug]

My big complaint is that WSU doesn't really do anything for alums that is meaningful when they donate a moderate amount of money. For $500, you get crappy parking and a window cling. Yay!

I like the idea of a brick because it's something tangible. Of course, winning is the kind of thing that makes people feel better about being part of the team.

 

[BiggsCoug]

It isn't the past decade. It's 100 years of WSU not really giving a rats arse about its football program. Now that they've essentially won the lottery and made improvements in facilities/coaching/etc, it is ridiculous to just look at 100 years of alums and demand their money.

Giving is a culture and habit that needs to be developed on campus while alums are students. People aren't going to wake up one day and decide to donate thousands of dollars to an organization that has brought them so little joy.

I would be willing to wager that the "brick" idea has already been bounced around campus many times. I've mentioned it here in the past. The reality is that I think WSU is looking for big scores now. I don't think they're interested in farming smaller donations. So the idea of bricks around campus gets shot down.

Where WSU goes wrong, IMO, is their philosophy. Im well aware that you can get to $5M in donations much faster when everyone writes checks for $5,000 and more. Im also aware that WSU doesn't have many of those donors. At what point do you go with what you have and milk that cow dry?

One day, when Im in charge, it will be nothing but brick campaigns. Every building on campus that goes up, every sidewalk, everywhere a brick could be laid with someone or something's name on it there will be a way to generate a donation. It's an easy way to bring new donors into the fold. It's an easy way to keep new donors interested. It's an easy way to keep in touch with past donors. It can come at a price point that many are comfortable with and you can even ramp it up for those that want to donate more.

Imagine walking into a remodeled Martin Stadium, made of bricks, with a huge sign that read...

"THE HOUSE THAT COUGS BUILT"

Personally, I'd write a check to name one of the crappers in the men's room... "Dedicated to Don James."

 

[BleedCrimsonandGray]

Was introduced on BX.

I personally am convinced Moos has done the right things. Put your eggs into the basket with the most (financial) fruit: football.

Once Leach gets us to be a legitimate contender annually, I think you see more Cougs stepping up.

In my opinion, this is a generational effort that has to start FIRST with students. When they graduate, there is an arguable 5 year window that many will enjoy prior to starting a family. From my perspective, those years were the most fun to come back to Pullman...more so than being a student because you actually had a little money.

On that note, you have a football program that didn't got to a bowl game for a decade. You have an athletic department under Sterk (and Wulff) that fed you BS, self-serving, propaganda.

You have grads in that era, whom I speak with, that say their team sucked and they don't have passion about Cougar football. They will watch on TV. They will buy gear. But they are reluctant of making the investment in something they perceive as a sinking ship. How many of us would give money to a charity that took our money and literally lit it on fire with a match?

If you think you are throwing good money at a bad cause, you aren't going to do it. Human nature. The "brain trust" at WSU needs to acknowledge the facts and create message that fans will gravitate towards. I've suggested something as simple as "bricks" with your name on it. I don't have the solution, but it's clear what we are doing is NOT working. Idea: try something new.

IF we get there, it will take time, patience and a little bit of creativity on WSU's part to think out of the box for alumni engagement. And when I see less and less Puget Sound alumni events -- no more golf tourney's in Tacoma (and WSU will say it costs too much to underwrite) -- are we "shocked' we aren't getting their?

Not exactly sure why this is quoting you, but anyway...

Get these kids in at $10/ month, keep bumping them up every year. Its really that easy.

Moos set the bar low at $50, but does little to nothing to get that kind of engagement; all efforts are spent on the $10k+ donors and making sure their checks are in the bank. While I definitely understand that, it is extremely short sighted imho.

The whole idea 9 years (9? 8?) when Moos came in was to build the donor base - increase both the number of donors and dollar per donor. It gained steam for a bit, then fizzled, then gained more steam, then fizzled again. I haven't had a call to ask me to increase my donation in years. YEARS. I'm a faceless number who gives to the AD and whom the AD couldn't give two sh!ts about, because my total yearly isn't $10k+. At least thats the impression that they give. But I digress...

My point is, you won't get if you don't ask and WSU does a piss poor job of asking. If WSU was on my sales team I would have fired them long ago.

 

[BleedCrimsonandGray]

My big complaint is that WSU doesn't really do anything for alums that is meaningful when they donate a moderate amount of money. For $500, you get crappy parking and a window cling. Yay!

I like the idea of a brick because it's something tangible. Of course, winning is the kind of thing that makes people feel better about being part of the team.

Dude, you're getting something. Be glad. Do you know how many times I brought that up with the people in the AD before they passed the idea off as their own? I'm sure it wasn't original to me, but I beat that fvcking horse into the ground.

Personally, I like my window cling and pin and license plate thingy. Getting screwed on the parking sucks, but I get it.

 

[Coug95man2]

My big complaint is that WSU doesn't really do anything for alums that is meaningful when they donate a moderate amount of money. For $500, you get crappy parking and a window cling. Yay!

I like the idea of a brick because it's something tangible. Of course, winning is the kind of thing that makes people feel better about being part of the team.

And every time they go to a game, they can find their brick. It actually becomes a ritual…. It's pretty cool. Great way to keep the kids involved to. They see the family name on there and think it's pretty cool.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

Dude, you're getting something. Be glad. Do you know how many times I brought that up with the people in the AD before they passed the idea off as their own? I'm sure it wasn't original to me, but I beat that fvcking horse into the ground.

Personally, I like my window cling and pin and license plate thingy. Getting screwed on the parking sucks, but I get it.

I donate every year and I do think everyone should, but at the same time, I understand that my friend who buys six season tickets for his family doesn't feel that a CAF donation on top of that is a good investment, particularly when he skips games because he gets tired of watching us get our asses kicked.

 

[BiggsCoug]

I believe its the University of Arkansas that has a brick sidewalk with every alums name on it....

 

[ttowncoug]

I've mentioned this stuff (bricks etc.) to the fund development guys and they look at me like my idea is crazy...or that won't work, etc.'

The current message to fans that don't give, and are aware we need the money, simply isn't working. I'm tired of hearing WSU (and it's pitchmen) beat that dead horse....it's the same mentality as "give Paul Wulff more time, etc."....the horse is dead.

 

[ttowncoug]

WSU's athletic department is at its bonding capacity. I don't know why new facilities - i.e. indoor practice facility - couldn't be shared with the general student body and call it an indoor intramural sports center. Fund and bond it that way. WSU athletics can rent the facility back from the University. You could have indoor flag football etc. Give the student body use of the facility after 7pm and on weekends. Athletics gets the facility all other ours.

 

[E Jones]

I donate every year to the football excellence fund. And I get a dollar for dollar match from my company. And every time I give to the fund, instead of a thank you, I get a sales pitch for the CAF. Reminded that the CAF is the only way to get priority bowl tickets.
Donating $500 to Football excellence (plus the match), in which 100% goes to football gets me no real benefits, but if I donated $500 to CAF, and football got roughly $75 of that, I get some benefits.
Donating should be treated the same. I want my money going to football, and Moos has said that football drives the athletic dept.
Moos should make it well known that there is a way to donate directly to football. It might increase donations.

 

[MRICoug]

WSU's athletic department is at its bonding capacity. I don't know why new facilities - i.e. indoor practice facility - couldn't be shared with the general student body and call it an indoor intramural sports center. Fund and bond it that way. WSU athletics can rent the facility back from the University. You could have indoor flag football etc. Give the student body use of the facility after 7pm and on weekends. Athletics gets the facility all other ours.

Because that is cheesy, and one of the continuing problems. WSU it trying to get into a position where the facilities compare favorably to other schools both in conference and nationally. Shared space is not something that lights the fires of a recruit. We say we are serious about football.

If the donation levels don't increase it becomes very difficult to fund any real improvements. By the time you can bond again the stuff is in need of renovation. I agree that they need to be hitting the students hard , and producing at a higher level on the field. Those things build the memories that create the donors. The marketing is and has been piss poor. There is too much space between fond memory graduating classes. There is too much history of ineptitude.

The bricks are a viable idea, and something easy. Perhaps they don't like it because it has been done elsewhere. If that is the case then find something unique to WSU and go with that, but do something.

 

[wazzucougs96]

I donate every year to the football excellence fund. And I get a dollar for dollar match from my company. And every time I give to the fund, instead of a thank you, I get a sales pitch for the CAF. Reminded that the CAF is the only way to get priority bowl tickets.
Donating $500 to Football excellence (plus the match), in which 100% goes to football gets me no real benefits, but if I donated $500 to CAF, and football got roughly $75 of that, I get some benefits.
Donating should be treated the same. I want my money going to football, and Moos has said that football drives the athletic dept.
Moos should make it well known that there is a way to donate directly to football. It might increase donations.

I have been following and donating to WSU for a long time, and I have never heard of the football excellence fund.

That being said, have you considered pledging your money directly to a football project, like the new IPF? They are fundraising for it right now, specifically, since it will have to be paid for with donations (as mentioned above bonding capacity is maxed out.)

 

[Flatlandcoug]

If the money is for the IPF, they need to approach donors about the IPF.

If it's about scholarships (which is what the big push is at the moment), it needs to be pushed as that. The scholarships sell with the CAF is the tough one while our football and basketball teams suck. As time goes on and we don't win bowl games or make a real post-season tournament, I feel less invested in the school's athletic programs and less like donating. Phone calls and propaganda only serve to remind me how much we've sucked.

Specifically targeting the IPF and incorporating bricks, tiles or whatever else as a way to raise money has a better chance of gaining traction right now than saying, "Hey, we need scholarship money for our women's golf team". No offense to said golf team.

 

[wazzucougs96]

If the money is for the IPF, they need to approach donors about the IPF.

If it's about scholarships (which is what the big push is at the moment), it needs to be pushed as that. The scholarships sell with the CAF is the tough one while our football and basketball teams suck. As time goes on and we don't win bowl games or make a real post-season tournament, I feel less invested in the school's athletic programs and less like donating. Phone calls and propaganda only serve to remind me how much we've sucked.

Specifically targeting the IPF and incorporating bricks, tiles or whatever else as a way to raise money has a better chance of gaining traction right now than saying, "Hey, we need scholarship money for our women's golf team". No offense to said golf team.

Well the big picture idea is that if all schollies can become self funded, then revenue streams can be used for capital projects, coaching staffs, etc.

So it makes perfect sense.

 

[dgibbons]

I donate every year to the football excellence fund. And I get a dollar for dollar match from my company. And every time I give to the fund, instead of a thank you, I get a sales pitch for the CAF. Reminded that the CAF is the only way to get priority bowl tickets.
Donating $500 to Football excellence (plus the match), in which 100% goes to football gets me no real benefits, but if I donated $500 to CAF, and football got roughly $75 of that, I get some benefits.
Donating should be treated the same. I want my money going to football, and Moos has said that football drives the athletic dept.
Moos should make it well known that there is a way to donate directly to football. It might increase donations.

They do it that way because the CAF funds scholarship costs. Scholarship costs need to be funded by donations every year.

I agree with you that donations should be treated the same.

 

[dgibbons]

My big complaint is that WSU doesn't really do anything for alums that is meaningful when they donate a moderate amount of money. For $500, you get crappy parking and a window cling. Yay!

I like the idea of a brick because it's something tangible. Of course, winning is the kind of thing that makes people feel better about being part of the team.

I've been told that bricks and similar things don't pencil out very well. The cost of doing something to recognize donations pushes the cost of the donation up so far that it's not really worth it. You're going to have to cough up ~$25,000 for a brick, not $500.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

I've been told that bricks and similar things don't pencil out very well. The cost of doing something to recognize donations pushes the cost of the donation up so far that it's not really worth it. You're going to have to cough up ~$25,000 for a brick, not $500.

What kind of building are we putting up? A brick paver is normally 4"x8" or about 0.22 sf. If you have a 50' x 50' area in front of the building that will be pavers, that's space for thousands of pavers. If you start replacing sidewalks around the stadium with brick pavers, you have opportunities for thousands more. You won't get 10,000 bricks sold right away but I bet you can sell a couple thousand. Over the course of time, you can generate huge amounts of money. Any brick fundraising concept needs to have a long term view.

 

[95coug]

I've been told that bricks and similar things don't pencil out very well. The cost of doing something to recognize donations pushes the cost of the donation up so far that it's not really worth it. You're going to have to cough up ~$25,000 for a brick, not $500.

Kennewick built a carousel, and part of their sponsorship drive included putting your name on bricks of different sizes, starting at $200 for 30 characters, and going up to $1,000 for including logos plus text. So the price point doesn't have to be that high.

Still, while bricks seem like a good idea, but I don't know how well they really work. The Alumni Center used those, opened in 1989, and they were still selling bricks up until a couple years ago. I do think people are more likely to donate if you give them something in return (more than a window cling), but I'm not sure bricks are the answer.

 

[dgibbons]

What kind of building are we putting up? A brick paver is normally 4"x8" or about 0.22 sf. If you have a 50' x 50' area in front of the building that will be pavers, that's space for thousands of pavers. If you start replacing sidewalks around the stadium with brick pavers, you have opportunities for thousands more. You won't get 10,000 bricks sold right away but I bet you can sell a couple thousand. Over the course of time, you can generate huge amounts of money. Any brick fundraising concept needs to have a long term view.

It's not just the cost of the brick. The administration of the program, engraving, upkeep so you can see your name, etc.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

It's not just the cost of the brick. The administration of the program, engraving, upkeep so you can see your name, etc.

It's interesting that Auburn has a brick program where you can pay $150 and get your name inscribed on a brick but at $500, we are losing money.

Plainsman Park Brick Program
Have your name, or that of a loved one, added to the entryway plaza of Plainsman Park. Only one name per brick please. Bricks are $150 each and 100% tax deductible. Please call (855) 282-2010 to order your brick today or complete the Brick Order Form and return it to:

Tigers Unlimited/Plainsman Park Bricks
Attn: Kathy McCollough
P.O. Box 351, Auburn, AL 36831-0351​

We expend a lot of energy saying why we can't do things (I'm guilty too) when others make it happen.

 

[dgibbons]

It's interesting that Auburn has a brick program where you can pay $150 and get your name inscribed on a brick but at $500, we are losing money.

Plainsman Park Brick Program
Have your name, or that of a loved one, added to the entryway plaza of Plainsman Park. Only one name per brick please. Bricks are $150 each and 100% tax deductible. Please call (855) 282-2010 to order your brick today or complete the Brick Order Form and return it to:

Tigers Unlimited/Plainsman Park Bricks
Attn: Kathy McCollough
P.O. Box 351, Auburn, AL 36831-0351​

We expend a lot of energy saying why we can't do things (I'm guilty too) when others make it happen.

Let's say you could sell 5,000 bricks for $150 each. I'd guess that is a fair estimate. That's $750,000, gross. You still have to buy the bricks, engrave, administer the brick program, etc. Should WSU put the time, effort and money into a $750,000 endeavor, or put the time and effort into something else?

 

[chinookpirate]

... and you buy a brick, so what? You should be enshrined for all eternity? Scholarships and maintenance and recruiting travel needs to be paid each year.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

Let's say you could sell 5,000 bricks for $150 each. I'd guess that is a fair estimate. That's $750,000, gross. You still have to buy the bricks, engrave, administer the brick program, etc. Should WSU put the time, effort and money into a $750,000 endeavor, or put the time and effort into something else?

I would push for something closer to $300-500 each. As far as the time and effort, for $750k or $1.5 million, yes, I think we should do it. This is about the little things that makes a donor feel ownership. If we had a brick plaza near the stadium where a family can go look at their names, it creates buy-in. Later on, you go to those donors who did the bricks and try to sell them on another donor based display around the area. Recently, WSU did the football poster with all the CAF members names on it. Do an electronic billboard that features something like that so people arriving at the stadium can see the names of donors (and look for theirs). Right now, WSU is asking fans to spend money enhancing the lives and experience of the student athletes. While noble in purpose, it provides no tangible benefit to a donor. If you ain't winning football games, you've got to find a way to make those people feel good.

BTW, if Auburn isn't too good to sell bricks, why are we? Do we have that much money? Is the staff so busy with other things that a couple of them couldn't dedicate 40 hours to this? Given the fact that others are doing this, setting it up would probably be easy.

For chinook.....this is an ongoing thing. We have 30,000 people attending games. We probably have 100,000 people that pay attention. Over time, you want them and their kids to have bricks and be CAF members.

 

[ttowncoug]

Flat - you are correct. Historically WSU "passes" on ideas that aren't theirs. Look at the ESPN flag operation. Early on, Sterk didn't want anything to do with it. Neither did the department. If it was their idea, different story.

There is some logic on the bricks that I agree with by WSU. That being said, you want a new IPF, you want a new Baseball club house, in the future we will need basketball Ops next to Beasley....you better start coming up with some creative capital ideas. The Klay Thompson basketball operations center -- with a $2m donation from Klay -- is a start.

 

[dgibbons]

I would push for something closer to $300-500 each. As far as the time and effort, for $750k or $1.5 million, yes, I think we should do it. This is about the little things that makes a donor feel ownership. If we had a brick plaza near the stadium where a family can go look at their names, it creates buy-in. Later on, you go to those donors who did the bricks and try to sell them on another donor based display around the area. Recently, WSU did the football poster with all the CAF members names on it. Do an electronic billboard that features something like that so people arriving at the stadium can see the names of donors (and look for theirs). Right now, WSU is asking fans to spend money enhancing the lives and experience of the student athletes. While noble in purpose, it provides no tangible benefit to a donor. If you ain't winning football games, you've got to find a way to make those people feel good.

BTW, if Auburn isn't too good to sell bricks, why are we? Do we have that much money? Is the staff so busy with other things that a couple of them couldn't dedicate 40 hours to this? Given the fact that others are doing this, setting it up would probably be easy.

For chinook.....this is an ongoing thing. We have 30,000 people attending games. We probably have 100,000 people that pay attention. Over time, you want them and their kids to have bricks and be CAF members.

What it boils down to is- should WSU spend its time and money working on a brick program that, by your numbers, tops out at $2.5 million, in one-time donations? Or spend that time and money on other endeavors, that will result in more money?

 

[wulffui]

What it boils down to is- should WSU spend its time and money working on a brick program that, by your numbers, tops out at $2.5 million, in one-time donations? Or spend that time and money on other endeavors, that will result in more money?

Why can't you do both? I don't see anything about the brick idea that would preclude other worthwhile ideas.

 

[dgibbons]

Why can't you do both? I don't see anything about the brick idea that would preclude other worthwhile ideas.

WSU would tell you that they have limited staff and resources.

 

[BleedCrimsonandGray]

Let's say you could sell 5,000 bricks for $150 each. I'd guess that is a fair estimate. That's $750,000, gross. You still have to buy the bricks, engrave, administer the brick program, etc. Should WSU put the time, effort and money into a $750,000 endeavor, or put the time and effort into something else?

Come on man, you're sharper than that. None of that has to be done, its all taken on by a vendor. WSU isn't getting into the brick engraving business, its getting into the engraved brick selling business. Price it accordingly.

 

[Cougatron]

Come on man, you're sharper than that. None of that has to be done, its all taken on by a vendor. WSU isn't getting into the brick engraving business, its getting into the engraved brick selling business. Price it accordingly.

The cost from this website

Says it is about $15-25 / brick.

"A bricklayer can lay between 200 and 300 bricks per day. A qualified bricklayer working with an apprentice can lay between 500 to 900 bricks a day,"

Bricklayers often charge per brick. The charge per brick averages about $1.00, but can range from $.90 to $1.10,

so basically adding 5 bucks to the cost would cover labor etc. So probably including shipping and everything the cost / brick would be about $35 max. That would include putting it in and everything.

I think we could sell 7,500 bricks. There were 3,452 WSU license plates sold from this article in 2012

I think you could sell a brick for 189.00 to celebrate the year we were founded.

Assuming $39.00 for overhead costs of the brick that would leave $150.00 profit for WSU. By selling double the license plates that's 1.125 Million for the school. Plus a nice brick wall AND something that people will be motivated to see on coming back to Pullman.

I think this would be tremendously successful.

Plus you could keep it rolling and just brick everywhere at martin and make it look really really nice. It definitely would be a tradition to get your 1890 brick. They could even bundle it for a graduation gift for students... there is a lot of potential with this. Why are we not doing this.

 

[BleedCrimsonandGray]

The cost from this website

Says it is about $15-25 / brick.

"A bricklayer can lay between 200 and 300 bricks per day. A qualified bricklayer working with an apprentice can lay between 500 to 900 bricks a day,"

Bricklayers often charge per brick. The charge per brick averages about $1.00, but can range from $.90 to $1.10,

so basically adding 5 bucks to the cost would cover labor etc. So probably including shipping and everything the cost / brick would be about $35 max. That would include putting it in and everything.

I think we could sell 7,500 bricks. There were 3,452 WSU license plates sold from this article in 2012

I think you could sell a brick for 189.00 to celebrate the year we were founded.

Assuming $39.00 for overhead costs of the brick that would leave $150.00 profit for WSU. By selling double the license plates that's 1.125 Million for the school. Plus a nice brick wall AND something that people will be motivated to see on coming back to Pullman.

I think this would be tremendously successful.

Plus you could keep it rolling and just brick everywhere at martin and make it look really really nice. It definitely would be a tradition to get your 1890 brick. They could even bundle it for a graduation gift for students... there is a lot of potential with this. Why are we not doing this.

FWIW, WSUV has a brick program. Can't say that it has taken off, but there are quite a few engraved bricks on the campus.

http://admin.vancouver.wsu.edu/development-and-alumni-relations/legacy-square

 

[froropmkr72]

The cost from this website

Says it is about $15-25 / brick.

"A bricklayer can lay between 200 and 300 bricks per day. A qualified bricklayer working with an apprentice can lay between 500 to 900 bricks a day,"

Bricklayers often charge per brick. The charge per brick averages about $1.00, but can range from $.90 to $1.10,

so basically adding 5 bucks to the cost would cover labor etc. So probably including shipping and everything the cost / brick would be about $35 max. That would include putting it in and everything.

I think we could sell 7,500 bricks. There were 3,452 WSU license plates sold from this article in 2012

I think you could sell a brick for 189.00 to celebrate the year we were founded.

Assuming $39.00 for overhead costs of the brick that would leave $150.00 profit for WSU. By selling double the license plates that's 1.125 Million for the school. Plus a nice brick wall AND something that people will be motivated to see on coming back to Pullman.

I think this would be tremendously successful.

Plus you could keep it rolling and just brick everywhere at martin and make it look really really nice. It definitely would be a tradition to get your 1890 brick. They could even bundle it for a graduation gift for students... there is a lot of potential with this. Why are we not doing this.

Who knew they had a Bricks R Us website? http://www.bricksrus.com/pricing/index.htm Sounds eerily similar to a uw website.

 

[dgibbons]

Come on man, you're sharper than that. None of that has to be done, its all taken on by a vendor. WSU isn't getting into the brick engraving business, its getting into the engraved brick selling business. Price it accordingly.

I never said it would be done in house. Of course WSU would hire a vendor. Vendors still cost money.

 

[Observer11]

You will never 'guilt' someone into a long-term giving relationship. I also do not believe charitable giving is a competition. Certainly there are those who give to impress others- but sustainable fund-raising has an emotional, personal attachment to the mission.

Bricks, wristbands, lanyards, whatever...all trinkets and promotions.

Until WSU athletics figures out how to legitimately pull on the collective alumni base's heartstrings, disposable income will go to causes that hold more meaning. I know mine do and, at least at this juncture, the recipients are grateful and show tangible results on each dollar donated.

I have never once had that emotional satisfaction by being scolded to get skin in the game. It's a fleeting check writing experience to absolve the guilt of attending an event. I just don't see that mentality changing anytime in the near future.

Sorry, truth from where I sit.

 

[YakiCoug]

Just a neutral question here: How much did donations increase during and following the two seasons (1997 and 2002) WSU won the conference championship and went to the Rose Bowl?

You will never 'guilt' someone into a long-term giving relationship. I also do not believe charitable giving is a competition. Certainly there are those who give to impress others- but sustainable fund-raising has an emotional, personal attachment to the mission.

Bricks, wristbands, lanyards, whatever...all trinkets and promotions.

Until WSU athletics figures out how to legitimately pull on the collective alumni base's heartstrings, disposable income will go to causes that hold more meaning. I know mine do and, at least at this juncture, the recipients are grateful and show tangible results on each dollar donated.

I have never once had that emotional satisfaction by being scolded to get skin in the game. It's a fleeting check writing experience to absolve the guilt of attending an event. I just don't see that mentality changing anytime in the near future.

Sorry, truth from where I sit.

 

[wazzucougs96]

You will never 'guilt' someone into a long-term giving relationship. I also do not believe charitable giving is a competition. Certainly there are those who give to impress others- but sustainable fund-raising has an emotional, personal attachment to the mission.

Bricks, wristbands, lanyards, whatever...all trinkets and promotions.

Until WSU athletics figures out how to legitimately pull on the collective alumni base's heartstrings, disposable income will go to causes that hold more meaning. I know mine do and, at least at this juncture, the recipients are grateful and show tangible results on each dollar donated.

I have never once had that emotional satisfaction by being scolded to get skin in the game. It's a fleeting check writing experience to absolve the guilt of attending an event. I just don't see that mentality changing anytime in the near future.

Sorry, truth from where I sit.

WSU will never foster a culture of alumni financial support if everyone demands never ending ass kissing and constant tangible results. Those are nearly impossible standards to meet.

If you don't want to give to WSU (or give more than you currently do) then that is your prerogative, I am not going to judge you for it. But don't blame WSU for failing to meet the un-quantifiable expectations from where you sit.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

WSU will never foster a culture of alumni financial support if everyone demands never ending ass kissing and constant tangible results. Those are nearly impossible standards to meet.

If you don't want to give to WSU (or give more than you currently do) then that is your prerogative, I am not going to judge you for it. But don't blame WSU for failing to meet the un-quantifiable expectations from where you sit.

The issue here is that WSU is asking fans that haven't watched a winning season in half a generation to pony up more money and put skin in the game. Putting a good team on the field is what we need if you want to inspire fans. Brick programs and the like are a good way to scrape a little more cash in, but they aren't the solution. Bitching about skin flint fans isn't a solution either. This isn't about ass kissing and "constant" tangible results. Any results would be an improvement. Blaming the fans at this point is only going to further alienate them.

 

[95coug]

Let's say you could sell 5,000 bricks for $150 each. I'd guess that is a fair estimate. That's $750,000, gross. You still have to buy the bricks, engrave, administer the brick program, etc. Should WSU put the time, effort and money into a $750,000 endeavor, or put the time and effort into something else?

This is only one vendor, but it shows a 6"x6" outdoor ceramic tile, engraved, for $16. 5,000 of those would cost $80K. If we could sell them for $150 each...yes, we do it, because it makes money. Installation gets really cheap when you do them 1000 or 5000 at a time. And 5,000 of them only covers 1,250 square feet, which wouldn't even cover the area in front of the main gate of Martin.

Even if the profit was minimal, this would give donors something tangible that might make them feel like more involved...which might lead to more donations. Some people like that sort of thing, seeing their name makes them feel like they're part of something. Doesn't do anything for me...my name is on the wall in the Alumni Center (or it's supposed to be), but I've never seen it.

 

[BleedCrimsonandGray]

The issue here is that WSU is asking fans that haven't watched a winning season in half a generation to pony up more money and put skin in the game.

I don't think its necessarily about getting MORE money from the existing donors (although that needs to happen too.) Its about getting all these "fans" who call themselves Cougar football fans to support their team.

Look, we've been around and around and around this topic several times, but the facts are that there are schools our size in the south who's donor base and donations make us look like a girl scout fundraiser. FWIW, they didn't have winning teams year in and year out either. Its about culture and building a culture - building a family and a sense of belonging and contributing.

The "either you're with us or you're not" message being put forth by Moos and the AD is very adversarial and confrontational, and frankly just falls flat on us northwesterners. I get what he's saying, but he seems to forget that WSU has its own football culture, and its one of sucking and apathy. You can't just wave the "you need to care now, and show us with your wallet" wand and expect it to happen. By the same token, as we've seen before, winning won't solve the issue either (remember, apathy is part of the culture too... "oh we beat SC? Cool, who do the Hawks play tomorrow?)

Honestly, the only way I see generational support for the athletic department/ football team is if football were to go away and people HAD to donate to get the program back. As long as big daddy P12 is going to pay us to play the doormat every year, I don't see the culture getting any better.