TAMU RFC has set some large, longer-term goals of a stadium, an endowment for permanent, paid coaching positions, an endowment to cover operational and logistical matters, and further scholarships. They plan to use the lessons learned from raising money for the smaller, annual expenses to accomplish the more ambitious goals in the coming years.
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Three endowments and two funds are managed by The Foundation for TAMU RFC (Biographies of those honored and memorialized by Texas A&M Rugby Scholarships). Fiscal descriptions of these endowments and funds are listed below:
Texas A&M Men's Rugby Endowment
Endowment Capital - $56,449.95
Income ~ $2,300/yr
Use - Texas A&M Rugby Scholarship, Lyle Gordon '97 Memorial Scholarship, Anthony Matocha '02 Memorial Scholarship (up to $1,000 each/yr)
Tom & Margaret Loftus Academic Rugby Leadership Endowment
Endowment Capital - $40,000
Income ~ $1,600/yr
Use - Tom & Margaret Loftus Academic Rugby Leadership Scholarships (up to $1,000 each/yr)
Gareth Jones Memorial Rugby Endowment
Endowment Capital - $15,791.72
Income - $0 until Capital reaches $25,000
Use - Club currently provides a $1,000 Gareth Jones Memorial Scholarship through GJ Youth Rugby Tournament Proceeds.
Texas A&M Men's Rugby Excellence Fund
This is a non-endowed, income only account.
Income ~ $6,000 per year through monthly and one-time donations.
Use - Support of club travel, equipment needs, additional scholarships as needed.
Mudfish Rugby Scholarship Fund
This is a non-endowed, income only fund.
Income ~ $2,000-$4,000/yr through one-time company matched donations.
Use - Mudfish Rugby Scholarships (up to $1,000 each/yr)
The main benefit of the scholarships is that they are awarded on a competitive basis and thus can qualify out-of-state and international students for the in-state tuition rate, saving the recipients over $15,000/yr in tuition. With a little over $100,000 providing scholarships for select Aggie Rugby athletes, the club is off to a good start. This season's focus will be on bringing the Gareth Jones Endowment up to it's self-sustaining level of $25,000. That will represent an approximate 10% growth in endowment funds.
A scholarship endowment is not TAMU RFC's only focus this season. The team still has to travel to compete and even with D1A Rugby's new, flexible, and geographically considerate playoff structure, travel expenses will be substantial (almost $1,000 per year per player). The Texas A&M Men's Rugby Excellence Fund covers most of these expenses as a pass-through account where funds can be donated for the club to use to cover travel and other operational expenses.
Endowment Capital - $56,449.95
Income ~ $2,300/yr
Use - Texas A&M Rugby Scholarship, Lyle Gordon '97 Memorial Scholarship, Anthony Matocha '02 Memorial Scholarship (up to $1,000 each/yr)
Tom & Margaret Loftus Academic Rugby Leadership Endowment
Endowment Capital - $40,000
Income ~ $1,600/yr
Use - Tom & Margaret Loftus Academic Rugby Leadership Scholarships (up to $1,000 each/yr)
Gareth Jones Memorial Rugby Endowment
Endowment Capital - $15,791.72
Income - $0 until Capital reaches $25,000
Use - Club currently provides a $1,000 Gareth Jones Memorial Scholarship through GJ Youth Rugby Tournament Proceeds.
Texas A&M Men's Rugby Excellence Fund
This is a non-endowed, income only account.
Income ~ $6,000 per year through monthly and one-time donations.
Use - Support of club travel, equipment needs, additional scholarships as needed.
Mudfish Rugby Scholarship Fund
This is a non-endowed, income only fund.
Income ~ $2,000-$4,000/yr through one-time company matched donations.
Use - Mudfish Rugby Scholarships (up to $1,000 each/yr)
The main benefit of the scholarships is that they are awarded on a competitive basis and thus can qualify out-of-state and international students for the in-state tuition rate, saving the recipients over $15,000/yr in tuition. With a little over $100,000 providing scholarships for select Aggie Rugby athletes, the club is off to a good start. This season's focus will be on bringing the Gareth Jones Endowment up to it's self-sustaining level of $25,000. That will represent an approximate 10% growth in endowment funds.
A scholarship endowment is not TAMU RFC's only focus this season. The team still has to travel to compete and even with D1A Rugby's new, flexible, and geographically considerate playoff structure, travel expenses will be substantial (almost $1,000 per year per player). The Texas A&M Men's Rugby Excellence Fund covers most of these expenses as a pass-through account where funds can be donated for the club to use to cover travel and other operational expenses.
TAMU RFC requires approximately $20,000 per year of fundraising to properly run the club and reduce the travel costs to the players. $20,000 reduces travel costs by $400 per player. $600 is a much more manageable amount for a college student than $1,000, especially for travel. The club raises these funds by soliciting private donations and garnering a few sponsors.
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| 40th Anniversary Old Maroon Weekend - Fall 2009 |
Old Maroon's mission is threefold: 1) Restore and strengthen the relationship between rugby alumni and the current University club teams, 2) Establish, restore and sustain connections among Aggie Rugby alumni, and 3) Financially and morally support and improve the rugby program at Texas A&M. It is in the third objective that Old Maroon intends to create a change.
Old Maroon's efforts this year are event-based: test match tailgating, reunion weekend, and an invitational playing side (7s & XVs). However, Old Maroon's current president, Blake Pellerin, realizes that there are some capital-heavy members of Old Maroon that do not give because they misunderstand Old Maroon's mission. Pellerin thinks that Old Maroon can tap into that capital to support the team fiscally by through a communication blitz by social media and email, keeping all of Old Maroon up-to-date with club happenings through their Facebook page, Twitter account, coach's blog, and otherwise. The idea being that an donor informed about how funds are being used is a donor motivated to give more!
Old Maroon's efforts this year are event-based: test match tailgating, reunion weekend, and an invitational playing side (7s & XVs). However, Old Maroon's current president, Blake Pellerin, realizes that there are some capital-heavy members of Old Maroon that do not give because they misunderstand Old Maroon's mission. Pellerin thinks that Old Maroon can tap into that capital to support the team fiscally by through a communication blitz by social media and email, keeping all of Old Maroon up-to-date with club happenings through their Facebook page, Twitter account, coach's blog, and otherwise. The idea being that an donor informed about how funds are being used is a donor motivated to give more!
Pellerin also intends to reach out to other rugby alumni associations like Cal, Penn St, and Stanford that have reached the goals Old Maroon supports at Texas A&M to discover what fundraising efforts accomplished their goals. As a university, Texas A&M runs on the donations of its former students - The Aggie Network. Pellerin believes that when the community of rugby players combines with the community of former students at Texas A&M, it provides a perfect storm of support. With this combination he states, "Texas A&M has the potential to be an unstoppable force in U.S. Rugby."