Will this loosen up the donors

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gtapp
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Re: Will this loosen up the donors

Post by gtapp » Thu Nov 22, 2018 8:26 pm

bobcatbob wrote:
Thu Nov 22, 2018 7:22 pm
Cataholic wrote:
Thu Nov 22, 2018 3:21 pm
We have to get away from todays instant gratification mentality. It will take time to reach our goal. My recollection is that we still haven’t paid off the new end zone structure. When that happens, we will have additional bonding ability for financing. That all takes time. In the meantime, MSU slowly chips away at the amont needed to finance.

Some of you are disappointed with the fundraising effort, but I get an email at least every two weeks about happenings at MSU. They definitely encourage contributions, but quite honestly, any more solicitation (such as phone calls) could be perceived negatively. How many of you honestly want another phone solicitation?

Also, a number of MSU related organizations are soliciting money from the same people. The Alumni foundation, the school of business, the Quarterback Club, Bobcat Club, etc. It has to be a careful balance where you don’t solicit so much for the new construction that donations to the Bobcat Club go down. This is especially relevant to the smaller donors who might have less disposable income.

I am confident in our leadership at the athletic department. Very well thought out with a long term plan.

Somebody pointed out to me the other day that U of M’s enrollment is actually closer to Tech’s enrollment than MSU’s enrollment. Not sure if that is completely accurate, but how crazy is that perception! We are headed in the right direction. Let’s stay the road and more great things are in store. Just look at the Improvements on the MSU campus and compare to Missoula. It is truly a major success story!
Catabolic, people would just like to know where we stand so we can help. Yes, the plan is good. Yes, we get solicited by other MSU entities. But, I for one would like to see we are with this effort so as to gauge my contributions.
This is why I don't think we are very far along. If they told us how much we have raised and it is not as close to phase 1 completion that could frustrate the fan base and could deter further donations. Keep in mind when you give to the overall plan your money could get used for any sport/venue. That is fine but if you think that as soon as we get to $16M we start on the indoor facility that may not be the case. I also believe that stadium expansion may be at the end of the list so if this is a ten year plan it could be awhile before the stadium changes.


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Re: Will this loosen up the donors

Post by bobcatbob » Thu Nov 22, 2018 10:10 pm

Gtapp, I agree. If they keep us posted as to the progress, I think more people will start jumping on board.



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Re: Will this loosen up the donors

Post by 84CatGrad » Fri Nov 23, 2018 8:38 am

There is a page on our website (https://msubobcats.com/sports/2017/9/20 ... rPlan.aspx) with great videos as well as a PDF of the Master Plan. Once you are on this page you can click on the TELL ME MORE button at the bottom to sign up for more information and receive updates (and no doubt solicitations).

I have done this. HAVE YOU? Don't delay. :kicksrock:



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Re: Will this loosen up the donors

Post by bobcatbob » Fri Nov 23, 2018 10:37 am

84CatGrad wrote:
Fri Nov 23, 2018 8:38 am
There is a page on our website (https://msubobcats.com/sports/2017/9/20 ... rPlan.aspx) with great videos as well as a PDF of the Master Plan. Once you are on this page you can click on the TELL ME MORE button at the bottom to sign up for more information and receive updates (and no doubt solicitations).

I have done this. HAVE YOU? Don't delay. :kicksrock:
Yes, I am aware of this thank you. My point is people should not have to search out and sign-up to get this information. I don't think many people are goingto take the time to do that. They should be getting this out to as many people as they can on an ongoing basis.



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Re: Will this loosen up the donors

Post by CatsNoMatterWhat » Fri Nov 23, 2018 10:45 am

I haven't read the .pdf closely yet...draft images look incredible of course. How many seats will the finished stadium be?



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Re: Will this loosen up the donors

Post by SonomaCat » Fri Nov 23, 2018 12:14 pm

When the campaign has enough in its coffers that the small donations will put it over the top, then and only then would it be smart for MSU to go all in on the small donor phase of the campaign. The absolute worst thing they could do is take a bunch of small donor money and then not end up with enough funds for the project and have to return it all. We've been having this same discussion on this board since the inception of the board. What MSU is doing is consistent with every successful fundraising campaign in history. They know what they are doing. It's just frustrating from the outside not knowing what is happening on the inside.



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Re: Will this loosen up the donors

Post by lutecat » Fri Nov 23, 2018 6:52 pm

gtapp wrote:
Thu Nov 22, 2018 8:17 pm
CatsNoMatterWhat wrote:
Sun Nov 18, 2018 6:29 am
AFCAT wrote:
Sun Nov 18, 2018 12:48 am
I donate money every month to the facilities plan and I intend on making a larger donation at the end of the year. You don't have to give millions to make a difference.
I think this is very intelligent. If everybody does a little it adds up to a lot. Cat stadium can hold 22,000. If each of those people, over the course of a year, donated $100 that's 2.2 million. A year. That equates to $8.30 a month. While going after whales, this is the kind of fund raising drive Leon needs to engage in.
First you have to look at attendance not capacity. So 17K not 22K. Then you subtract students so you are down to about 10K. Then you subtract the people there for the event and not the game and maybe you are left with 8K. Maybe. You really need the big donors to make this work.
Capacity is 17k. Theres only 4k student seats.



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Re: Will this loosen up the donors

Post by 91catAlum » Sat Nov 24, 2018 9:17 am

CatsNoMatterWhat wrote:
Sun Nov 18, 2018 6:29 am
AFCAT wrote:
Sun Nov 18, 2018 12:48 am
I donate money every month to the facilities plan and I intend on making a larger donation at the end of the year. You don't have to give millions to make a difference.
I think this is very intelligent. If everybody does a little it adds up to a lot. Cat stadium can hold 22,000. If each of those people, over the course of a year, donated $100 that's 2.2 million. A year. That equates to $8.30 a month. While going after whales, this is the kind of fund raising drive Leon needs to engage in.
Your math is correct but your idea is not realistic.

Remember the new End Zone project in 2010? 700 people donated to it. That's it.
Let's say Leon did a tremendous job and tripled that number to 2000. Then let's say the average donatiion is DOUBLE what you said, $200.
That's a total of $400,000. That's just 2.5% of the 16 million needed.

So you can see why the big whales are the most important part of this. Leon probably won't worry about smaller donors until he's got at least $14 million pledged. Just a guess.


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Re: Will this loosen up the donors

Post by MSU01 » Sat Nov 24, 2018 9:47 am

91catAlum wrote:
Sat Nov 24, 2018 9:17 am
So you can see why the big whales are the most important part of this. Leon probably won't worry about smaller donors until he's got at least $14 million pledged. Just a guess.
The project simply will not happen without major multi-million dollar donations such as the anonymous $2 million that was announced at one of the football games earlier this year. There just aren't enough small donors out there to get anywhere near the total for such a major project. I agree that they're doing it the right way and while it's frustrating to see progress on the Athletics Facilities Plan happening more slowly than we might like, it needs to be done in a responsible way like this. If you still want to contribute even if it's a small donation, they'll still happily take your money.



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Re: Will this loosen up the donors

Post by 91catAlum » Sat Nov 24, 2018 9:54 am

MSU01 wrote:
Sat Nov 24, 2018 9:47 am
91catAlum wrote:
Sat Nov 24, 2018 9:17 am
So you can see why the big whales are the most important part of this. Leon probably won't worry about smaller donors until he's got at least $14 million pledged. Just a guess.
The project simply will not happen without major multi-million dollar donations such as the anonymous $2 million that was announced at one of the football games earlier this year. There just aren't enough small donors out there to get anywhere near the total for such a major project. I agree that they're doing it the right way and while it's frustrating to see progress on the Athletics Facilities Plan happening more slowly than we might like, it needs to be done in a responsible way like this. If you still want to contribute even if it's a small donation, they'll still happily take your money.
Absolutely. I don't mean to discourage people from donating. I'm just pointing out that the bulk of the money has to come from the big donors or we'll never get there.


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Re: Will this loosen up the donors

Post by BelgradeBobcat » Mon Nov 26, 2018 4:08 pm

Choate making his plea to the donors-about 6:00 mins in.




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Re: Will this loosen up the donors

Post by technoCat » Mon Nov 26, 2018 4:36 pm

BelgradeBobcat wrote:
Mon Nov 26, 2018 4:08 pm
Choate making his plea to the donors-about 6:00 mins in.

I thought it was interesting that he made such a point of it in this particular conference. Maybe he's trying to push a couple of people on the fence?! :-^ I can hope right?

They better get the north EZ and practice facility moving cause the east stands are pretty much falling apart and will need attention too!


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Re: Will this loosen up the donors

Post by DMMDCats » Mon Nov 26, 2018 5:33 pm

This is just my opinion, but if I was a big buck donor and read some of this, I might say F... them ungrateful pr,,,ks. I can only guess what a person of means would say.

That being said, our Senator and Congressman from this area could very well put it over the top, and not feel a pinch. We don't know if they, or one of them, was the donor. Who knows.

Thank you to the anonymous donor(s) who did put in the kitty. And thanks to all of us who have and continue to support the entire Athletics Department. Maybe we could rebuild the Men's Basketball team someday.

We should be able to do better, as it is pointed out, there IS a lot of money in this town. But all I hear is from clients is "can't you work for less".(Off topic, but pertinent). I could contribute more if I made more. See how that works. HAHAHa. Pay your workers more, build it, and they will come.

Anyway, the way to do it is to get MSU Admin to REALLY back this plan. REALLY back it. Quit looking at it as a pool of cash to take away from Athletics to prop up other areas of the campus. Have them REALLY see it is an investment in the future, not a cost of doing business. Let them REALLY support what the public wants of this Public, Land Grant University.

Thanks, have a great day.


PS, could someone fix the BN clock. We are UTC -7, not -6. MST, not MDT or CST. Thanks BN Admins. You're the best.


Have a wonderful day!!

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Re: Will this loosen up the donors

Post by technoCat » Mon Nov 26, 2018 5:43 pm

DMMDCats wrote:
Mon Nov 26, 2018 5:33 pm
This is just my opinion, but if I was a big buck donor and read some of this, I might say F... them ungrateful pr,,,ks. I can only guess what a person of means would say.
Your first sentence makes no sense. We aren't complaining about the ones that have contributed. Why would we be grateful to those that haven't?


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Re: Will this loosen up the donors

Post by AFCAT » Mon Nov 26, 2018 5:55 pm

I’ve written this before, but here goes again. I’ve talked with the Alumni foundation and they want any and all donations they can get now. The coaches have said the same thing. Whales are welcome, but so are the rest of us.


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Re: Will this loosen up the donors

Post by DMMDCats » Mon Nov 26, 2018 8:33 pm

technoCat wrote:
Mon Nov 26, 2018 5:43 pm
DMMDCats wrote:
Mon Nov 26, 2018 5:33 pm
This is just my opinion, but if I was a big buck donor and read some of this, I might say F... them ungrateful pr,,,ks. I can only guess what a person of means would say.
Your first sentence makes no sense. We aren't complaining about the ones that have contributed. Why would we be grateful to those that haven't?
"Will this loosen up the donors" can be inferred as "calling out" people who have yet to step up.

I have worked as a fundraiser in the past. I know some potential donors are very "sensitive" to a perception that they are not doing their part, as they do what they can.

You do not have to be grateful to those that haven't. Not a problem at all. We don't have to mention them at all.


I do believe Coach agrees with me on the MT Hall/Admin support part of the post. Just something I heard tonight.


I agree I may be inferring too much from some thoughts posted. My regrets. It's been a bad day.

Whales aint' reading this board anyway.

Go CATS!!!

Maybe we could get one of those big construction firms to just park a crane over there for the winter. Put some lights on it and such.



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Re: Will this loosen up the donors

Post by kmax » Tue Nov 27, 2018 8:35 am

DMMDCats wrote:
Mon Nov 26, 2018 5:33 pm
PS, could someone fix the BN clock. We are UTC -7, not -6. MST, not MDT or CST. Thanks BN Admins. You're the best.
That is a personal setting per user. You can go into your profile by clicking on your name on the upper right of any page and selecting the user control panel option. From there you can change options such as the time which you view the board by going to the board preferences tab.


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Re: Will this loosen up the donors

Post by Woodenshoe » Thu Nov 29, 2018 2:50 pm

I want to share my experience with trying to donate to the Master Plan. I have tried at least three different occasions over the course of a few months by filling out that form to have someone contact me so I can put together a donation. Never heard back from anyone. Then I finally made a phone call to one of the numbers listed on the form and was able to speak with a person whom I won't name, but we had a pleasant conversation about how things were progressing on the fundraising part of Phase 1. I learned that we have only raised about $7.5 million thus far. Then this person asked how much was I willing to donate which made me feel a bit uncomfortable since I really didn't have an immediate answer, and I think this person could tell and so they asked if I would rather have them email me the form and then I could send it back with my donation to which I said yes I would prefer that. Well Guess what, I have yet to receive it and this was about two weeks ago now. So here you have someone who would like to donate a certain amount of money and I can't even get anyone from MSU to help me help them. Not sure what to make of it.



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Re: Will this loosen up the donors

Post by wbtfg » Thu Nov 29, 2018 3:18 pm

Woodenshoe wrote:
Thu Nov 29, 2018 2:50 pm
I want to share my experience with trying to donate to the Master Plan. I have tried at least three different occasions over the course of a few months by filling out that form to have someone contact me so I can put together a donation. Never heard back from anyone. Then I finally made a phone call to one of the numbers listed on the form and was able to speak with a person whom I won't name, but we had a pleasant conversation about how things were progressing on the fundraising part of Phase 1. I learned that we have only raised about $7.5 million thus far. Then this person asked how much was I willing to donate which made me feel a bit uncomfortable since I really didn't have an immediate answer, and I think this person could tell and so they asked if I would rather have them email me the form and then I could send it back with my donation to which I said yes I would prefer that. Well Guess what, I have yet to receive it and this was about two weeks ago now. So here you have someone who would like to donate a certain amount of money and I can't even get anyone from MSU to help me help them. Not sure what to make of it.
Yikes.....that's inexcusable. I'd schedule a meeting with Leon to let him know your experiences as well as to discuss future giving. We as fans greatly appreciate all donors (big and small) who are making financial gifts to enhance the MSU athletic experience. Thanks to you and everyone else on here who donates time/money/energy to Bobcat Athletics!



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Re: Will this loosen up the donors

Post by bobcatbob » Thu Nov 29, 2018 3:50 pm

wbtfg wrote:
Thu Nov 29, 2018 3:18 pm
Woodenshoe wrote:
Thu Nov 29, 2018 2:50 pm
I want to share my experience with trying to donate to the Master Plan. I have tried at least three different occasions over the course of a few months by filling out that form to have someone contact me so I can put together a donation. Never heard back from anyone. Then I finally made a phone call to one of the numbers listed on the form and was able to speak with a person whom I won't name, but we had a pleasant conversation about how things were progressing on the fundraising part of Phase 1. I learned that we have only raised about $7.5 million thus far. Then this person asked how much was I willing to donate which made me feel a bit uncomfortable since I really didn't have an immediate answer, and I think this person could tell and so they asked if I would rather have them email me the form and then I could send it back with my donation to which I said yes I would prefer that. Well Guess what, I have yet to receive it and this was about two weeks ago now. So here you have someone who would like to donate a certain amount of money and I can't even get anyone from MSU to help me help them. Not sure what to make of it.
Yikes.....that's inexcusable. I'd schedule a meeting with Leon to let him know your experiences as well as to discuss future giving. We as fans greatly appreciate all donors (big and small) who are making financial gifts to enhance the MSU athletic experience. Thanks to you and everyone else on here who donates time/money/energy to Bobcat Athletics!
I agree, inexcusable! People shouldn't have to go searching for how to make a donation an jump through hoops. They should be sending out periodic emails or posting on social media as to where we are with fundraising and making it easy to make a donation. Sometimes people need to see it a few times before they decide to make a donation. They have many databases to email from such as the Alumni memberfship or Bobcat Club and Quarterback Club. Also they can reach many people on social media. Maybe Leon should form a committee of volunteers to kick around ideas as to how they can gain more exposure.

I would say based on what our competition is doing, the the need to get construction started is urgent. It will have a real impact on recruiting if we don't get this going within the next year.



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