The Campaign
EVERY DONOR WILL HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE CAMPAIGN FOR CAROLINA ATHLETICS.
Student-athletes are attracted to Carolina because of what our University represents – the opportunity for an outstanding collegiate experience that impacts them athletically, academically, and socially for the rest of their lives. You give that gift of opportunity for the best student-athletes to attend the best university, to compete in the best facilities, and to play for the best coaches at the highest level of competition in all 28 of our varsity sports.
Rams Club members will be a vital part of the University’s $4.25 billion For All Kind capital campaign. With the third largest goal of that campaign, Athletics seeks to raise $500 million in support of Carolina student-athletes through The Rams Club. Each and every donor to Carolina Athletics will be part of that effort, participating in at least one of the four priorities.
The Scholarship Endowment
THE SCHOLARSHIP IS THE FOUNDATION OF OPPORTUNITY.
Donors to the Scholarship Endowment Trust provide critical, long-term support for Carolina's athletic scholarship program. Scholarship donors provide the opportunities for approximately 500 gifted student-athletes annually to gain a world-class education while competing for one of the nation's top athletics programs.
More importantly, donors equip thousands of our student-athletes to be leaders and champions for a lifetime. For most, especially those who are first-generation college attendees, it is a life-changing experience.
Foremost among the goals in the campaign is student-athlete scholarships. A critical focus will be placed on growing the Scholarship Endowment, where gifts provide a legacy of support that will touch Carolina Athletics and our student-athletes in perpetuity.
The Scholarship Endowment produces an approximate annual yield of 5% used to meet scholarship expenses. It is built through gifts of endowed scholarships, general contributions, and investment performance returns. The “Scholarship Gap” – the difference between the endowment’s yield and the actual cost of scholarships – continues to grow dramatically. Growth in the Endowment will help reduce that scholarship gap.
The rising cost of tuition for our broad-based athletics program presents a significant challenge, however. This year alone, the cost of fully covering scholarships for our student-athletes is expected to be in excess of $18 million – more than double the cost from just 10 years ago!
To emphasize the importance of meeting our primary mission of providing scholarships, The Educational Foundation will award increased points for all gifts to the Scholarship Endowment during the campaign. Contributions to the Endowment will earn a 40% bonus – 1.4 points per $100 donated!
For more information on Scholarship Endowment,
contact Emily Stevens at 919-843-3370 or estevens@ramsclub.com.
TICKET BENEFITS SCHOLARSHIP
GIVING LEVELS
Facilities
WORLD-CLASS STUDENT-ATHLETES NEED
WORLD-CLASS FACILITIES.
Rams Club members also play a pivotal role in providing the world-class student-athletes at Carolina with world-class facilities in which to prepare and compete for championships.
As part of the Campaign for Carolina Athletics, The Rams Club is underway with four important facility projects that directly impact 12 of Carolina’s 28 sports, and will benefit every student-athlete at Carolina:
Team Support
TEAM SUPPORT HELPS MEET UNIQUE NEEDS OF OUR PROGRAMS.
Team support encompasses gifts to any of Carolina’s individual athletic program operating endowments, friends accounts, and the Richard A. Baddour Carolina Leadership Academy.
Sports Operating Endowments
Each sports program at Carolina has its own sports operating endowment. The yield from these endowments is made available to the coach to help meet specific needs not covered in the regular operating budget. While the overall campaign is focused on meeting the needs of all 28 teams, the Sports Operating Endowments allow donors to help individual sports programs to achieve the flexibility and autonomy they need to take advantage of unique opportunities in their sport.
Donors to Sports Operating Endowments provide coaches with the ability to make decisions that can affect their program in the near-term with their legacy gift. Each sport has its own endowment and goal for funding. For more information on sport endowments or to make a gift to specific sport, please contact The Rams Club at 919.843.2000.
Note: Gifts to sport endowments do not activate Rams Club benefits as with Annual Fund or Scholarship Endowment Trust gifts. Priority points are accumulated, however, and become active with the activation of a regular Rams Club membership.
SUPPORT TAR HEEL TEAMSThe Annual Fund
EVERY MEMBER IS HELPING MEET CAMPAIGN GOALS THROUGH THE ANNUAL FUND.
Annual Fund donors – the majority of Rams Club members – are a vital part of meeting the goals of the Campaign for Carolina Athletics. By providing the critical support of the scholarship program and other important endeavors, annual members provide opportunities for Carolina student-athletes to be in Chapel Hill.
Every Carolina fan can be a part of providing those opportunities with memberships that start at just $100. As a part of The Rams Club, every member helps Carolina Athletics meet its most pressing needs.
Scholarship costs for Carolina student-athletes continue to present the most pressing challenge for Carolina Athletics. Scholarship costs have more than doubled in the last 10 years alone!
The total cost for athletics scholarships in 2006-07 was $7.9 million. In 2016-17, that cost reached $17.9 million. The Annual Fund – made up of Rams Club members’ annual gifts of $100 to $25,000 – has absorbed much of this significant increase. Annual giving must grow in this campaign to keep pace with this scholarship challenge as well as other funding needs for Carolina Athletics.
A broad-based annual membership program is imperative to the future of Carolina Athletics. Whether you give $100 or $25,000 annually, you are meeting the critical need of providing scholarships and other important student-athlete support. As a Rams Club member, you can enjoy the pride of investing in our student-athletes and their success.
22,000 Members by 2022
The goal is ambitious – to grow membership to 22,000 members by 2022. All members can be involved in this growth effort by participating in Point After Referrals. Current members can earn point credit for recruiting new members at any giving level.
That brother-in-law to whom you give your tickets? Ask him to join! Those co-workers who break down each and every game at work the next day? Ask them to join! That child who is a student at UNC? Sign him or her up as a Student Ram! Your neighbors with the UNC flag hanging off their front porch? Ask them to join!
Rams Club memberships start at $100 annually ($25 for students at Carolina and 50% for recent graduates in the last five years). Members receive benefits such as ticket priority, invitations to special events, Born & Bred magazine, and more. The best benefit, though, is knowing the impact you have on the lives of Carolina student-athletes.
Donors to the Annual Fund have an immediate impact on Carolina student-athletes with their gifts, sustaining the athletics scholarship program and meeting many other critical needs of Carolina Athletics today.
To join as an Annual Fund member, click the GIVE button at the top of this page, or contact The Rams Club at 919.843.2000 or ramsclub@ramsclub.com.