"Leatherneck Club appears dormant."

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Tere North
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In the book of reports, etc., that accompany the Sept 22, 2022 Board of Trustees meeting, on p.67, it says.
"At present the Leatherneck Club appears dormant. That needs to change." 

I feel insulted.

In the release about the "For the 'W' Comprehensive Capital Campaign for Western Illinois" that begins on p.63, you are telling me I've been sleeping. All the while, over $40,000 has come out of my pocket to support the Leathernecks the past 10 or so years. I give annually as a member of the Leatherneck Club, bid and purchase at the Purple & Gold gala each year, and have made generous cash donations to the Women's Locker Room in Western Hall (BB & VB) and for the Chown Learning Center at the golf course.

I'll still continue to give to WIU athletics, but don't come asking me for contributions to the "For the 'W'" campaign. 

But I'm sure all will be well, as they expect 100% of members to any board associated with WIU to give, with the "Board" total representing at least 25% of the campaign, claiming the overall silent phase has already generated $40million. 
 
http://www.wiu.edu/board_of_trustees/mi ... d_Book.pdf
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Neckfansince71
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Tere, 

You and yours have been constant supporters of the Leatherneck Club and athletics for so many years.  To be honest, my wife and I have also been true and constant both in yearly giving and the Purple and Gold Auction.  But so many others have not.  The "Campaign" is speaking directly to those people who were so generous in the past and need to be even more generous in the future along with new members that need to start to get in the habit of giving to our alma mater. ;)
 jc  
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ST_Lawson
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Tere wrote:Thu Jan 01, 1970 4:24 am In the book of reports, etc., that accompany the Sept 22, 2022 Board of Trustees meeting, on p.67, it says.
"At present the Leatherneck Club appears dormant. That needs to change." 

I feel insulted.
 
Reading over it, I got the impression that they just meant that there hasn't really been much growth in new members. There's a small number of us "stalwarts" who continue to give, but compared to what many of our "peer institutions" bring in in donations to their athletics clubs/fundraising arm, it's minuscule.

I did a rough calculation based on the list of LC members on the athletics website. We currently have just under 500 members (which is pretty close to the same number that we had ~7 years ago...the last time I checked), who, if they all gave the max amount listed in their "level" (which I doubt, I'm sure a lot of people donate just enough to get to a level...so it's probably a lot less), then it would pull in ~$503k.

It's hard to find data for universities athletics fund/clubs, but...
For comparison, NDSU (obviously the "big dog" in our conference), raised $7.5 million last year, donating $5.5 million to their athletics department, from 4,087 members: https://gobison.com/news/2022/2/7/gener ... etics.aspx
UNI raised $1.52 for their Panther Scholarship Club in 2017, with 1,685 members.
In 2016 Illinois State's Weisbecker Athletic Fund had a push to get 400 new members, which they reached.

We're not going to get to the level of those guys, not for a while at least, but the university as a whole needs to make a push to increase fundraising and the Leatherneck Club is a part of that.
 
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Tere North
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Dormant:
adjective
  • lying asleep or as if asleep; inactive, as in sleep; torpid: The lecturer's sudden shout woke the dormant audience.
  • in a state of rest or inactivity; inoperative; in abeyance: The project is dormant for the time being.
  • Biology. in a state of minimal metabolic activity with cessation of growth, either as a reaction to adverse conditions or as part of an organism's normal annual rhythm.
  • Pathology. (of a disease) in an inactive phase but not cured; no longer exhibiting symptoms but perhaps only temporarily. Compare latent (def. 2)
  • undisclosed; unasserted: dormant musical talent.
  • Geology. (of a volcano) not having erupted within the last 10,000 years, but having the probability of erupting again.Compare active (def. 10)extinct (def. 5)
  • Botany. temporarily inactive: dormant buds; dormant seeds.
  • (of a pesticide) applied to a plant during a period of dormancy: a dormant spray.
  • Heraldry. (of an animal) represented as lying with its head on its forepaws, as if asleep.
Inactive does not describe the Leatherneck Club. Now, it is not growing, but it is not dead. Sorry JC, but I just can't stomach that the only salvation is for me to give more when the message is that what I have given hasn't even been noticed by the university. I'll continue to support the Leatherneck Club, but that's it.

SEE LESS
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sealhall74
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Dormant or not, the LC should sponsor and manage a 50-50 raffle every home game, assuming that is legal in the state of Illinois.
I think there is an app for that.   ;)

I was a late signer up this year and not at the level I would like to be, but that is what marriage and the added responsibilities thereof will do to a retired guy.
 
 
 
 
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They just picked the wrong word. They didn’t mean it that way.

They just meant a lot of former donors aren’t donating and the goal needs to be to reawaken them. 
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ST_Lawson
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sealhall74 wrote:Dormant or not, the LC should sponsor and manage a 50-50 raffle every home game, assuming that is legal in the state of Illinois.
I think there is an app for that.   ;)

I was a late signer up this year and not at the level I would like to be, but that is what marriage and the added responsibilities thereof will do to a retired guy.
 
 
 
 
It is legal in Illinois, they just had one at the Macomb football game last Friday.


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Scott Lawson - Board Admin
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