April 30, 2012

Volunteer Fund Drive Teams | Become a CAF Member | Purchase Season Tickets

PULLMAN, Wash. - Over 400 new members joined the Cougar Athletic Fund (CAF), the fundraising arm of the Washington State University Athletic Department, as a result of the first CAF Volunteer Fund Drive.

Spanning a time period from mid-February to the end of March, a total of 77 volunteers from Cougar Clubs in every region made calls to athletic donors to thank them for their past and current support of Cougar Athletics, increase donations levels of donors, and to expand the donor base of Cougar Athletics.

The efforts from the group generated 418 new members to the CAF.

"As fundraising initiatives go, this was a spectacular first-year effort," said Director of Athletics Bill Moos. "It's a credit to the volunteers who took up this challenge that we have such a solid baseline to start from after year one. I can't wait to see how big we can grow this effort in the coming years. It has the potential to be a game changer for Cougar Athletics."

The fund drive was aimed to build on the "Wave The Flag" marketing campaign Cougar Athletics debuted in 2011. Cougars everywhere are asked to "Wave The Flag" for Cougar Athletics by doing one or more of the following:

► Joining the CAF at the highest possible level or if a current CAF member, increasing their current giving level by an extra 10 percent.
► Purchasing season tickets and attending games.
► Informing family, friends and colleagues about the CAF and encouraging them to join.
► Providing referrals to CAF staff of people and/or businesses who are interested in WSU Athletics but are not currently members of the CAF.

The CAF has made huge strides this fiscal year, which ends June 30, by adding more than 1,500 new members while moving the Cougars up the list of donor rankings among Pac-12 schools.

WSU Athletics ended 2011 with 4,084 CAF members (minimum $50 annual donation to the CAF). That number placed the Cougars 10th among Pac-12 schools in number of donors making an annual scholarship gift. Oregon led the conference with 8,800 donors at the end of 2011.

Following February's highly successful Night with Cougar Football events in Spokane, Tri-Cities, Portland and Seattle, and incorporating the new membership totals due to the fund drive, the CAF increased to nearly 5,600 members, which under last year's totals would pass Utah (5,000) and USC, which ended last year with 5,400 total donors.

All Cougars are invited to attend the CAF Spring Events throughout the state of Washington beginning April 26. For a complete list of events click HERE.

Those interested in joining the Cougar Athletic Fund can call 1-877-IMA-COUG, e-mail at athletics.caf@wsu.edu. and by visiting CougarAthleticFund.com.

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