The Greyhound Club is a donor organization supporting the University of Indianapolis’ 23 athletic programs with monetary donations from friends, family and alumni, according to Senior Associate Athletic Director for Development Matthew Donovan. These donations can be used for necessary equipment or traveling purposes.
“Our goal is to really solicit them [donors] and encourage them to support UIndy Athletics, and if they have a desire to support a specific program, they certainly can,” Donovan said. “The biggest mission I would say is to gauge and create as much engagement as possible so that there are people who are interested in being supportive of the university and Greyhound Athletics.”
The mission of the Greyhound Club is to maintain quality of life, expand and enhance opportunities for student athletes and advance the mission of the University of Indianapolis Donovan said. Donors can receive many things in return for their donations to the Greyhound Club. Each donation amount can account for different incentives, according to Donovan and Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Scott Young.
“Season ticket type-things, there’s apparel, there’s opportunities to get into hospitality areas,” Young said. “… [Then] there’s tax write-off opportunities for typical donation things that you get different perks for things that you fund.”
Donovan takes the incentive approach on a much larger scale and said donors have the option to accept or decline premiums, which are things that donors get in return for their donation. Premiums that are accepted require the donor to adjust their contribution based on the value of the goods and services that are provided. If a premium is declined, donors can take the full value of their contribution.
“There is a whole list of things that an individual can accept if they do choose to accept the premiums,” Donovan said. “We have a premium goods chart on our website that kind of educates the individual on what is applicable to the contribution that they provide. One of the changes we have made is we have used more of our e-commerce store, which allows the donor to pick and choose what they would like based upon the value of the certificate they are going to receive.”
Young said that the club sometimes runs into issues with a donor firmly wanting to give a contribution to a particular sport, while there are other sports teams that need the funding in a more substantial way. Sometimes donors may have outside initiative for donating, but Young said all the contributions are greatly appreciated and all gifts are accepted on behalf of the university.
Young said they are always working to keep the Greyhound Club connected closely with UIndy Athletics and its programs. Everyone is always working together to ensure the program’s needs are being met by donor contributions, according to Donovan and Young. Alumni and potential donors are encouraged to visit the Greyhound Club website, where they can view current donors, the board of directors, learn how to make a gift or get involved and learn what the club is continuously trying to accomplish, according to Donovan.
