Who are the potential donors that could change Tulane athletics?

[golfnut69]

Lauren Hutton?

Ashley Biden?


LOLOLOLOLOLOL

info for the youngsters....but back in da dey, she was sumtin'
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauren_Hutton

[winwave]

Houston you've brought up that only four people are working on athletic fundraising. There's a thread calling them out elsewhere. The OP says he was a four figure donor in both 2019 and 2020. He didn't donate in 2021 because he never received a thank you either year and he wanted to see how long before he would get a call this year to inquire about his donation. He's yet to receive a call. Looks like they devote 80% of their time to something other than Tulane athletics too.

[golfnut69]

Houston you've brought up that only four people are working on athletic fundraising. There's a thread calling them out elsewhere. The OP says he was a four figure donor in both 2019 and 2020. He didn't donate in 2021 because he never received a thank you either year and he wanted to see how long before he would get a call this year to inquire about his donation. He's yet to receive a call. Looks like they devote 80% of their time to something other than Tulane athletics too.

80 percent of their time looking for anotha' job...

[HoustonWave]

Houston you've brought up that only four people are working on athletic fundraising. There's a thread calling them out elsewhere. The OP says he was a four figure donor in both 2019 and 2020. He didn't donate in 2021 because he never received a thank you either year and he wanted to see how long before he would get a call this year to inquire about his donation. He's yet to receive a call. Looks like they devote 80% of their time to something other than Tulane athletics too.

80%—in the Tulane world that’s overtime. And with Jeff Cummings leaving we’re down to three tree-shakers for athletics. Hopefully Fitts and Dannen will cut lose and hire a replacement for Cummings.

[McWave]

This "hands off" thing is not unusual in my experience. Developers (fundraising staff) develop relationships over time (years). Once a relationship is developed that college/dept/etc. "claims" the donor. When turf wars arise it's the president's office or development/fundraising head to settle the dispute. The egg heads hired at Tulane probably always side with academics. While no donor will be told not to donate, the athletic ask will never be made without donor initiative. The more TU hires the ivy league crowd to manage things, the less for athletics. But I also haven't seen a large endowment donations lately ($10 million plus) to the endowment either. A million dollar donation over a decade is not a big donation. Big donations exceed $10 million.

[tpstulane]

This "hands off" thing is not unusual in my experience. Developers (fundraising staff) develop relationships over time (years). Once a relationship is developed that college/dept/etc. "claims" the donor. When turf wars arise it's the president's office or development/fundraising head to settle the dispute. The egg heads hired at Tulane probably always side with academics. While no donor will be told not to donate, the athletic ask will never be made without donor initiative. The more TU hires the ivy league crowd to manage things, the less for athletics. But I also haven't seen a large endowment donations lately ($10 million plus) to the endowment either. A million dollar donation over a decade is not a big donation. Big donations exceed $10 million.

Excellent explanation. I can see that logic. There are numerous athletes that are probably just waiting to be contacted and smoozed over before handing over the dough. We just need to hold onto our personnel so these relationships can carryover. The constant turnover in Athletic fundraising hurts this effort.

[Bigschtick]

Houston you've brought up that only four people are working on athletic fundraising. There's a thread calling them out elsewhere. The OP says he was a four figure donor in both 2019 and 2020. He didn't donate in 2021 because he never received a thank you either year and he wanted to see how long before he would get a call this year to inquire about his donation. He's yet to receive a call. Looks like they devote 80% of their time to something other than Tulane athletics too.

Does that surprise us giving the gross incompetency we have seen at many levels at Tulane? These dumb halfwits can't even say thank you? Unbelievable but not really.

[winwave]

This "hands off" thing is not unusual in my experience. Developers (fundraising staff) develop relationships over time (years). Once a relationship is developed that college/dept/etc. "claims" the donor. When turf wars arise it's the president's office or development/fundraising head to settle the dispute. The egg heads hired at Tulane probably always side with academics. While no donor will be told not to donate, the athletic ask will never be made without donor initiative. The more TU hires the ivy league crowd to manage things, the less for athletics. But I also haven't seen a large endowment donations lately ($10 million plus) to the endowment either. A million dollar donation over a decade is not a big donation. Big donations exceed $10 million.

There you go. So a Tulane athletic employee claimed they were put at a disadvantage when it's actually standard practice and their peers are in the same boat on this issue. Thanks.

[RobertM320]

Just an FYI. This is from the link that was in my email for Giving Tuesday, which is today. Notice that Athletics is NOT one of the listed departments you can choose. You actually have to write them in, so to speak.

Tells you where athletics is on our list of priorities.



Make a Gift to
Tulane University

Gift Amount: Required Field$

Your gift of $2,500 or more will automatically enroll you in the Tulane Associates.
I would like to give to: (Required Field)

-The Tulane Fund for Undergraduate Education
-General University Support
-Tulane Fund for Equity and Diversity
-Student Scholarships
-Tulane Honors and Remembers Fund
-Other

-School/College/Center or program of my choice (Click here to see a full list)

[GreenLantern]

Just an FYI. This is from the link that was in my email for Giving Tuesday, which is today. Notice that Athletics is NOT one of the listed departments you can choose. You actually have to write them in, so to speak.

Tells you where athletics is on our list of priorities.



Make a Gift to
Tulane University

Gift Amount: Required Field$

Your gift of $2,500 or more will automatically enroll you in the Tulane Associates.
I would like to give to: (Required Field)

-The Tulane Fund for Undergraduate Education
-General University Support
-Tulane Fund for Equity and Diversity
-Student Scholarships
-Tulane Honors and Remembers Fund
-Other

-School/College/Center or program of my choice (Click here to see a full list)

If you click the link with the label Click here to see a full list, one of the options is the Green Wave Club. In appreciation for the terrific season that just ended, I was going to be audacious and send a couple million dollars. After having a good laugh, I went to Waffle House for a late breakfast instead. I enjoyed their food much more than all of the games I attended.

[Wavetrader]

This "hands off" thing is not unusual in my experience. Developers (fundraising staff) develop relationships over time (years). Once a relationship is developed that college/dept/etc. "claims" the donor. When turf wars arise it's the president's office or development/fundraising head to settle the dispute. The egg heads hired at Tulane probably always side with academics. While no donor will be told not to donate, the athletic ask will never be made without donor initiative. The more TU hires the ivy league crowd to manage things, the less for athletics. But I also haven't seen a large endowment donations lately ($10 million plus) to the endowment either. A million dollar donation over a decade is not a big donation. Big donations exceed $10 million.

There you go. So a Tulane athletic employee claimed they were put at a disadvantage when it's actually standard practice and their peers are in the same boat on this issue. Thanks.

I guess the point I was making is that not only are were the academic donors off limits to the event we arranged with athletic personnel, but also all other Tulane Alumni in my city that had not contributed a dime to Tulane before. Only Tulanians that had contributed to Tulane Athletics previously were allowed to be invited to the event. How does one grow the group interested in athletics and provide new funding unless (1) you provide them exposure to coaches and athletes, ..... or (2) win games and become relevant.

This creates the circular issue that many on this site espouse, we can't win consistently without facilities, which means we need to raise more funds for facilities. For that, we need to either expand the donor pool or hit up the same large donors who've previously contributed to Yulman. For those closer to the admin than me, are we sure that fundraising for the Ops building or an IPF are even a priority at this moment? I have not been contacted about either of those, although I believe both would be great for performance and recruiting.

[Bicoastalwave]

This "hands off" thing is not unusual in my experience. Developers (fundraising staff) develop relationships over time (years). Once a relationship is developed that college/dept/etc. "claims" the donor. When turf wars arise it's the president's office or development/fundraising head to settle the dispute. The egg heads hired at Tulane probably always side with academics. While no donor will be told not to donate, the athletic ask will never be made without donor initiative. The more TU hires the ivy league crowd to manage things, the less for athletics. But I also haven't seen a large endowment donations lately ($10 million plus) to the endowment either. A million dollar donation over a decade is not a big donation. Big donations exceed $10 million.

There you go. So a Tulane athletic employee claimed they were put at a disadvantage when it's actually standard practice and their peers are in the same boat on this issue. Thanks.

I guess the point I was making is that not only are were the academic donors off limits to the event we arranged with athletic personnel, but also all other Tulane Alumni in my city that had not contributed a dime to Tulane before. Only Tulanians that had contributed to Tulane Athletics previously were allowed to be invited to the event. How does one grow the group interested in athletics and provide new funding unless (1) you provide them exposure to coaches and athletes, ..... or (2) win games and become relevant.

This creates the circular issue that many on this site espouse, we can't win consistently without facilities, which means we need to raise more funds for facilities. For that, we need to either expand the donor pool or hit up the same large donors who've previously contributed to Yulman. For those closer to the admin than me, are we sure that fundraising for the Ops building or an IPF are even a priority at this moment? I have not been contacted about either of those, although I believe both would be great for performance and recruiting.

Good question and post. Do you feel comfortable sharing which city you are in ? I’ll guess Houston or nyc

[RobertM320]

Just an FYI. This is from the link that was in my email for Giving Tuesday, which is today. Notice that Athletics is NOT one of the listed departments you can choose. You actually have to write them in, so to speak.

Tells you where athletics is on our list of priorities.



Make a Gift to
Tulane University

Gift Amount: Required Field$

Your gift of $2,500 or more will automatically enroll you in the Tulane Associates.
I would like to give to: (Required Field)

-The Tulane Fund for Undergraduate Education
-General University Support
-Tulane Fund for Equity and Diversity
-Student Scholarships
-Tulane Honors and Remembers Fund
-Other

-School/College/Center or program of my choice (Click here to see a full list)

If you click the link with the label Click here to see a full list, one of the options is the Green Wave Club. In appreciation for the terrific season that just ended, I was going to be audacious and send a couple million dollars. After having a good laugh, I went to Waffle House for a late breakfast instead. I enjoyed their food much more than all of the games I attended.

My point was, any other University would have Athletics listed as one of those options in the main body, not in a drop down menu under the "Other" category. Am I wrong?

[GreenLantern]

My point was, any other University would have Athletics listed as one of those options in the main body, not in a drop down menu under the "Other" category. Am I wrong?

You are as right as rain.

[Jaxwave]

This "hands off" thing is not unusual in my experience. Developers (fundraising staff) develop relationships over time (years). Once a relationship is developed that college/dept/etc. "claims" the donor. When turf wars arise it's the president's office or development/fundraising head to settle the dispute. The egg heads hired at Tulane probably always side with academics. While no donor will be told not to donate, the athletic ask will never be made without donor initiative. The more TU hires the ivy league crowd to manage things, the less for athletics. But I also haven't seen a large endowment donations lately ($10 million plus) to the endowment either. A million dollar donation over a decade is not a big donation. Big donations exceed $10 million.

I just tore up my million dollar check. Did not want it to seem small.

[Bicoastalwave]

Where is the leadership and organization for NIL groups locally & national ?



Texas has it figured out and we know that SMU does as well.

[wave-fan]

This "hands off" thing is not unusual in my experience. Developers (fundraising staff) develop relationships over time (years). Once a relationship is developed that college/dept/etc. "claims" the donor. When turf wars arise it's the president's office or development/fundraising head to settle the dispute. The egg heads hired at Tulane probably always side with academics. While no donor will be told not to donate, the athletic ask will never be made without donor initiative. The more TU hires the ivy league crowd to manage things, the less for athletics. But I also haven't seen a large endowment donations lately ($10 million plus) to the endowment either. A million dollar donation over a decade is not a big donation. Big donations exceed $10 million.

Decided to make an account to share my thoughts on this.

I think a lot of our fundraising struggles come back to loyalty to Tulane, understanding the Tulane experience, and who is hired for these positions. Most of these people who are trying to establish a career in college athletics need to bounce around from place to place to move up or make more money. The entirety of the Greenwave Club staff has switched over in the course of the last 5 years and they have not replaced the head of the department. I haven't seen, in my experience, much preference given to those with a Tulane or New Orleans connection, it tends to be friends or people they've worked with in the past that all seem to implicitly understand that they'll only stick around until the next best thing comes up. As with most things athletics, there's also a preference given to people with "P5" experience - despite not actually being transferable or relatable to our fundraising needs. Tulane is unique, as we all know and love.

With that level of turnover and a completely new staff, it's hard to make and establish relationships that can lead towards transformative gifts. This is just my experience as a fundraiser, but it can take a year or two for you to establish those relationships while the average tenure for a fundraiser is under two years. It's a difficult balance and why fundraisers are some of the highest paid employees at nonprofits as the retention is so critical. I wouldn't be surprised if Tulane's salaries on the athletics were not quite where they need to be either.

For my background, I am a former Tulane student athlete that lead the fundraising department for a different D1 school for many years. Tulane has a ton of opportunity in fundraising, and I have to categorically deny that there is any type of hoarding of donors or keeping them from Athletics based on my experience - donors direct their donations and it's up to gift officers to steer them to institutional or departmental priorities. Bonds need to be built and conversations need to be had, and this thread (and the one on the other board) seems to show that not many are happening.

And for those of you on the other forum, I would respond to that thread but in my 10 years of coming to that site, I have never been successfully approved for an account.

[GreenLantern]

Decided to make an account to share my thoughts on this.

I think a lot of our fundraising struggles come back to loyalty to Tulane, understanding the Tulane experience, and who is hired for these positions. Most of these people who are trying to establish a career in college athletics need to bounce around from place to place to move up or make more money. The entirety of the Greenwave Club staff has switched over in the course of the last 5 years and they have not replaced the head of the department. I haven't seen, in my experience, much preference given to those with a Tulane or New Orleans connection, it tends to be friends or people they've worked with in the past that all seem to implicitly understand that they'll only stick around until the next best thing comes up. As with most things athletics, there's also a preference given to people with "P5" experience - despite not actually being transferable or relatable to our fundraising needs. Tulane is unique, as we all know and love.

With that level of turnover and a completely new staff, it's hard to make and establish relationships that can lead towards transformative gifts. This is just my experience as a fundraiser, but it can take a year or two for you to establish those relationships while the average tenure for a fundraiser is under two years. It's a difficult balance and why fundraisers are some of the highest paid employees at nonprofits as the retention is so critical. I wouldn't be surprised if Tulane's salaries on the athletics were not quite where they need to be either.

For my background, I am a former Tulane student athlete that lead the fundraising department for a different D1 school for many years. Tulane has a ton of opportunity in fundraising, and I have to categorically deny that there is any type of hoarding of donors or keeping them from Athletics based on my experience - donors direct their donations and it's up to gift officers to steer them to institutional or departmental priorities. Bonds need to be built and conversations need to be had, and this thread (and the one on the other board) seems to show that not many are happening.

And for those of you on the other forum, I would respond to that thread but in my 10 years of coming to that site, I have never been successfully approved for an account.

Welcome to the board, wave-fan. Hope you become a regular poster.

[golfnut69]

Decided to make an account to share my thoughts on this.

I think a lot of our fundraising struggles come back to loyalty to Tulane, understanding the Tulane experience, and who is hired for these positions. Most of these people who are trying to establish a career in college athletics need to bounce around from place to place to move up or make more money. The entirety of the Greenwave Club staff has switched over in the course of the last 5 years and they have not replaced the head of the department. I haven't seen, in my experience, much preference given to those with a Tulane or New Orleans connection, it tends to be friends or people they've worked with in the past that all seem to implicitly understand that they'll only stick around until the next best thing comes up. As with most things athletics, there's also a preference given to people with "P5" experience - despite not actually being transferable or relatable to our fundraising needs. Tulane is unique, as we all know and love.

With that level of turnover and a completely new staff, it's hard to make and establish relationships that can lead towards transformative gifts. This is just my experience as a fundraiser, but it can take a year or two for you to establish those relationships while the average tenure for a fundraiser is under two years. It's a difficult balance and why fundraisers are some of the highest paid employees at nonprofits as the retention is so critical. I wouldn't be surprised if Tulane's salaries on the athletics were not quite where they need to be either.

For my background, I am a former Tulane student athlete that lead the fundraising department for a different D1 school for many years. Tulane has a ton of opportunity in fundraising, and I have to categorically deny that there is any type of hoarding of donors or keeping them from Athletics based on my experience - donors direct their donations and it's up to gift officers to steer them to institutional or departmental priorities. Bonds need to be built and conversations need to be had, and this thread (and the one on the other board) seems to show that not many are happening.

And for those of you on the other forum, I would respond to that thread but in my 10 years of coming to that site, I have never been successfully approved for an account.

Welcome to the board, wave-fan. Hope you become a regular poster.

Tulane needs to hire local for all Fund Raising Media type positions...Ed Daniels would be my first call.... my second call would be to someone with "Hospitality" connections

[Bicoastalwave]

This "hands off" thing is not unusual in my experience. Developers (fundraising staff) develop relationships over time (years). Once a relationship is developed that college/dept/etc. "claims" the donor. When turf wars arise it's the president's office or development/fundraising head to settle the dispute. The egg heads hired at Tulane probably always side with academics. While no donor will be told not to donate, the athletic ask will never be made without donor initiative. The more TU hires the ivy league crowd to manage things, the less for athletics. But I also haven't seen a large endowment donations lately ($10 million plus) to the endowment either. A million dollar donation over a decade is not a big donation. Big donations exceed $10 million.

Decided to make an account to share my thoughts on this.

I think a lot of our fundraising struggles come back to loyalty to Tulane, understanding the Tulane experience, and who is hired for these positions. Most of these people who are trying to establish a career in college athletics need to bounce around from place to place to move up or make more money. The entirety of the Greenwave Club staff has switched over in the course of the last 5 years and they have not replaced the head of the department. I haven't seen, in my experience, much preference given to those with a Tulane or New Orleans connection, it tends to be friends or people they've worked with in the past that all seem to implicitly understand that they'll only stick around until the next best thing comes up. As with most things athletics, there's also a preference given to people with "P5" experience - despite not actually being transferable or relatable to our fundraising needs. Tulane is unique, as we all know and love.

With that level of turnover and a completely new staff, it's hard to make and establish relationships that can lead towards transformative gifts. This is just my experience as a fundraiser, but it can take a year or two for you to establish those relationships while the average tenure for a fundraiser is under two years. It's a difficult balance and why fundraisers are some of the highest paid employees at nonprofits as the retention is so critical. I wouldn't be surprised if Tulane's salaries on the athletics were not quite where they need to be either.

For my background, I am a former Tulane student athlete that lead the fundraising department for a different D1 school for many years. Tulane has a ton of opportunity in fundraising, and I have to categorically deny that there is any type of hoarding of donors or keeping them from Athletics based on my experience - donors direct their donations and it's up to gift officers to steer them to institutional or departmental priorities. Bonds need to be built and conversations need to be had, and this thread (and the one on the other board) seems to show that not many are happening.

And for those of you on the other forum, I would respond to that thread but in my 10 years of coming to that site, I have never been successfully approved for an account.

Good post and welcome. I agree Tulane actually has many ADVANTAGES (and of course some disadvantages). Very few schools have a college experiance that forges a lasting indelible impact like Tulane (New Orleans) has.

I also want to be clear, I’m not saying a donor who wants to give to athletics isn’t allowed to. Of course they can reach out to Troy Dannen and give whatever they want.

I also want to bring back to the forefront the initial post from this site and the other site. That some one who has give. thousands of dollars annually for a long period, can stop and no one in two years reaches out. That’s inexcusable and shows this isn’t a well oiled machine humming along. #HireTulane grads & Locals minimize turnover!