First off — I’m glad they did this, so not bitching and moaning.
But no one signed the hand written note?
Gift from Rutgers
- Thread starter vkj91
- Start date
But no one signed the hand written note?
IMO it’s no one’s business.
You guys want personal touches like this then become larger donors.
Yes and a google of his name says he’s a ticket rep
That is why I made that post. You SHOULD have gotten that phone call. Very disappointing...
They will pay for their sins with an empty stadium this year.
The ONLY gifts from RU FB that I want are (A) a winning season.(B) a Bowl Game.I can Buy all the other stuff if I wanted to.
The University deserves support even less than the FB team.
My previous donor rep used to check in with me frequently by text, and come find me at football & hoops games or tailgates. (Even early on when my donation budget was fairly moderate.) He left for a job opportunity a couple years ago.
His replacement probably sees his dentist more than he sees me.
His replacement probably sees his dentist more than he sees me.
Bad dental hygiene? Probably best he does not visit you.
I was a 41-year season ticket holder who canceled out and all I received was a letter asking for a donation
We wanted you to move your car from in front of our driveway.
I find it odd that amongst such diehards only one person received this gift. Things may have changed but back in the day when I was Associate Membership Chair of the Court Club the tippy top donors I knew probably wouldn't be caught dead posting-would likely think they are too good to post. Logically from a services marketing perspective (took first such class offered in nj during my MBA at RU) giving one big or long standing donor vs another with a physical gift would more likely serve to hurt vs help because so many that don't receive would be p*ssed off. A better gesture might be (and I remember Piscataway Mike and brother receiving) was a visit from a Rutgers dignitary such as a coach.
Last edited:
A 41-year season ticket holder doesn’t renew and doesn’t even get a phone call??? There’s places where if you fill out a contact card they’ll call you every month for years trying to get your business...yet someone who spent likely tens of thousands of dollars over decades doesn’t even get a call.
Joe P.
I'm going to guess that RU gets more money from one year's worth of donations from the OP than 41 years of season ticket sales.
I’m talking about a courtesy phone call. If that’s the attitude RU has towards fans/alumni/supporters, that they’re not good enough for a courtesy call after decades of support, then no one should complain about a 4/5ths empty stadium on gamedays.
Joe P.
Last edited:
My wife and I give equally to our Alma Maters. I do so not to get a gift back, but it would be nice to receive a gesture of thanks. My wife's Alma Mater sends regular correspondence, as well as gifts around the holidays. Ranging from barware to Tiffany frames, vases and clothing.
We have been invited to numerous events over the years from both Alumni organizations. The difference is Rutgers always comes across as desperate rather than deserving. This is what needs to change. In order to get the large donors they need to cultivate the smaller. My wife's university gives small tokens knowing it is about keeping alumni engaged. Rutgers needs to find a way to keep their alumni and those that support athletics engaged better.
We have been invited to numerous events over the years from both Alumni organizations. The difference is Rutgers always comes across as desperate rather than deserving. This is what needs to change. In order to get the large donors they need to cultivate the smaller. My wife's university gives small tokens knowing it is about keeping alumni engaged. Rutgers needs to find a way to keep their alumni and those that support athletics engaged better.
That's actually an interesting comment in light of the internal culture change as the program has moved from Bob > TIm > Julie > Pat.
Several of us who would be considered in the "mid-tier" have observed that under the current administration we feel significantly more disenfranchised than in years past. The current staffing of the AD's office, and of Ath Dev in particular, more than reflects the fact that under Pat the philosophy has become to pursue the mega-donors at the expense of the relationship with the 5 figure folks.
Agree with the general principles of your post. I’d think most of the smaller donors aren’t looking for a gift or ‘free stuff’, but intermittent reinforcement is considered perhaps the strongest in terms of motivating behavior. A small token every once in a while would probably go a long way...heck, just being treated well would go a really long way.
Rutgers looks to cultivate the big-level and intermediate donors (which should absolutely be done) and snub their nose at everyone else...then when the numbers don’t match up they grasp at the ‘rank and file’ donors, who may likely be fairly annoyed by that point at initially being disregarded...and then people wonder why there’s such a disconnect between Rutgers and many of its alumni.
Joe P.
That may help get buildings on place (which of course is extremely important), but very dangerous in the long run when the ‘everyday money’ that came from the moderate to smaller donations isn’t there...sometimes they seem to forget the Stadium seats 53k, not 5.3k.
Joe P.
I have actually gotten more attention than pre-Pat. I knew Pat prior to his becoming AD, but I think that getting more attention has been a function of stepping up our giving for the B1G Build Fund, and that our Athletic Development Contact is good at making his group of donors feel valued. He did a lot for my oldest son when we scheduled our visits to RU and asking frequently about my son's status on applying, acceptance and enrollment.
...it’s amazing how perceptions/ experiences change when people feel valued/ cared about...sometimes all it takes is a phone call or two.
Joe P.
I am in agreement. I have had a couple of conversation with Pat and I do believe he gets it. He doesn't need to be holding the hand of the "mid-tier" donors. But someone within his administration better be. This is where I see the biggest failure and it is not just an athletic issue. It is a University wide problem.
In order to have mega donors you have to have small and medium donors first. Very few donors initial investment is multi million.
Agreed.
It all started right around when or soon after Pat started. The development contact reached out to me, and we started talking about modest things that we might be able to do, and it moved from there.
On the other hand, quite a while ago, I had volunteered to a couple of times assist with 150th Anniversary activities. Crickets. I will say that had someone reached out, they would have had multiple opportunities to engage us for more giving. Still waiting for the phone to ring.
One other thing to consider -- and this is simply supposition -- but perhaps the disparate treatment is a product of certain folks in the department are better at client relations than others. I have seen folks in my profession who understand how to develop and foster good relations and those that never quite understand how or why it's important.
Except that the people in question are hired specifically for that skill set. So if they're not good at it...
Some very good points being made. Just curious as to what people consider "mid-tier" donors? $1k per year? $10k? $25k?
Also, are we talking to the university, athletics or specifically the football program?
Also, are we talking to the university, athletics or specifically the football program?