Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech Department of Athletics and the Hokie Club are excited to share that the "Drive for 25" campaign is nearing completion of the initial goal. Launched in 2016, Drive for 25 was created in the hopes of bolstering the Hokie Club to 25,000 members on an annual basis. As the end of January approaches, membership in the Hokie Club is approaching 23,500. While the goal is in sight as the March 31, 2022 giving deadline approaches, efforts are continuing to be made to grow membership well beyond this mark.
"The idea behind Drive for 25 was to elevate our donor base to the highest echelon of the ACC. This growth would provide our athletic program with the necessary foundation as we strive to compete at a championship level" said Whit Babcock, Director of Athletics. "I am so proud of Hokie Nation for gathering together to get us near this mark, but I know we can beat the goal of 25,000 and build on this foundation while we continue on this impressive trajectory."
The Hokie Club consisted of roughly 9,800 members in Dec. 2016 and Virginia Tech was in the bottom third in terms of annual giving in the ACC at the time of the launch of Drive for 25. In order to compete consistently for ACC Championships, the Drive for 25 set the goal of increasing the membership total in order to provide the vital revenue and membership necessary to support a first class student-athlete experience in Blacksburg. Hokie Nation has since hoisted Virginia Tech near the top 25% in the ACC in annual membership and in dollars raised in the span of the campaign. Since the launch in December of 2016, the Hokie Club has registered four of its top five philanthropic fundraising years for dollars raised, including three years in which the 30 million dollar mark was eclipsed. Annual scholarship support has risen from an average of $9.8 million per year before the campaign started to an average of $15.2 million dollars. This additional annual scholarship support has also led to an increase in identifying and soliciting numerous new Major Gift commitments as part of the $400 million Reach for Excellence campaign.
Although reaching this goal is a moment to celebrate, giving trends for the current drive year suggest that the Hokie Club should surpass the goal of 25,000 members by a substantial margin. However, all of Hokie Nation is still needed to complete this achievement. While someone is not required to do everything, we do ask all Hokies to participate. Any donor at any giving amount in the current drive year (Drive Year 2022) is counted towards the goal of 25,000 members. There are a variety of different ways for which Hokies can join us in our Drive for 25.1
Hokie Scholarship Fund
All donors who wish to be eligible for benefits (i.e. priority seating, parking, and a priority ranking) are asked to make their gifts to the Hokie Scholarship Fund by the March 31 giving deadline. A contribution to the Hokie Scholarship Fund allows the athletic department to allocate funds where they are needed most; scholarship support.
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Recent Grad Program
Alums that have graduated in the last four years have the opportunity to stay involved in Virginia Tech Athletics by supporting our teams both on and off the field of competition, while also receiving Hokie Club benefits. To help recent grads continue their support in an affordable manner, the Hokie Club offers a gift matching program.
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Student Hokie Club
The Student Hokie Club provides Virginia Tech students the opportunity to engage with and become a part of a strong, growing athletic community here in Blacksburg. Memberships to this club are available for only $25.
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Sport Specific Giving
Those wishing to earmark their gift toward a specific sport should consider this option. Please note that sport-specific gifts are not eligible for benefits (i.e. priority points, priority seating, etc). Just like all of our opportunities to give, you are able to earn two priority points for every $100 in cumulative giving.
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Monogram Club
A club exclusively for former student-athletes, the Monogram Club requires $50 dues. Members are encouraged to leave their legacy by making additional gifts of $25 or more to the Monogram Club scholarship endowment or a sport-specific fund of their choosing.
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Keep Jumping Fund
The Keeping Jumping Fund was established in early 2020 to help offset the many impacts of COVID-19. The fund still lives on today and is utilized for many donor growth campaigns. While gifts cannot currently be made to this fund, all Keep Jumping Fund donors count towards the Drive for 25 goal. Programs such as the "Our State" flags after Hokies Football victory over UVa support the Keep Jumping unrestricted fund.
As the Drive Year giving deadline of March 31 nears, the Hokie Club staff will be devoting their efforts to ensuring all donors renew by the deadline, which should help significantly exceed the Drive for 25 goal of 25,000 members in the coming months. This deadline is most important to Hokie Scholarship Fund donors as all gifts for a donor to receive their desired membership level and benefits must be accounted for by this date. Explore the benefits and giving levels for the Hokie Scholarship Fund.
The efforts of the Drive for 25 have coincided with the pillars of the athletic department's $400 million "Reach for Excellence" campaign. In addition to scholarship endowment, Hokie Club membership has considerably increased behind philanthropic donations to the Football enhancement fund, sports-specific operational budgets, and capital projects. More information about the Reach for Excellence campaign.
"I am so impressed with the passion our fanbase has shown since we kicked off this campaign five years ago, but we are not finished," said Babcock. "It's going to continue to take all of us in Hokie Nation to not only surpass the Drive for 25 threshold, but to provide more than enough funding for scholarships and resources for our student-athletes to succeed on a consistent basis in our conference and on the national scale."
Continue to follow the Drive for 25 campaign's progress at DriveFor25.com, hokiesports.com and all of the Hokie Club social media properties including Instagram & Twitter. Join us by making a gift today!
1 A Drive Year is the year in which benefits such as tickets and parking are received. For example, a gift made after April 1, 2021 and prior to March 31, 2022 would count in Drive Year 2022, with benefits being received beginning in the fall 2022 athletics season. Only donors who make a minimum contribution of $25 to the Hokie Scholarship Fund receive a donor ranking. Thus, when you see your rank as X out of 16,889 (example figure) there are actually many more Hokie Club members, but only 16,889 are ranked members.