BLACKSBURG – The Hokie Club is pleased to announce that the fundraising drive year* for 2022 came to a triumphant close on March 31, 2022.
Thanks to the help of a passionate group of loyal supporters, Virginia Tech Athletics and the Hokie Club had a record-breaking year that included reaching an all-time high 29,056 donors and raising over $20 million in support of student-athletes through the annual giving support. In total, over $40 million has been raised or committed during the fiscal year which will conclude on June 30, 2022.
"Thank you for buying into our vision and believing in us," Director of Athletics Whit Babcock said. "We're going to work every day to make you proud to be a Hokie. As we celebrate today, it's critical that we don't lose our momentum going forward. If you're a current donor we thank you for your loyal support and for sticking with us. If you haven't gotten involved, there has never been a better time to commit to the Hokies."
Hokie Scholarship Fund
Created in 2016, the Hokie Scholarship Fund, was specifically created to alleviate the growing expenses for student-athlete scholarships. As this cost continues to grow, support of this fund must continue to grow. In Drive Year 2022, giving to the Hokie Scholarship Fund saw this necessary growth, with cumulative giving to it topping $17.4 million. In addition to this influx of giving, the spin-off from the annual scholarship endowment will yield over $3.3 million, meaning that the scholarship bill will be covered with room to spare.
Keep Jumping Fund
Faced with challenging times at the beginning of the COVID-era, the Keep Jumping Fund was created as an unrestricted fund to support any additional student athlete necessities not covered by the Hokie Scholarship Fund. Over the last year, a variety of donor-growth based campaigns were launched supporting this fund and Hokie Nation stepped up to the plate. Over $350,000 were philanthropically contributed to the fund with more than 4,000 new donors joining the Hokie Club. These donors are a critical piece of the foundation of Virginia Tech Athletics as we build for our long-term future.
Sport-Specific Giving
Another area that saw record highs last year were contributions to sport-specific funds. Throughout the year, a new framework for sport-specific giving was introduced, aiding programs in both their annual financial support as well as transformational giving. As a part of this framework, the first-ever "Triumph Together" campaign launched in September. This was a two and half day giving campaign focused primarily on supporting the operating budgets of all 22 varsity sports. During this campaign, gifts came in from 1,993 donors generating $593,801 for these programs. Not including giving to football and men's basketball, a total of $2 million was raised for sport-specific giving, a 107% increase from the previous year.
Through a select group of contributors, support for football and men's basketball have seen added support over the past year in addition to long-term commitments over the next five athletic seasons. This support in Drive Year 2022 alone totaled over $7.5 million for football and $1.4 million for men's basketball.
Reach for Excellence
Launched at the beginning of the Drive Year back in April of 2021, the Reach for Excellence campaign was introduced as the department's most ambitious fundraising campaign ever, with a goal of $400 million. A part of the university's $1.5 billion boundless impact campaign, support for Reach for Excellence impacts the entire department as we build for the future landscape of college athletics. The five pillars of the campaign are enhancing the Football operating budget, funding for a full renovation of Cassell Coliseum, growing the scholarship endowment, and providing comprehensive support for all 22 varsity sports. The campaign is nearing the halfway mark and more specific numbers plan to be shared in the near future.
Drive for 25
The Drive for 25 officially concluded in the span of the 2022 Drive Year. Beginning in December of 2016, the Drive for 25 goal was implemented in the hopes of raising the Hokie Club membership total to 25,000 members. Alumni, fans, and friends of Virginia Tech Athletics rose to the occasion in 2022 to traverse that threshold by a wide margin, surpassing the original goal by 4,056 donors. At the time of the initiative's launch, the Hokie Club consisted of less than 10,000 members. At the conclusion of the Drive Year, the current Hokie Club donor count stands at 29,056. This number puts Virginia Tech athletics in the top tier of the ACC, and as mentioned this helps to build a strong foundation for our future. As Drive Year 2023 begins, the focus will continue to be on donor growth, while also placing an emphasis on donor experience and retention.
"While we celebrate these incredible achievements, and look forward to the future, we would be remiss if we didn't stop to say 'thank you' to all of Hokie Nation for your unwavering support," Babcock said. "Like Coach Beamer used to say, 'We are all in this together.' We now say we are strong together, and when we are united as a Hokie nation no one can beat us. So, from myself, and on behalf of our entire Athletic Department, thank you for all that you do to support the Hokies."
* 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.
