Army WEst Point Lacrosse
2023 - we need you in the game
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Army Men’s Lacrosse Family,
It is time for a little pre-game stretching before Army West Point Giving Day on 28 November.
You may recall that last year we captured a $10K bonus to the endowment for being #1 in Number of Donors and #1 in Total Dollars Raised. Let’s review some of the ground rules:
Any donation of any amount paid to the endowment on 28 November counts
Payments on an existing pledge count, so make your scheduled payment on 28 November
You can donate as many times as you want in any amount on 28 November and they all count, so get the whole family and neighbors involved throughout the day and night.
This year it will be possible to give by VENMO and other apps that send and receive money from your phone.
We have launched a campaign to dedicate two lockers in the team locker room. The first is a tribute to Coach Mac Diange who is the longest tenured assistant coach at Army. From 1990 to 2014, “Mac” was assistant coach of the Army team and since then, has been the Head Coach at the USMA Prep School. If you were lucky enough to be coached by “Mac” consider donating in his name by using this link.
The second locker is a tribute to Team Trainer Dana Putnam. Dana has been a trainer at Army since 1984 and has been with lacrosse since his second year. If you played at Army in the last 39 years, there is a good chance that Dana “the Train-ah” took care of your injuries. Here is an opportunity to show your gratitude. Use this link.
There is just one locker remaining in the team locker room as a naming opportunity. For a donation of $10K you can have your own inscription on the plaque.
In July, we had a group of alumni step up and offer to match all new donations for the remainder of 2023, dollar for dollar, up to $125K. More than half of that challenge remains, so now is the time to give.
Here is an update on the status of the endowment as we head into the end of the year:
We have 812 individual donors. 242 of those donors are non-alumni representing parents, family, coaches, doctors, trainers, ex-players, and friends.
Our goal is a $5M balance in the endowment. Coach can pull 4% annually so that balance will provide $200K/year to supplement the base budget. That supplement will fund the Director of Operations, the expanded varsity roster in the absence of a JV team, team travel by air once a year if Coach feels that is necessary, enhance the compensation of the assistant coaches, and a host of other unfunded requirements to sustain the team at the elite level.
Total donations and pledges so far are $3,394,673. Of that amount, we have received $2,021,134 in cash that is in the long-term investment/endowment earning interest. The remainder are payments scheduled on existing pledges and planned gifts from an estate or trust.
How will we reach our goal? Thanks to you, all 812 of you, we are more than halfway to our goal. That is incredible growth in less than three years, since we started the endowment in December 2020. We would love to have 100% participation so if you have a teammate who is not in the game, please encourage them to give. If you give on a monthly or annual basis, we ask that you continue to do so until we have met our goal. For those of you who have completed payments on a previous pledge, we ask that you renew your pledge or start a new one to build on the momentum you have created.
To add some context, here is a view of different levels of giving:
1 donor has given $500K
2 donors have given $250-$265K
3 donors have given $175-$200K
3 donors have given $100-$175K
5 donors have given $25-$100K
15 donors have given $15-$25K
20 donors have given $10-$15K
26 donors have given $5-$10K
153 donors have given $1K -$5K
80 donors have given $500
We have launched an exploratory effort to seek donations from corporations and foundations. This is new ground for us and WPAOG is building its capacity to support this type of philanthropy. If you know of any corporations or foundations we should pursue, please let us know so we can reach out to them.
Double or triple the size of your gift: many companies participate in gift matching programs, and some will even match gifts from retirees and spouses. Details on this program are here.
The WPAOG endowment, where we invest, has historically earned about 9% total return over the long run. All our deposits and the interest are fenced exclusively for Men’s Lacrosse. So while we pull 4% annually, the rest is reinvested so the endowment balance grows, and we can fund the team in perpetuity.
You can find more information, including the Top Ten Ways to Donate, on our website.
If you have any questions or input, please contact one of your Endowment Committee Decade Representatives below or contact me directly at kd.ltg.ret@gmail.com 703-677-6146.
Bob Radcliffe ’65 Lou Kousouris ’98
John Connors ’70 Marko Kostovic ’04
Charlie Bartolotta ’78 Justin Bokmeyer ’08
Frank Giordano ’83 Brendan Buckley ’13
Patrick Daly ’86 Reaves Klipstein ’17
Chris Prentice ’92 Angus Gephart Parents
On behalf of Coach Alberici and the Army Lacrosse Alumni (ALA) Endowment Executive Committee,
Go Army Lacrosse!
Beat Navy!
Army WEst Point Lacrosse
2023 Appeal
THANK YOU to all 665 who have contributed to the Army Men’s Lacrosse Endowment in 2021 and 2022. You are having a big impact on the program as demonstrated by:
· hiring Amy Prince, Director of Operations for Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse
· team travel by air to Macon, GA for the game vs. Mercer University
· sustaining an expanded roster of players in absence of a JV “B” squad
· improving retention of assistant coaches with enhanced compensation.
Bottom line up front: If we sustain our effort in 2023, we can grow the endowment to a level that will provide Coach the critical support required to meet the programs goals. Many of you already have payments scheduled this year on existing pledges, but if you have completed your pledge or made a one-time payment, we are asking you to consider renewing your pledge or make a new donation at the same level or higher. We know this is asking a lot and we appreciate that you all have unique circumstances that determine your capacity to give.
As of 12/31/22 we have $1.44M cash invested and another $584K in pledges booked towards a goal of $5M cash invested.
$5M cash invested in the endowment will provide Coach a minimum annual supplement of $200K to cover the cost of the Director of Operations, team air travel once a year, 25 additional players on the expanded roster, enhanced compensation for the assistant coaches and the anticipated cost of hiring a fourth coach as early as next year. This fourth coach is necessary because the NCAA has eliminated volunteer coaches after July 2023 but authorized an additional paid coach.
To put this in context at Army West Point Athletics, there are 19 team endowments, the highest being $3.11M, and Men’s Lacrosse ranks #9 out of 19. Having said that, we only started in 2021 and have raised more in two years than any other team by far. We also have 665 unique donors which is multiples more than any other team. So, the base and the momentum are there to achieve our goal with your continued participation. With your help in 2023 we believe we can be one of the top 3 endowments by the end of the year, and be #1 in 2024.
Externally, you may have seen our most relevant peer competitor Navy just announced a $22M lacrosse facility https://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/video-22-million-navy-lacrosse-center-proposed-for-naval-academy-yard-overlooking-severn-river/60579
It is difficult to know the size of other lacrosse endowments, but public sources report Yale is $14M. All the Ivy leagues have University endowments in the billions so we can assume their athletic teams are well resourced as are Maryland, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State etc.
Staff salaries for Army lacrosse are about average for the Patriot League, but the gap between the average and the top program is $500K. Similarly, the operating budget for Army lacrosse is about average for the Patriot League with a gap between the average and the top program over $200K. The goal of our endowment is to narrow these gaps, so we have the resources to remain competitive.
Once again, we are asking you to participate in 2023 at the same level or higher so we can grow the endowment to a level that will meet and sustain the programs goals.
2 donors have given $250-265K
7 donors have given $100-$150K
1 donor gave between $25-100K
18 donors have given $15-25K
25 donors have given $10-$15K
46 donors have given $5-$10K
63 donors have given $1+-$5K
121 donors have given $1K
The Class of 2022 graduated 17 firsties and all 17 started an allotment to support the endowment, 100%!
Can you go one rung up the ladder, or even join the elite group at the top?
Please go to awplaxendowment.com and be as generous as you can be.
We are happy to answer any questions you may have so please contact your Endowment Committee Members at the hyperlinks below, or contact me directly at kd.ltg.ret@gmail.com, 703-677-6146
John Connors ‘70 Marko Kostovic ‘04
Charlie Bartolotta ‘78 Justin Bokmeyer ‘08
Frank Giordano ‘83 Brendan Buckley ‘13
Patrick Daly ‘86 Reaves Klipstein ‘17
Chris Prentice ‘92 Angus Gephart ‘Parents
Use the link below to purchase your apparel and 15% of every purchase goes to support the team. https://teamlocker.squadlocker.com/#/lockers/army-men's-lacrosse-alumni