Cavalier Corner is the publication just for UVa sports fans!
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Dear Cavalier Friends, The end of 2011 almost seems like a distant memory as our office has quickly jumped into the 2012 fund-raising year with a host of activities already underway. Before we completely turn the page to 2012, I hope you will take some time to review the results from our 2011 fund-raising year on page 6 of this issue of the Cavalier Corner. We are grateful for all of our donors' generous support of our student-athletes and for the flurry of year-end gifts that wrapped up our 2011 fund-raising year. While we did not meet our fund-raising goal of $14.1 million, falling $320,000 short, we did see an increase in the number of donors to our annual fund (453) for a total of 8,903. We also saw more than 1,000 new and reconnected donors join the Foundation in 2012. In a future issue of the Cavalier Corner, we will provide a comparison of annual fund-raising results from other ACC schools. As I write this letter, our 2012 Annual Campaign materials are being prepared and will be mailed to you in February. We traditionally launch our annual fund-raising campaign in February, in advance of the football season ticket sales campaign. There are no changes to our giving levels and benefits and we are continuing with our 10% challenge, which awards bonus priority points to those donors who increase their pledge by at least 10%. In 2011, more than 1,500 donors increased their pledge by 10%. As scholarship costs continue to rise, any increase in pledges is greatly appreciated. We will be introducing a new online football seat selection tool, with more information provided in the football season ticket renewal information. This tool will allow donors who want to select new seats or change seats to view the available inventory online and select the seats they want. This year is an important year for Virginia athletics and for the Virginia Athletics Foundation. This spring marks the end of the initial set of 10-year goals established by the athletics department in 2002. Later this year, a new set of 10-year goals will be announced with the 2012-13 academic year being the first year of this new period. Fund-raising has played an important role in the success of our student-athletes over the past 10 years. In order to support the athletics department goals, we have already begun an evaluation of what our fund-raising staff will have to accomplish during the next 10-year period. To share some great news, many of our donors have already made their gifts or pledges for 2012, which totals $1,135,417 through Jan. 17. We are off to a good start — thank you! Key to our providing the best possible experience for our student-athletes is making sure that you, our donors, have all the information you need to be part of the athletics program and to understand how your gift makes a difference in providing an extraordinary experience for each student-athlete. We have a dedicated staff ready to work with you, providing information that you need throughout the year. Please do not hesitate to let any member of our staff know if you need assistance at any point throughout the year. We look forward to working with you as we strive to provide the best possible experience for our student- athletes. Thank you for all of your support. Best regards, Dirk P. Katstra Executive Director FEBRUARY 2012 ◆ 3