FUNDRAISING (903)

Updated 10/12

THE WILLIAMS EDUCATION FUND

The need for a student-athlete scholarship program at KU was recognized early at KU. TheOutland Club was organized by Dick, Skipper, and Odd Williams in 1949. The WilliamsFamily was responsible for raising more than $2 million for athletic scholarships between1949 and 1973. In 1973, the Outland Club became known as the Williams Education Fund tohonor the Williams family for its commitment to Kansas Athletics.

The Williams Education Fund (WEF) is the fundraising arm of Kansas Athletics whoseprimary mission is to generate funds for the overall operation of the University of KansasAthletics Program.

To achieve this mission, the WEF staff strives to develop an on-going fundraising programwhich incorporates annual giving, capital projects, endowed scholarships, planned anddeferred giving, capital campaigns, gifts-in-kind, matching gifts and corporate solicitations.(See Policy 902, Fundraising for additional information.) Monies generated are used to fundscholarships for qualified student-athletes, the improvement of athletics facilities and theenhancement of all sports programs.

The WEF operates according to guidelines set forth by the Kansas University Endowment(KUEA). In addition to KUEA rules and regulations, all fundraising efforts must complywith applicable University, Conference and NCAA rules and regulations. All donations madeto the WEF are processed and managed according to NCAA guidelines governing boosterorganizations.

WEF Support

The Associate Athletics Director/Development and Associate Athletics Director/WEF areresponsible for coordinating the operation of the WEF. Support for fundraising programs iscultivated by direct (meetings or phone calls) or indirect (advertising or mail) contact withalumni, parents, friends, corporations and foundations.

Coaches and senior administrative staff members are encouraged to participate in fundraisingefforts and identifying prospective donors for the athletics program. Fundraising options arediscussed in Policy 902, Fundraising, in this Manual.

Special Events

The WEF Office also sponsors special fundraising events and activities (e.g. golf outings,dinners, auctions, receptions, etc.) for the specific needs of Kansas Athletics, includingcapital projects.

Head coaches and administrators are encouraged to submit names of individuals to be invitedto these events.

Mailing Calendar

The Development Staff formulates a monthly mailing calendar for sending solicitationletters, publications, brochures, newsletters, invitations, etc. in a timely manner.

Gift Acknowledgements

All gifts are acknowledged with both a receipt (KUEA) and a thank you letter (fromAthletics).

WEF and Friends Clubs

The Associate Athletics Director/Development is responsible for coordinating thefundraising activities for the Division of Athletics including the activities of Friends Clubs(booster support groups) and the WEF.

Organizational Structure

The Associate Athletics Director/Development and Associate Athletics Director/WEF worktogether in coordinating WEF activities.

Tax Information

Kansas Athletics is a nonprofit organization that is exempt from taxation under Section501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Since the Corporation is a non-profit organization,donations to the WEF may be considered charitable contributions for tax purposes.

The enactment of the Technical Corrections and Miscellaneous Revenue Act of 1988includes a subsection which allows eighty percent (80%) of the annual contribution to theWEF to be considered a “charitable contribution,” even if the donor receives the benefit ofpreferential treatment (e.g. priority seating, parking, etc.). The enactment of this subsectionin combination with prior tax laws establishes and defines the deductibility of an annualWEF contribution.

As allowed by current tax regulations, gifts of monetary value for which the donor receivesno benefit in return are fully deductible. As always, donors are advised to consult their taxadvisor concerning their particular situations.

Matching Gifts Program

The KUEA has information on companies which have matching gift programs for eligibleemployees. Restrictions vary among companies, and a given matching program may changeperiodically. Donors should be advised to check with their company’s personnel or benefitsoffice to determine if the company has a program to match gifts for athletics. To activate thematching gift program, the appropriate corporate form must be submitted with the member’spersonal gift or the donor must register the gift through his/her company’s website.

Team Physician Credit

Team physicians for Kansas Athletics receive annual Williams Education Fund gift-in-kindcredit as determined by the Head Team Physician on staff. They then receive the benefitsassociated with the respective membership level.

WEF Membership

Membership to the WEF is open to any individual (alumnus, parent, friend, etc.) whocontributes a minimum of $100.00 in support of University of Kansas’ intercollegiateathletics program. Memberships are paid on an annual basis with renewal based on the funddrive year (i.e. July 1 – June 30). Donors may request in writing that their names and/orthe amount of their donations be held in confidence.

Membership levels and benefits for annual giving are announced on an annual basis andmay be revised as approved by the Director of Athletics. Current membership levels are asfollows:

Donors may designate on their donor gift forms the allocation for one of two categories:

• Unrestricted use, or
• Scholarship Fund (restricted)

Membership Benefits

The University of Kansas appreciates the support of its WEF members. To demonstratethis appreciation, the University allows members to receive benefits (e.g. reserved seatingpriorities, parking privileges, etc.) based on each member’s priority point accumulation. TheWEF staff, in conjunction with the Director of Athletics, establishes benefits and priorities inaccordance with the policies and procedures of the University. These benefits are reviewedeach year and published in an annual WEF brochure which is available and applicable to allmembers. In order to provide members the optimum benefits, the WEF continually “fine-tunes” its priority points system to address WEF members’ needs. Benefits are non-negotiable.

The Director of Ticket Operations has direct responsibility for the assignment of all tickets.Seating guarantees are granted with the understanding that donors gain the privilege ofannually purchasing season tickets based on their accumulated points and the availability oftickets. Specifically, priority points are used for granting priority seating beginning winterseason 2004 at men’s and women’s basketball games, and beginning in 2005 at football andvolleyball and also for baseball box seats. The priority point system is also used to determineseating priorities at post-season contests. See Policy 408D, Ticket Distribution for additionalinformation.

All members receive invitations to WEF activities, newsletters and special mailings, andparticipate in the ticket priority point system. Priority points are granted based on eachdonor’s level of giving, length of membership, years of KU employment, membership intoKU Alumni Association, Chancellor’s Club and K-Club, and history of ticket purchases.Additional benefits are dependent on the level of membership, as noted below.

Hall of Fame

VIP Parking
Football/Men’s Basketball Seat Lock-in
Athletics Director’s Dinner Invitation
Special Practice Invitations
Naismith Room & Donor Atrium Priority
Men’s Basketball Awards Banquet Invitation
Media Guides (to season ticket holders in respective sport)
Membership Decal
Invitations to WEF Activities
Football Tailgate Access
Membership Gift
Priority Points Activation
Tax Deduction
Program Recognition
Post-Season & Parking Priority #1
Away Football Ticket Priority #1

Champion

Naismith Room & Donor Atrium Priority
Men’s Basketball SAS + 1 Year Seat Lock-in
Football SAS + 1 Year Seat Lock-in
Football Tailgate Access
Men’s Basketball Awards Banquet Invitation
Media Guides (to season ticket holders in respective sport)
Membership Decal
Membership Gift
Invitation to WEF activities
Priority Points Activation
Tax Deduction
Program recognition*
Post-season and parking priority #2
Away Football Ticket Priority #2

All-American

Men’s Basketball SAS + 1 Year Seat Lock-in
Football SAS + 1 Year Seat Lock-in
Men’s Basketball Awards Banquet Invitation
Media Guides (to season ticket holders in respective sport)
Football Tailgate Access
Membership Gift
Membership Decal
Invitation to WEF activities
Priority Points Activation
Tax Deduction
Program recognition*
Post-season and parking priority #3
Away Football Game Ticket Priority #3

Legend

Football SAS + 1 Year Seat Lock-in
Men’s Basketball Awards Banquet Invitation
Media Guides (to season ticket holders in respective sport)
Football Tailgate Access
Membership Gift
Membership Decal
Invitation to WEF activities
Priority Points Activation
Tax Deduction
Program recognition*
Post-season and parking priority #4
Away Football Game Ticket Priority #4

MVP

Football SAS + 1 Year Seat Lock-in
Men’s Basketball Awards Banquet Invitation
Football Tailgate Access
Membership Gift
Membership Decal
Invitation to WEF activities
Priority Points Activation
Tax Deduction
Program recognition*
Post-season and parking priority #5
Away Football Game Ticket Priority #5

Rock Chalk

Football SAS + 1 Year Seat Lock-in
Men’s Basketball Awards Banquet Invitation
Football Tailgate Access
Membership Gift
Membership Decal
Invitation to WEF activities
Priority Points Activation
Tax Deduction
Program recognition*
Post-season and parking priority #6
Away Football Game Ticket Priority #6

Jayhawk

Men’s Basketball Awards Banquet Invitation
Membership Decal
Membership Gift
Invitation to WEF activities
Priority Points Activation
Tax Deduction
Program recognition*
Post-season and parking priority #7
Away Football Game Ticket Priority #7

Crimson & Blue

Membership Gift
Membership Decal
Invitation to WEF activities
Priority Points Activation
Tax Deduction
Program recognition*
Post-season and parking priority #8
Away Football Game Ticket Priority #8

Outland

Membership Decal
Invitation to WEF activities
Priority Points Activation
Tax Deduction
Program recognition*
Post-season and parking priority #9
Away Football Game Ticket Priority #9

• Members may make a written request for confidentiality of their donations on theirdonor gift form. The identity of the donor will not be publicly disclosed unlessrequired by state or federal law.
  As per current IRS regulations, members are permitted to claim a portion of their donationsas tax deductible. (See “tax information” above, in this policy.)

Expenditure of WEF Funds

All requests to the WEF for monies from unrestricted accounts and any expenditure ofmonies originated by the WEF are subject to the approval of the Director of Athletics.

Accounting Procedures

Checks or deeds of gifts made payable to the WEF (or to properly designated funds withinKansas Athletics) become the property of the WEF and are housed in Endowment accountsdesignated for the use of Kansas Athletics unless donors provide written instructions to thecontrary. All deposits are processed by KU Endowment’s gift processing staff in accordancewith The KU Endowment Fund Administration and Use Handbook. Every deposit must beaccompanied by a completed Official Receipt and a copy of all correspondence to and fromthe donor. Each donation received is posted to appropriate Endowment records.

In-house computer updates are performed on a daily basis by the WEF staff who alsomaintain information on the status of pledges, gifts and membership accounts. The WEFStaff also prepares acknowledgement letters; KU Endowment sends the official tax receipts.

An annual audit of WEF accounting records is conducted by a certified public accountingfirm as part of the financial audit of Kansas Athletics. In addition, the books and records ofthe WEF are open to review by Kansas Athletics.