Gift Opportunities

There are many ways that you can support Stanford Athletics during The Stanford Challenge:

Annual Gifts
The Buck/Cardinal Club
The Buck/Cardinal Club is the annual giving program for Stanford Athletics and has been an invaluable resource for the Stanford athletic department since the club was established in 1934.  Originally set up exclusively as a scholarship fund, the Buck/Cardinal Club has broadened its purpose to include programmatic support for student-athletes.  With this change, Stanford's varsity sports no longer need to fundraise for their annual operating budgets, as their budgets are partially funded through gifts to the Buck/Cardinal Club.

The Buck/Cardinal Club will continue to prove essential to the long-term success of Stanford's varsity programs during The Stanford Challenge and beyond.

Major Gifts
Coaching Endowments
A program of Stanford's caliber attracts talented coaches, many of whom have had or go on to have Olympic or national team coaching experience.  As the cost of living in the Bay Area continues to rise, it is increasingly important to offer these coaches competitive compensation packages.  Coaching endowments make this possible.  Functioning much the same way as endowed professorships do, the payout from these funds is used to help pay the salaries of coaches and program directors.  This eases the burden on the athletic department's annual operating budget and ensures the longevity of specific programs by providing coaches' salaries in perpetuity.  The ability to offer prospective coaches an endowed position, similar to an endowed academic chair, is a powerful recruiting and retention resource.  A coaching endowment is a source of pride and prestige for the coach, and individuals who establish these endowments often develop unique friendships with the recipients and their programs.

Coaches' Housing Fund
Many of Stanford's head and assistant coaches struggle to enter the increasingly expensive Bay Area housing market.  Every year the athletic department loses talented coaches who, despite earning competitive salaries, cannot afford to buy homes for their families.  In an effort to maintain continuity and excellence in its coaching staff, the athletic department has established a coaches' housing fund.  This fund will make possible the purchase and construction of single-family homes, condominiums, and town homes, which will be made available to coaches at affordable prices.  By ensuring that its coaches can secure appropriate housing in the Stanford vicinity, the Cardinal will be able to recruit and retain the nation's best.

Program Endowments
A program endowment is an endowed fund established to meet a specific programmatic need of a varsity sport in perpetuity.  Program endowments produce a permanent stream of income for a defined purpose and allow the sports they benefit to rely less on annual budgetary support from the Buck/Cardinal Club and the athletic department.  The athletic department aims to establish program endowments for every varsity sport.

The DAPER Investment Fund
In 1982, under the leadership of alumnus Frank Lodato, a group of 33 initial investors created the DAPER Investment Fund with gifts of cash, marketable securities, and real estate partnership interests.  The fund quickly grew into an indispensable asset, producing impressive returns as the principal was invested in venture capital, real estate, leveraged buyout, and more traditional opportunities.  Today the DAPER Investment Fund provides an invaluable source of unrestricted dollars, supporting both annual projects, such as the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame Dinner, and one-time projects, such as Boyd & Jill Smith Family Stadium, the Cobb Track bleachers, Avery Aquatic Center, the Roscoe Maples Pavilion renovation, and, most recently, the new Stanford Stadium.

During The Stanford Challenge, the athletic department seeks to raise new contributions to the DAPER Investment Fund.  This new capital will be added to the existing fund and invested in high-return opportunities that have the potential for significant growth.  Such growth will allow the department to launch new initiatives, introduce new programs, and fund facilities critical to the success of Stanford Athletics.

Building for the Future
Renovations and New Projects
It takes first-class facilities to produce a first-class athletic program.  In the increasingly competitive world of intercollegiate sports, state-of-the-art facilities are necessary for student-athletes to keep their competitive edge.  Facilities also play a major role in drawing new talent to a program.  Recruiting is significantly more successful when coaches can offer prospective student-athletes first-rate facilities that feature the latest innovations in technology and safety.

The Stanford athletic department has always made facilities a priority in building its programs and planning for the future.  In addition to bolstering Stanford's athletic programs, these facilities beautify the campus with their architectural and landscaping design.  They are proof that athletic venues can be functional without sacrificing aesthetic appeal.

Maintenance Endowment
Stanford boasts some of the finest facilities in college athletics.  These impressive venues are as important to practice and competition as they are to the successful recruitment of coaches and student-athletes.  Each facility requires regular maintenance to keep it in top shape both structurally and aesthetically, to ensure the safety and enjoyment of its users, and to avoid more costly repairs in the future.  Facility maintenance and refurbishment account for a large portion of the athletic department's annual budget.  In an effort to defray these expenses, the athletic department aims to establish a facilities endowment, the payout of which will be used to keep its buildings and venues both functional and beautiful for future generations of the Cardinal.

To learn more about any of the gift opportunities above, please contact a member of the athletic development staff.  To download the athletic department’s case brochure for The Stanford Challenge, please click here.  To learn more about The Stanford Challenge, please visit thestanfordchallenge.stanford.edu.