By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics
 
Last November, W&M Athletics stated its financial situation clearly — bluntly even. To continue supporting a broad-based department, fundraising would need to increase — significantly, now and going forward.
 
So far, Tribe alumni and supporters have stepped up in a big way. The latest bit of good news came on April 13, when One Tribe One Day raised $506,360 in cash. That beat the previous record one-day total by nearly $55,000, and it couldn't have come at a better time.
 
"It's incredible to break a record during a pandemic, far beyond anything we could have expected," said Senior Associate Athletics Director Anthony D. Henderson Sr., who serves as lead fundraiser for Tribe athletics.
 
"Our coaches have been tremendous in engaging their specific alumni bases. And since October, we've done a really good job of sharing the problem and why we need their help. To their credit, they've stepped up. That's the DNA of William & Mary alums."
 
W&M Athletics also won $15,000 as part of the Gerdelman School & Unit Challenge for having the most donors at 2,367. 
 
Last fall, Interim Athletics Director Jeremy P. Martin Ph.D. '12 MBA '17 said W&M athletics would need to raise $4 million for fiscal year 2021, which ends June 30. A goal was set to have $2.8 million of that in hand by March 1.
 
Henderson said the $2.8 million was reached six weeks early. W&M had raised $4 million by the end of March and is now working toward $5 million for FY21.
 
Another big fundraising day was the Lord Botetourt Affair, an annual event that raised $340,000 last month. That was the second-highest total in its 32-year history.
 
"We continue to be forthright about the challenges we face, knowing that we have a genuinely engaged community that cares about the Tribe," Martin said. "People have recognized the need and they're giving to the programs they want to support.
 
"We've quickly built good momentum. To build that momentum early in a campaign calling everyone All In is an indicator of even greater success ahead."
 
Last month, the university launched a $55-million campaign for William & Mary Athletics called "All In." the campaign centers around bringing the entire W&M community together in support of its student-athletes.
 
The fundraising endeavor comes at a pivotal moment for the Tribe as it rises to seize this opportunity to emerge stronger and to elevate the caliber and national prestige of the academic and athletics enterprise.
 
One of W&M's biggest challenges is that it sponsors 23 varsity programs, more than any other full-time member of the Colonial Athletic Association. Among that same group, W&M has the fewest number of undergraduate students.
 
The events of last fall brought attention to that issue.
 
"People knew we had a lot of sports, but they didn't realize what it meant for the department from a financial standpoint," Henderson said. "Now, we are emphasizing the fact having all these sports is far more than the norm. These are the pressures placed on our department from a financial standpoint.
 
"If we want to continue to have a broad-based department, we're being explicit in what we need to do from a philanthropic standpoint to maintain that level of competition. And we've gotten a great response from people who want to be a part of the solution."
 
Fundraising numbers the last few months have been promising, but Henderson stresses that momentum must continue.
 
"We have to sustain it," Henderson said. "We have to do it over and over and over again. This isn't a one-time fix. This is what we need to do on an annual basis.
 
"We're doing a better job of getting that message out to people so they understand. We have to show our commitment each and every year."