Eastern Michigan Athletics
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Frequently Asked Questions about the EMU Athletic Club
Q: What is the EMU Athletic Club?
A: Founded in 1994, the EMU Athletic Club is the umbrella organization for all athletic fundraising efforts and provides vital financial support to the more than 550 student-athletes at Eastern Michigan as they strive for excellence on the court and in the classroom. Thanks to the generosity of 817 donors last year (July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006), $519,000 was contributed to EMU Athletics.
Q: What does the EMU Athletic Club raise money for?
A: The EMU Athletic Club raises funds in three keys areas in support of EMU’s 21 varsity athletic teams: annual-use operating funds, endowment, and facility related projects. Today, annual-use giving is the most critical area of support needed by the Athletic Department. These contributions directly support the operating budgets of our teams and help provide the most basic needs to our coaches and student-athletes, including comprehensive national recruiting efforts, out of region travel to maintain nationally competitive schedules, equipment such as uniforms, balls, nets, bats, and much more.
Q: Can I contribute to a particular sport or does my gift go to a general athletic department fund?
A: You can make gifts directly to any of our teams, and a variety of specific areas of operation within the athletic department (i.e. sports information, sports medicine, etc.) or to our newly established Eagles for Excellence Fund (which will be used for the most urgent needs of the athletic department). Annual gifts designated to a specific team are deposited directly into that team’s operating fund.
Q: What type of gifts does the EMU Athletic Club accept?
Direct gifts: Gifts can be made in any form of cash, check or credit card (Visa, MasterCard, and American Express), appreciated securities (shares of stock or mutual funds), or other property. These gifts provide the athletic department with immediate financial assistance.
Retirement plan benefits: Avoid the twofold taxation on retirement plan assets. You may consider using retirement-plan benefits to make a significant gift that will support a team or endowment fund at EMU. And because of the estate- and income-tax treatment of retirement-plan benefits, the cost of your gift to your estate and heirs is often relatively small. Retirement-plan benefits include assets held in individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and assets held in accounts under 401(k) plans, profit-sharing plans, Keogh plans, and 403(b) plans.
Gifts by will: You can defer a gift until after your lifetime. Through various types of bequests to EMU, you may secure a charitable estate-tax deduction for the value of the gift. Best of all, you will know that your generosity will support our mission for years to come. You may prefer to state in your will or trust a sum of money, a percentage of your estate, a specific item, a work of art, or real estate that you wish to give to Eastern Michigan University. Whatever form of bequest you choose, it is not subject to estate or inheritance taxes and so significantly reduces the tax burden of an estate. The value of the bequest may be deducted when the taxable estate is determined, and there is no limit to the deduction.
For more information on other type of gifts that are accepted by the EMU Athletic Club, please visit: http://www.emufoundation.org/WTGGrid.asp
Q: How are gifts accepted by the EMU Athletic Club?
A: All gifts made to the EMU Athletic Club are processed through the EMU Foundation. The EMU Foundation is duly organized as a private non-profit corporation under the laws of the State of Michigan. It is a tax-exempt organization as described in Section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. For more information on the EMU Foundation, visit: http://www.emufoundation.org/
Gifts can be made in a number of ways. Our goal is to make the gift-giving process convenient, flexible, and accessible to you, our supporters.
Credit Cards: Credit card gift can be made online at: https://secure.ias.net/emufoundation/donations.asp
Checks: All checks should be made payable to the Eastern Michigan University Foundation and be sure to note the designation in the memo line. Checks can be mailed to: Craig Fink, Director of Development for Athletics, Convocation Center, 799 N. Hewitt Road, Ypsilanti, MI 48197
Q: Since my gift will be processed through the EMU Foundation, does a portion of it get used to cover the Foundation’s operating expense?
A: Current funding for Foundation operating expenses is comprised of the following components: funding from the University; 2.0 percent of the endowment based upon a twelve quarter average market value; short term interest income; and tenant rental income. This funding model allows 100 percent of all gifts to be used for their donor-designated purpose, and helps to offset administrative, as well as gift management and development expenses. The funding is comparable to other institutional foundations with endowments similar in size to the Eastern Michigan University Foundation.
Q: How do I find out if my company offers matching gifts?
A: Many companies match employee charitable gifts to colleges or universities, schools, cultural or arts groups and charities. As a guide to our friends and alumni, the EMU Foundation offers the online Matching Gift Clearinghouse, through the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education.
Please follow the link below to the clearinghouse where you can search by company name and find specific matching gift program information. Your company - or your spouse's - may double or even triple your gift to EMU, helping to provide much-needed assistance to EMU student-athletes and programs.
Q: What is the difference between the EMU Athletic Club and the E Club?
A: The EMU Athletic Club is the umbrella organization for all athletic fundraising efforts. The purpose of the E-Club, as stated in its constitution, is "to seek out and stimulate the interest of any Eastern Michigan University varsity intercollegiate athletics letter winner by: 1) providing the initiative and leadership that will promote and preserve tradition, pride and loyalty among the athletic letter winners of Eastern Michigan University; 2) Providing Eastern Michigan University letter winners with current athletic news; 3) Recognizing and honoring letter winners who have brought distinction to themselves and their University through induction in the EMU Athletic Hall of Fame; 4) Recognizing outstanding academic achievements among current EMU athletes through the annual scholar-athlete recognition program. For more information on the E-Club, visit: http://www.emich.edu/alumni/chapters/e_club.html