Monday, December 7, 2015

FSU donor info



http://floridastate.forums.rivals.com/threads/anyone-know-of-any-big-fsu-request-for-upcoming-state-leg-session.87143/#post-1369907


Some of note potential BIG money (say north of $5 Million...truly, in higher ed, 'big' should be more like north of $10-$25...but):

BILLIONAIRES

EXECUTIVES

CEO Bob Sasser
Dollar Tree Inc. President and
http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/Florida_State_University_College_of_Business__160048975.html
Net sales, however, more than doubled to $4.95 billion
http://people.equilar.com/bio/bob-sasser-dollar-tree/salary/40601#.VmRULeSFPIU

John Culver
group president, Starbucks Coffee China and Asia Pacific, Channel Development and Emerging Brands
From 2009 to 2011, he served as president of Starbucks Coffee International (SCI),
http://business.fsu.edu/legacy-hall...mes-hospitality-research-suite-in-legacy-hall

Todd Combs
a potential successor of Warren Buffett as the chief investment officer of Berkshire Hathaway.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todd_Combs
http://www.gurufocus.com/news/110631/what-do-you-look-like-mr-todd-combs
"and Florida State University even managed to insult him by saying they would only have a picture “if he’d done something important.” You’ve got to laugh at that."
http://dealbreaker.com/2014/03/how-...rren-buffett-to-prove-they-can-run-berkshire/
http://www.gurufocus.com/news/37524...rs-having-mostly-positive-performance-in-2015
FSU ATHLETES WHO MADE APPROX $50-$100 Million:
*Derrick Brooks (sat on FSU's BOT)
*Charlie Ward
*Deion Sanders
*Sam Cassell
*Jamies Winston (on the way to)
*Buster Posey (on the way to)​
General
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/09/25/Columns/Billionaire_club_stil.shtml
27 Number of billionaires residing in Florida
31,000 Size in acres of Avalon plantation near Tallahassee owned by Ted Turner, CNN founder, whose net worth is $1.9-billion.​



Past Large Donors

DeVoe Moore (easily FSU's largest most loyal supporter from what I can tell)
$25 Million (but heard varying amounts on this) mixed donation on academics and athletics
http://tacm.com/2012-07-08-22-04-55/about-devoe-moore.html
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com...oak-campbell-stadium-seminole-central-florida
"For perspective, consider that DeVoe Moore, an entrepreneur, gave a $25 million gift[​IMG] that will support academics and athletics."
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/...known_gifts_of_over_1_million_in_1996/_4.html
"14. DeVOE MOORE--$5 million to the FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY from this Tallahassee businessman and alumnus to create the DeVoe Moore Center for the Study of Critical Issues in Government. The gift will pay for two professorships, an endowed chair, and student scholarships. Moore said, "It is my wish that this endowment be used to educate students in the area of government regulations and how these regulations affect private enterprise. It is very difficult for young people to start their own businesses as I have done because of the intrusion of government, particularly at the local level.""​
TK Wetherall
$7 Million donation​
Charlotte Maguire,
an FSU Foundation Board of Trustees member, gave $3 million to the FSU College of Medicine[​IMG].​
Al Dunlap
$5 Million for practice facility and Student Success Center
http://www.ocala.com/article/20120131/ARTICLES/120139944?p=2&tc=pg
George Langford
He and his wife, Marian, also have donated a million dollars to FSU's classics department, another million to the law school and more money to the school's World War II institute
Aside from donating some of his own money, Langford helped the department get out of debt by raising money for Seminole Boosters Inc., and helped turn the booster club into a modern[​IMG] nonprofit organization.

a Tallahassee businessman, accepted FSU President Stanley Marshall's fund-raising challenge in 1974. He became a founding father of the current Seminole Boosters and one of the university's most prominent benefactors.
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com...02040291_1_george-langford-athletic-seminoles
http://classics.fsu.edu/Research-and-Resources/Langford-Endowment/The-Langford-Family-Chair
http://www.seminoles.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=209573706



UF Large donations

Miami Large donations



RANDOM THOUGHTS

*I am sure I am missing some, let me know, I'll edit

*I note athletes, but if they donate, it seems more often for athletics and not academics and usually not major (as defined above...no insult intended)

*I don't note this to facilitate 'shaming'. I really hate when folks shame those with money on this topic not my intention. I try to just limit to appreciating those who do give.

*"General" is noted above because, while not highly likely, living in a state with so many billionaires, there is a chance you could land one or two as an unconnected champion ala George Langford/Al Dunlap. IMHO, an untapped source FSU hasn't capitalized on.

*I generally believe FSU has failed to land major donors to the point it is almost not statistically possible. If you look at other schools....big names and small, just by chance you are likely to land a big fish. It has been a perfect storm of bad luck almost for FSU.

That said, I believe FSU has rarely hired the leadership that can compete at this level. I am hopeful Tom Jennings is about to change that....but FSu leadership has been weak in the past demanding accountability and expect results/production.

*I have long felt FSU has failed to be wise with many of these donors. For example. Sarah Blakely is very generous and spefic to her causes (women's issues). Establish something like a women's entrepreneurship program in her name WITHOUT a donation from her.......her name alone is worth a TON and perhaps some day, she will donate to it. But either way, a win for FSU and it shows here FSU shares some of her values.

I think something similar to Todd Combs would be worth while. His name tied to FSU and it's tie to Warren Buffett has to be worth something.

FSU has not had success with past methods....perhaps more out of the box ones would work? Either way, I think FSU HAS to question it's past methods and leadership in these areas.

*Sadly, it seems FSU is WAY too focused on athletics when it comes to these large donors. I love athletics, but without high quality academic programs, you don't produce donors who can give to athletics. It is a win for everybody if you have academic colleges back by transformational gifts.

*Looking at FSU gifts to say UF/UM......there is a massive difference. The good news is, FSU does well with a broader, smaller gift, base.

*Perhaps biggest issue is no 'transformational gift'....something that sets a college up at an elite level. A single college getting a $10-$100 million gift (honestly, in today's dollar, I think the amount is more like $25-$100) which sets that college up as a player.

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