Most college athletics programs rely heavily on donations to fund their teams' scholarships, equipment, facilities, and travel. When you make a donation to a college sports team or athletics department, there are multiple benefits.
Do Good Supporting Student-Athletes
Some college athletes come from lower-income backgrounds, and they may not have the financial resources to pay tuition if they don't receive a scholarship.
If you donate to a college athlete scholarship fund, you can know that you're supporting opportunities for student-athletes regardless of their socioeconomic background. Everyone has the chance to compete on the field, track, rink, or court, and those who deserve to make the team receive the scholarships.
The more scholarships that are available, the more student-athletes an athletics program can bring to the university.
Receive a Tax Deduction
A donation to a college athletics program may qualify as a deduction. The donation generally must be to a nonprofit organization if you want the deduction, but most schools have nonprofit organizations that work closely with teams to support their student-athletes.
You must itemize on your tax return in order to see any financial benefit from a tax-deductible donation. If you already itemize, the deduction will be proportionate to your donation. A sizeable donation can yield a substantial deduction from your tax bill.
Get Collectible Souvenirs
Should your donation take the form of a successful charity auction bid, you may receive a collectible souvenir in exchange for your donation. Souvenirs could be game balls, real jerseys, pieces of a court or turf, a signature, or almost anything else associated with a college athletics program.
Winning donations for a major school's charity auctions usually have to be quite high. If you're a fan of a smaller school's college athletics program, however, you may be able to get some souvenirs for a relatively modest donation.
Gain Access to Special Tickets
When a college sports team qualifies for a major postseason competition, the school usually gets an allotment of tickets that can be sold to fans. The allotment is often less than the number of fans that the school has, and many fans typically want to go when their team is in the championship.
Sometimes schools split up the allotment, offering a certain amount to different groups of fans. Students are often one of the groups, as well as players' family members. Many schools make a point to set aside a number of tickets for fans who make donations.
To learn more about how and why to donate to college athletes, reach out to your local or favorite school.
Share11 April 2022
One thing I have always been good with is money. Even in high school, I always had a savings from my allowance and from working for the neighbors. I created this blog to help other young people understand the importance of financial responsibility even at a young age. If we start our adult lives knowing about financial responsibility, we can make it further in our lives before we suffer from the devastation of financial mistakes that can take years and years to pay back. Hopefully, what you learn here will help you avoid those financial mistakes and maybe help you recover from the ones you've already made.