Friends of Williamsburg Rowing serves as the alumni and boosters organization for the Rowing Club at the College of William and Mary. Financial support is of critical importance in this mission. To this end, FWR actively engages in fundraising for the WMRC Endowment Fund.
Amounts donated to the WMRC Endowment Fund are invested for the long-term benefit of WMRC, with only a set percentage disbursed annually to support WMRC. In order to reach meaningful scale, we have not yet begun disbursements from the WMRC Endowment Fund and are maintaining all donations and investment earnings until the Fund reaches $50,000. Thereafter, FWR and WMRC will discuss the long-term goals for the Endowment Fund and the desired proportion of the Fund to be disbursed annually. We expect to disburse 5% annually, which based on our initial goal of $50,000, will provide approximately $2,500 of support for WMRC annually. For context, that is nearly enough for one new set of oars, new two Model E Ergs, or five new cox boxes!
Rowing is an expensive sport, particularly in regards to equipment and while we haven’t yet finalized the end-goal of the WMRC Endowment Fund, we know that we want the Fund to support a large portion of WMRC’s equipment needs. Therefore, in the long-term, we see the WMRC Endowment Fund growing to $500,000 – $1,000,000 which would provide annual support to WMRC of $25,000 – $50,000 at a 5% disbursement rate. This would provide funds to purchase a new 8+ or 4+ every year plus additional equipment such as oars, coaches launches, etc. Imagine how fast the WMRC fleet would be with that level of annual support!!
The advantage of donating to this fund is obvious; it allows your gift to have a lasting impact for years into the future rather than being spent all at once.