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CU Buff Club, Colorado Athletics

Legacy Giving
As a member of the CU Community, you’ve heard it said that the pride and tradition of the Colorado Buffaloes will not be entrusted to the timid or the weak! We believe it belongs to those who boldly invest in our vision of winning championships and providing a world-class student-athlete experience.

Legacy Giving is one of the most impactful ways the CU Community can ensure our success in delivering on this vision long-term. Below is information to help guide your giving decisions, whether it be through planned giving, endowments, the Scholarship Donor Program, or our leadership giving program, the Flatirons Society.

We encourage you to visit with a Buff Club staff member to learn how you can leave your lasting legacy within CU Athletics and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with us toward a bright future. Go Buffs!
 
Legacy Giving
Planned giving
Planned gifts are essential to the sustainability of CU Athletics. The Buff Club encourages donors to consider planned gifts such as bequests, beneficiary designations, gift annuities, charitable trusts, and other tax-wise tools.  

There’s a planned gift to suit every circumstance. Each giving strategy has distinct benefits for you and for the university. We can help guide you through the available choices, and help you create your legacy at CU.

Visit the CU Planned Giving page to learn more. 

  • Planned Gifts of $50,000 - $99,999
    • 50 Buff Club bonus priority points (every time planned gift is booked or rebooked
    • Invitation to annual Legacy Giving Banquet
    • Heritage Society Membership

  • Planned Gifts of $100,000 - $999,999
    • 100 Buff Club bonus priority points (every time planned gift is booked or rebooked
    • Invitation to annual Legacy Giving Banquet
    • Legacy Giving Gift (one time)
    • Heritage Society Membership

  • Planned Gifts of $1,000,000+
    • 200 Buff Club bonus priority points (every time planned gift is booked or rebooked
    • Invitation to annual Legacy Giving Banquet
    • Legacy Giving Gift (one time)
    • Heritage Society Membership
    • Access to Limestone Level Flatirons Society benefits for one-year
Endowments
An endowment is one of the most powerful ways to support Colorado Athletics as they provide long-term, sustainable funding for scholarships, student-athlete programs, coaching positions, and our beloved Ralphie Program. It also provides donors with the opportunity to name an endowed fund in honor or memory of someone important to them in their lives.
Endowments
An amount equal to a percentage of an endowment's market value is distributed annually to Colorado Athletics and the remaining balance is invested prudently to maximize its long-term growth. Year after year, distributions from endowments continue to support the scholarship, program, or coaching position each donor designates.

  • Endowment Gifts of $50,000 - $99,999
    • Flatirons Society Membership
    • Invitation to annual Legacy Giving Banquet

  • Endowment Gifts of $100,000 - $999,999
    • Flatirons Society Membership
    • Invitation to annual Legacy Giving Banquet
    • Legacy Giving Gift (one time)

  • Planned Gifts of $1,000,000+
    • Flatirons Society Membership
    • Invitation to annual Legacy Giving Banquet
    • Legacy Giving Gift (one time)
Scholarship Donor Program
The Buff Club Scholarship Donor Program is a strategic initiative designed to secure vital funding for student-athlete scholarships while providing an enriching experience for donors. An investment in an endowed scholarship provides a unique opportunity for donors to establish their legacy within Colorado Athletics, while seeing their investment make a direct impact through scholarship 
recipient reports, exclusive events, and a specific student-athlete match.

At the University of Colorado, we spend over $13 million annually on student-athlete scholarships. The cost of a college education is increasingly on the rise and a degree is becoming more critical toward the success of current and future Buffs. Scholarship support is essential to furthering the world-class and holistic student-athlete experience by reducing the financial burden on Colorado student-athletes while they achieve their academic and athletic pursuits.

Endowed scholarships provide sustainable funding in perpetuity toward these costs by being invested in the CU Foundation’s endowment and distributing scholarship funding annually. Make an investment in an endowed scholarship today to make a lasting impact on numerous generations of student-athletes that will proudly represent the black and gold.
 
Membership in the Scholarship Donor Program requires a minimum investment of $100,000 that can be accomplished through a one-time or multi-year commitment. As a member of the program, the donor will forever cement their legacy within Colorado Athletics by creating a named endowed scholarship that also includes an annual student-athlete match.

Membership in the Scholarship Donor Program provides: 

SCDP Benefits
With your named endowed scholarship, you will be matched with a student-athlete who benefits from your generous commitment. Student-athlete matches will occur in the fall by Colorado Athletics. Matches will be made with consideration of sport or place of residence preference(s) stated in your endowed scholarship agreement. Requests for a specific student-athlete cannot be accommodated. This student-athlete will be your match for the entirety of their tenure at the University of Colorado. If the student-athlete that has been matched with you graduates, exhausts eligibility, transfers and/or transitions from the University, then a new assignment will occur the next fall.

Scholarship Program Timeline
Yes, you can make an annual gift to the Golden Buffalo Scholarship Fund to provide support to student-athlete scholarships.
All Athletic based endowed scholarships created before December 31, 2022 will be recognized as part of the Scholarship Donor Program if the total is greater than the CU Foundation’s minimum investment of $25,000.
Gifts to an existing endowed scholarship are encouraged and will only greater the impact of the scholarship.
Each endowed scholarship has an assigned Stewardee(s) at the creation of the fund. These individuals will remain the Stewardee(s) unless the Buff Club is instructed by the original Stewardee(s) to update the record.
The CU Foundation averages a 4% annual distribution and any additional growth of the endowment increases the overall endowments value (e.g. $100,000 endowment may earn $7,500 on the year and $4,000 will be distributed toward scholarships and the remainder is added to increase the principal amount.
No, the endowed scholarship must directly benefit Colorado Athletics.
Flatirons Society Logo
Established in 2022, The Buff Club Flatirons Society is the exclusive leadership giving program of the University of Colorado Athletic Department. Through annual leadership-level investment, members of this society provide substantial financial support essential to a world-class and holistic student-athlete experience for our 350+ student-athletes.
 
  • All Buff Club membership benefits
  • Access to behind-the-scenes information and experiences to further build your connection to fellow Flatirons Society Members and Colorado Athletics
  • Invitations to Buff Club Flatirons Society Weekend & other Flatirons Society events, featuring those directly benefiting from your support:
    Athletic Director Rick George, Head Coaches, Student-Athletes, and Colorado Athletics Administration
  • Invitation to exclusive Flatiron Friday's home football events
  • Exclusive away game & postseason opportunities
  • Receive CU Athletics’ annual impact report (RAPID report)
  • Annual exclusive Flatirons Society gift
  • Public recognition of Flatirons Society membership in athletic facilities, online, and in annual loyalty book
  • 10% discount at the CU Team Store^
  • Priority Point bonus: Additional 10 points per pledge commitment year*
^Not available on gameday
*Applies to multi-year philanthropic pledge agreements only
  • All Buff Club and Red-Brick Level benefits
  • Access to Colorado Athletics behind-the-scenes facility tours (dependent on facility availability)
  • Exclusive game day experiences including but not limited to pre-game field access to one football game annually, suite invitations, and more
  • Invitation to sport-specific practices*
  • Facility naming opportunity*
  • Priority Point bonus: Additional 25 points per pledge commitment year*
*Applies to multi-year philanthropic pledge agreements only
  • All Buff Club, Red-Brick, and Iron Level benefits
  • Postgame press conference access
  • 20% discount at the CU Team Store^
  • Opportunity for presale access to purchase non-Colorado Athletic events hosted at CU Athletics facilities+
  • Exclusive opportunity for away game travel on the team charter*
  • Priority Point bonus: Additional 50 points per pledge commitment year*
^Not available on gameday
+As allowed by contract language
*Applies to multi-year philanthropic pledge agreements only
  • All Buff Club, Red-Brick, Iron, and Limestone Level benefits
  • Elite access to administrators and coaches through direct communications, intimate gatherings, and Sandstone Level exclusive events
  • Concierge stewardship*
  • Priority Point bonus: Additional 100 points per pledge commitment year*
*Applies to multi-year philanthropic pledge agreements only

Invitation to the Flatirons Society is reserved for those who make annual leadership gifts of $10,000 or more inclusive of per seat contributions, scholarships, excellence fund giving, endowments, and capital projects. Additional benefits will be reserved exclusively for those who commit to multi-year philanthropic pledges. Only select planned giving options qualify for membership such as a gift of appreciated assets or through an IRA qualified charitable distribution. All philanthropic commitments are tax deductible and are above and beyond any per-seat contribution.
 
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