Sport Chairs: Athletes Helping Athletes
The Desiderata Hederae Athleticae Corporation (dba. U.S. Athletic Trust) is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing funding to Olympic-aspiring U.S. athletes. The mission of DHAC is to create a new paradigm of athlete support in the United States. The role of Sport Chair is integral to the organization's success.
Sport Chairs are DHAC's soldiers in the field and provide a direct interface between DHAC and the public. They are responsible for tapping into their sports' niche communities by publicizing the objectives of DHAC and mobilizing support for DHAC in the form of donations, volunteer time and goods-in-kind. DHAC's effectiveness in a particular sport will only be a result of the passion and effort of a dedicated Sport Chair who will leverage DHAC platform as appropriate for their sport.
A Sport Chair position is ideal for a former athlete or coach, or any business- or community-leader. These bullet points frame the guidelines that both the Sport Chair and DHAC agree to abide by:
Chair Sport-Specific Participation Pledge:
- To function as an "expert" on your sport's potential Olympic talent and to help identify and possibly recruit those athlete who qualify for DHAC support
- To maintain a productive dialogue with the NGB of your sport
- To manage the funded athletes in your sport and to cultivate the relationships between athletes, donors and DHAC
- To develop pages that showcase your sport on DHAC website
When necessary, to build a diverse committee with 3-5 members, including high-profile Olympic Medalists if possible (they will also serve on Advisory Board)
Chair General Participation Pledge:
- To participate in person or virtually in an annual Board Meeting
- To participate actively in policy creation and deliberation
- To join the PLAXO network to facilitate DHAC communication
Chair Fundraising Commitment:
- To identify and enroll potential HNW donors and corporations for your sport
- To assist in planning and content creation of direct mail pieces to potential general donors to your sport, and to work to build a donor and potential donor database
DHAC Commitment
- To provide a home page for your sport that you build and control
- To segregate (in our accounting) donations that are ear-marked for your sport
- To provide you with administrative support and a limited budget for appropriate expenses (donor dinners, gifts etc.)
- To provide you with a DHAC business cards and e-mail address
- To provide you with templates for press releases and news articles (publishable in alumni magazines, local newspapers, sport-specific magazines, etc.)
- To give you a percentage of the funds you raise, exact amount to be determined by financial need
What We Need To Get Started: (email to info@usathletictrust.org)
- A hi-resolution digital "mug shot" photo of you (at least 300 dpi)
- A bio of you covering educational, professional and athletic backgrounds
- A statement from you regarding why you have "stepped up," which should also address the unmet needs and issues that are particular to your sport, and include an appeal for volunteers and major donors to join you
- Current contact information for your business cards, including mailing address and phone numbers
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