Over $15 Million Raised for WIF's 'Go Do Anything' Campaign
04/12/23 | Women In Flight
Women In Flight ran the year-long campaign for the 50th anniversary of Title IX
In late 2020, Alexis (Cross) Smith, Director of Women In Flight, and Callie (Wagner) Kaminskas, former Director of Women In Flight and Associate Development Manager for the Duck Athletic Fund, were in full brainstorming mode. The 50th anniversary of Title IX was coming up in June 2022, and as the leading organization showcasing how to support women's intercollegiate athletics, Women In Flight needed to show up big for this milestone.
Plans to start a yearlong fundraising campaign in 2022 to celebrate Title IX, Oregon women's athletics, and the achievements of women everywhere were already in motion, with this campaign emphasized as a significant department priority by UO athletic director Rob Mullens. The only thing missing was a tagline for the campaign. Looking for inspiration, Alexis called a person who has always been in her corner since day one – her mom.
"As a business owner, a mom to four kids and a friend to many, my mom has always told my siblings and I that we can do anything. She has never questioned any level of support to help me get there," Lexi said.
Her mom's consistent encouragement stood out from their conversation. Yes, Women In Flight aimed to celebrate 50 years of Title IX and the progress of women's athletics. But beyond that, we wanted this campaign to inspire women to chase their dreams, knock down obstacles, and go for gold.
Thus, the slogan for the campaign was born.
Go Do Anything. A campaign for the women of Oregon. A message for women everywhere.
In September 2021, three months before we launched the Go Do Anything campaign, we set a lofty $5 million fundraising goal. For comparison, Women In Flight raises approximately $300,000 in a typical year. Considering the special cause, we hoped to secure at least half of our goal in seed funding during a silent phase before the public launch in January of 2022.
Our target was met; then exceeded; and then smashed. In January 2022, after securing $4.5 million in lead gifts during pre-launch, Mullens challenged Oregon staff to strive for a new, public goal – to raise "$9 million in honor of Title IX". Another ambitious objective, but if the mentality was to "Go Do Anything", we thought we'd give it a try.
Now, in March 2023, at the conclusion of our campaign, we are in awe of the community around women's athletics. Consisting of multi-year pledges, estate commitments, endowments and beyond, we've raised $15,049,374 for Oregon women's athletics.
"UO Athletics is full of outstanding women with amazing accomplishments," said Mullens. "Both Women In Flight and Go Do Anything build on the great tradition of women's athletics at UO to provide the next generation of women leaders the opportunity to excel in their sport and beyond. We appreciate the generous response from so many who share our vision of providing exceptional support to the University of Oregon's women student-athletes."
Thank you to the more than 2,000 donors who have supported the Women In Flight mission since its inception in 2014 and to our community who sees the value of sport for young female student-athletes!
Read on for a list of campaign highlights below; for a full breakdown of how the funds raised will affect Oregon women's athletics in the near future and in years to come, read the Title IX Go Do Anything impact report here.
Campaign Highlights
Established the Women In Flight endowment in honor of Dave and Nancy Petrone
With a $1.7 million investment from campaign proceeds, we established the Women In Flight Endowment in honor of Dave and Nancy Petrone. Women In Flight was established in 2014 with help from the Petrone's, who invested an initial $1 million to start a program dedicated to building sustainable support for Oregon women's athletics. This endowment, which will generate around $60,000 per year to cover administrative costs, is a vital step towards that goal. Going forward, every dollar donated to Women In Flight will go directly to female student-athletes. Over the next several years, another $5 million of dedicated estate funds will increase the principal of the endowment. With this planned raise, the entirety of Women In Flight's current programming will be endowed.
What are we doing with $15+ million dollars?
Women In Flight is the first-of-its kind program in intercollegiate athletics, dedicated to providing above and beyond resources for our female student-athletes. Now having raised over $15 million, we are poised to continue leading by example by implementing the distribution of funds in the best manner possible.
Beyond the dollar value
In addition to raising funds for Oregon women's athletics, Women In Flight is also dedicated to spreading awareness, uplifting our female student-athletes, and telling stories of the Women of Oregon. The 'Go Do Anything' campaign pushed us to increase the number of Women In Flight community members and establish partnerships within the University of Oregon and beyond.
Since our inception in 2014, approximately 1,920 female student-athletes have benefited from Women In Flight. Another 2,600 young women are estimated to be impacted by our program in the next 15 years.
Tinker Hatfield, legendary UO track and field student-athlete, longtime friend of the Ducks, and the designer behind our Title IX campaign logo, enlisted the help of two female designers at Nike, Elizabeth Brock-Jones and Kendal Bagby, to create two exclusive pairs of Women In Flight Title IX Jordan 1 Mids. One pair sold in auction for over $10,000 to Ellen Schmidt-Devlin, former Nike employee and the founder of the UO Sports Product Management program in Portland. The other pair was awarded to a member of our Women In Flight community in a random giveaway.
We also hosted several events to bring our community together. Our annual National Girls and Women In Sports Day celebration in February connected hundreds of young girls and boys with our female student-athletes to play, laugh, and learn new skills together. Additionally, we established a young women's professional networking group and hosted events to create spaces for these female leaders in business to connect with Oregon Athletic Department coaches and staff.
Since Title IX legislation affects more than just athletics, we recognized our campaign as an opportunity to highlight the achievements of women everywhere, not just within our athletic department. We partnered with over 25 different organizations on and off campus, including:
For a full recap of Women In Flight's Title IX Go Do Anything campaign, we encourage you to read our Title IX Impact Report. To learn more about Women In Flight and how you can support Oregon women's athletics, visit our website to make a contribution or follow us @UOWomenInFlight.
What people are saying about Women In Flight raising $15 million:
"The success of Women In Flight reflects the passion in the community that supports University of Oregon athletics. As the first director of the program, it's been exhilarating to see the original goals of the program realized, and then to see Callie and Lexi dream up and execute even bigger goals. Each year, staff and donors have stepped up to enhance the program as it has become a national model. Above all, it is incredible to think about the positive impacts of the program on female student-athletes and their experiences in Eugene and how they will carry that experience with them beyond graduation."
-- Janell (Bergstrom) Cook, Director of Women In Flight 2013-2014
"As the second Director of Women In Flight, I am incredibly proud of the level of success that has been achieved on behalf of women's athletics. Over the years, we learned our strength was in numbers; more people passionate about the cause, more donors contributing more dollars, more coaches and staff rallying around our mission, more thank you notes written, more schools inspired by our results, more wins and record-breaking seasons, and most importantly, more student-athletes impacted. I am so grateful for each and every person who has played a key role in the success achieved - it is through your support that Oregon leads the country in developing empowered women."
– Callie (Wagner) Kaminskas, Director of Women In Flight 2014-2017
"As a new member to the Duck Family, I am blown away by the overwhelming support of the Women in Flight program. The Go Do Anything initiative has set the foundation to continue to provide support and resources to the women of Oregon for the next 50 years and beyond!"
-- Val Johnson, UO Deputy Athletic Director, Senior Woman Administrator, and Title IX Coordinator
"UO Athletics is full of outstanding women with amazing accomplishments. Both Women In Flight and Go Do Anything build on the great tradition of women's athletics at UO to provide the next generation of women leaders the opportunity to excel in their sport and beyond. We appreciate the generous response from so many who share our vision of providing exceptional support to the University of Oregon's women student-athletes."
-- Rob Mullens, UO Athletic Director
Plans to start a yearlong fundraising campaign in 2022 to celebrate Title IX, Oregon women's athletics, and the achievements of women everywhere were already in motion, with this campaign emphasized as a significant department priority by UO athletic director Rob Mullens. The only thing missing was a tagline for the campaign. Looking for inspiration, Alexis called a person who has always been in her corner since day one – her mom.
"As a business owner, a mom to four kids and a friend to many, my mom has always told my siblings and I that we can do anything. She has never questioned any level of support to help me get there," Lexi said.
Her mom's consistent encouragement stood out from their conversation. Yes, Women In Flight aimed to celebrate 50 years of Title IX and the progress of women's athletics. But beyond that, we wanted this campaign to inspire women to chase their dreams, knock down obstacles, and go for gold.
Thus, the slogan for the campaign was born.
Go Do Anything. A campaign for the women of Oregon. A message for women everywhere.
In September 2021, three months before we launched the Go Do Anything campaign, we set a lofty $5 million fundraising goal. For comparison, Women In Flight raises approximately $300,000 in a typical year. Considering the special cause, we hoped to secure at least half of our goal in seed funding during a silent phase before the public launch in January of 2022.
Our target was met; then exceeded; and then smashed. In January 2022, after securing $4.5 million in lead gifts during pre-launch, Mullens challenged Oregon staff to strive for a new, public goal – to raise "$9 million in honor of Title IX". Another ambitious objective, but if the mentality was to "Go Do Anything", we thought we'd give it a try.
Now, in March 2023, at the conclusion of our campaign, we are in awe of the community around women's athletics. Consisting of multi-year pledges, estate commitments, endowments and beyond, we've raised $15,049,374 for Oregon women's athletics.
"UO Athletics is full of outstanding women with amazing accomplishments," said Mullens. "Both Women In Flight and Go Do Anything build on the great tradition of women's athletics at UO to provide the next generation of women leaders the opportunity to excel in their sport and beyond. We appreciate the generous response from so many who share our vision of providing exceptional support to the University of Oregon's women student-athletes."
Thank you to the more than 2,000 donors who have supported the Women In Flight mission since its inception in 2014 and to our community who sees the value of sport for young female student-athletes!
Read on for a list of campaign highlights below; for a full breakdown of how the funds raised will affect Oregon women's athletics in the near future and in years to come, read the Title IX Go Do Anything impact report here.
Campaign Highlights
Established the Women In Flight endowment in honor of Dave and Nancy Petrone
With a $1.7 million investment from campaign proceeds, we established the Women In Flight Endowment in honor of Dave and Nancy Petrone. Women In Flight was established in 2014 with help from the Petrone's, who invested an initial $1 million to start a program dedicated to building sustainable support for Oregon women's athletics. This endowment, which will generate around $60,000 per year to cover administrative costs, is a vital step towards that goal. Going forward, every dollar donated to Women In Flight will go directly to female student-athletes. Over the next several years, another $5 million of dedicated estate funds will increase the principal of the endowment. With this planned raise, the entirety of Women In Flight's current programming will be endowed.
What are we doing with $15+ million dollars?
Women In Flight is the first-of-its kind program in intercollegiate athletics, dedicated to providing above and beyond resources for our female student-athletes. Now having raised over $15 million, we are poised to continue leading by example by implementing the distribution of funds in the best manner possible.
- $1.7 million was immediately used to establish the Women In Flight endowment in honor of Dave and Nancy Petrone to cover the administrative costs of the program.
- $1 million was immediately used to replace the turf at Papé Field.
- $1.7 million equates to half the dollars raised for "The Jake" golf facility, equally benefiting Oregon men's and women's golf teams.
- $8 million is reflected in estate commitments to the campaign.
- The remaining funds are pledged over the next 5-10 years and will impact Oregon women's athletics through endowed scholarships, gifts to support Women In Flight's annual programming, or contributions to specific women's teams.
Beyond the dollar value
In addition to raising funds for Oregon women's athletics, Women In Flight is also dedicated to spreading awareness, uplifting our female student-athletes, and telling stories of the Women of Oregon. The 'Go Do Anything' campaign pushed us to increase the number of Women In Flight community members and establish partnerships within the University of Oregon and beyond.
Since our inception in 2014, approximately 1,920 female student-athletes have benefited from Women In Flight. Another 2,600 young women are estimated to be impacted by our program in the next 15 years.
Tinker Hatfield, legendary UO track and field student-athlete, longtime friend of the Ducks, and the designer behind our Title IX campaign logo, enlisted the help of two female designers at Nike, Elizabeth Brock-Jones and Kendal Bagby, to create two exclusive pairs of Women In Flight Title IX Jordan 1 Mids. One pair sold in auction for over $10,000 to Ellen Schmidt-Devlin, former Nike employee and the founder of the UO Sports Product Management program in Portland. The other pair was awarded to a member of our Women In Flight community in a random giveaway.
We also hosted several events to bring our community together. Our annual National Girls and Women In Sports Day celebration in February connected hundreds of young girls and boys with our female student-athletes to play, laugh, and learn new skills together. Additionally, we established a young women's professional networking group and hosted events to create spaces for these female leaders in business to connect with Oregon Athletic Department coaches and staff.
Since Title IX legislation affects more than just athletics, we recognized our campaign as an opportunity to highlight the achievements of women everywhere, not just within our athletic department. We partnered with over 25 different organizations on and off campus, including:
- Allen Hall Advertising (School of Journalism and Communication)
- UO Knight Campus
- World Athletics Championships Oregon22
- Office of Gift Planning
- STEM
- NAAD
- U Connect/D1 Ticker
- Around the O
- Pac-12
- UO Alumni Association
- Nike
- Warsaw Sports Marketing Center
For a full recap of Women In Flight's Title IX Go Do Anything campaign, we encourage you to read our Title IX Impact Report. To learn more about Women In Flight and how you can support Oregon women's athletics, visit our website to make a contribution or follow us @UOWomenInFlight.
What people are saying about Women In Flight raising $15 million:
"The success of Women In Flight reflects the passion in the community that supports University of Oregon athletics. As the first director of the program, it's been exhilarating to see the original goals of the program realized, and then to see Callie and Lexi dream up and execute even bigger goals. Each year, staff and donors have stepped up to enhance the program as it has become a national model. Above all, it is incredible to think about the positive impacts of the program on female student-athletes and their experiences in Eugene and how they will carry that experience with them beyond graduation."
-- Janell (Bergstrom) Cook, Director of Women In Flight 2013-2014
"As the second Director of Women In Flight, I am incredibly proud of the level of success that has been achieved on behalf of women's athletics. Over the years, we learned our strength was in numbers; more people passionate about the cause, more donors contributing more dollars, more coaches and staff rallying around our mission, more thank you notes written, more schools inspired by our results, more wins and record-breaking seasons, and most importantly, more student-athletes impacted. I am so grateful for each and every person who has played a key role in the success achieved - it is through your support that Oregon leads the country in developing empowered women."
– Callie (Wagner) Kaminskas, Director of Women In Flight 2014-2017
"As a new member to the Duck Family, I am blown away by the overwhelming support of the Women in Flight program. The Go Do Anything initiative has set the foundation to continue to provide support and resources to the women of Oregon for the next 50 years and beyond!"
-- Val Johnson, UO Deputy Athletic Director, Senior Woman Administrator, and Title IX Coordinator
"UO Athletics is full of outstanding women with amazing accomplishments. Both Women In Flight and Go Do Anything build on the great tradition of women's athletics at UO to provide the next generation of women leaders the opportunity to excel in their sport and beyond. We appreciate the generous response from so many who share our vision of providing exceptional support to the University of Oregon's women student-athletes."
-- Rob Mullens, UO Athletic Director
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