OWENSBORO, KY - The Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics Department has announced a strategic shift in its approach to fundraising. In conjunction with the College's Office of External Relations, Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Mark Shook has re-branded the Panther Athletic Fund as the W Club.

The Panther Athletic Fund, originally established in 2016, gave KWC Athletics the opportunity to better serve the direct needs of its student-athletes - but our needs have only grown since then.
Beginning today, it has been re-branded as the "W Club" to be the non-profit fundraising arm of KWC Athletics. The W Club will have a similar focus but with a more defined approach to build and sustain annual fund membership in supporting critical budget and enhancement needs.

"By joining the W Club, you are directly investing in KWC Athletics and our nearly 400 student-athletes," said Shook. "The Panther Athletic Fund (PAF) served KWC Athletics as an avenue for consolidating our internal and external efforts in supporting our teams. The W Club continues that approach but specifies the goal in building an annual giving membership base, that involves a volunteer advisory group, that helps meet our fundraising goals."

The W Club will utilize annual donations in alignment with four defined giving options:

1. General Athletics
2. Individual Sports via Athletic Booster Clubs
3. Special Impact Campaigns
4. Athletic Endowments

The W Club will use support from alumni, fans, family and businesses to achieve:

1. the required underwriting for all operational athletic budgets
2. the funds for enhancement of equipment needs, facilities, nutrition, and more
3. the goals for creating and supporting a transformative student-athlete experience
4. the goals for the core tenets of "One Team Wesleyan" programming:
   1. Scholarship, Sport, Service, and Life

 
"My sincere hope is that our faithful fan base, and our new fans and business partners, can help energize us as we honor KWC's historic past and work to create an even brighter future." Shook said.
"In the past several years the costs of athletic operations have nearly tripled, as the cost for equipment, apparel, team travel, staying competitive, and to recruit the best and brightest have increased. That said, our goal to offer a transformative student-athlete experience remains the priority," Shook added.

"Our department boasts a hard-working administrative and coaching staff for our 14 NCAA Division II programs. Our programs compete in the very competitive Great Midwest Athletic Conference. We have set more than 24 records over the past 24 months. The success of our teams is not only prevalent in athletic competition, but in the classrooms as well as we continue to produce Dean's List students, GMAC Academic Honor Roll representatives, and set records in the community with thousands of hours in service and economic impact to the greater Owensboro region, in addition to numerous conference, regional, and national accolades."

Every contribution counts in helping Kentucky Wesleyan student-athletes compete at the highest level and in promoting an educational environment that will produce tomorrow's leaders. Hospitality events and membership benefits by joining will be available when you contribute to this fundraising arm to support our more than 400 scholar-athletes.

Annual membership dues for the W Club will start at $120, with five levels of giving. Members will also have the option to designate membership donations to a specific sport. For your convenience, we offer on-line giving, along with the ease of setting up recurring gifts  to provide the most efficient way to support your favorite Panthers athletic team(s).

If you are looking to donate to the W Club, click HERE and scroll down. For more ways to give, click HERE.

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