Since 1997 the Wolfpack Club has raised over $200 million dollars in donations in support of N.C. State’s athletics and has expanded its membership to become one of the largest and most successful booster organizations nationally. Many attribute the Club’s success to its executive director Bobby Purcell.
The Wolfpack Club’s origins lay deep in a grassroots program that is more like a family than a booster club. While other organizations focus on securing large donors, the Wolfpack Club is about building personal relationships with all the donors big or small. It only takes $10 a month to be a full-fledged member of the Wolfpack Club.
“We have a very strong grassroots organization of volunteers called Wolfpack Club Representatives,” Purcell said. “We have over 400 Wolfpack Club Representatives that work on our behalf in their local communities trying to sign new members and keep in touch with current members. Each Wolfpack Club Representative is assigned approximately 25 current members to stay in touch on an annual basis.”
The grassroots nature of the organization keeps the tight knit group growing. As the University grows the club has follow suit thanks to the family friendly theme that Purcell exudes.
“I think it is because of the way it was built. It was really a grassroots program. It has been a very family oriented organization which has grown over the years as the university has grown over the years,” Athletics Director Lee Fowler said. “So I think the grassroots start of the Wolfpack Club is the reason it is where it is now with Bobby promoting that as part of his theme of having the kids come to all of the events, let’s do the right things to have the kids grow up and want to be a part of the Wolfpack family.”
The primary function of the Wolfpack Club is to raise money for athletics scholarships. But the club’s success has allowed it to take the lead in funding facilities improvements as well.
“Their number one priority is to fundraise for scholarships, and we have been fully funded for scholarships for a long time now,” Associate Athletic Director Dick Christy said. “Because they have excelled so much in that and our fan base has had more of a growth potential there, they have taken on the added responsibility of helping us with our capital projects. The student body here in recent years has really stepped up and taken on a huge chunk of that, but the Wolfpack Club was really the [organization that] spearheaded our capital projects — to get Carter-Finley going and to get the RBC center built.”
The success of the program has not gone unnoticed by other organizations. The heads of the fundraising programs at East Carolina, Arizona State, Arkansas, West Virginia and South Carolina as well as the athletics director at the College of Charleston all started their careers with the Wolfpack Club.
“It’s a tremendous network we have,” Purcell said. “It’s a great thing when you’ve got such high quality people that other schools want.”
Given the nature of the Wolfpack Club, the rough economic times this country is facing is a big concern. The goal of the organization is to raise money to support the athletic department, and when money is tight throughout the country, it becomes increasingly difficult to gain donations.
“The economy is a big concern for us. We’ve got to find ways to stay where we are despite a poor economy. We are certainly very sympathetic and understanding of members’ personal situations as we all go through this tough economic time,” Purcell said.
“We’ve seen some effect. It hasn’t really hit us hard yet.” Purcell said. “We are going to try to maintain where we are and continue to try to grow, but there is a lot of uncertainty that concerns us.”
