'Tis The Season of Giving

UCLA Men's Rowing Third Annual "Season of Giving"

The UCLA Men's Rowing Program is stronger than ever, thanks to you. Your generous support has propelled our rowers to extraordinary heights, maintaining our position as one of the premiere club rowing programs in the nation. 

You can read about all our exciting team updates in our recently published FY2025 Annual Report linked here

Thanks to your feedback, we have consolidated our fundraising efforts into one campaign a year. And we are excited to launch our Third Annual Season of Giving from December 1st to March 6th. 

All friends of UCLA rowing are asked to contribute at whatever level your career and position in life allows. 

As you keep reading, consider the words of the greatest coach of all time, John Wooden...

UCLA Men's Rowing Expenses and Budget at a Glance

Anyone who has played sports knows that the coach is the bedrock of the athlete's experience and program success. Studies show that coaches are one of the five most impactful people in a person’s life. They define how young people understand ethics, being a team player, and the purpose of work. This is why our modest budget recognizes coaching leadership through "salaries and benefits" as a priority item. 

Our coaching staff, led by Marcel Stiffey, shapes young Bruins into determined competitors who pursue their goals and who will become leaders in their fields. The rowing world recognizes this, as Coach Stiffey has been named the ACRA and WIRA Coach of the Year, and the team has been named UCLA Club Sport of the Year multiple times.

Beyond coaching, the budget gets the crew in the boats and to the races to compete at the highest level. It’s a slim budget for how much the team gets done and will remain that way. 

2025 - 2026 UCLA Men's Rowing Budget & Anticipated Expenses

*Income from the banquet is included in donations. Scholarships are not included in the operating budget.

2025 - 2026 Fiscal Year Fundraising Goal

To balance the books, we absolutely need to raise at least $300,000 from alumni, parents and friends.

As a club sport, students are expected to contribute around $2,000 each and run fundraisers to offset costs as much as possible. Our endowments are growing rapidly and produce interest income that can be invested immediately into the program's success, but what's most critical are your contributions. 

If everyone who has given in the past continues to give at a similar or higher level, we will hit this target, and the team can continue to thrive. We must continually stoke the fire of determination and wholesome competitiveness if we expect that fire to burn brightly in the future.

2024 - 2025 Income Targets

If you are considering a large gift to make a lasting impact on the program, don't hesitate to email UCLA Student Affairs Development at studentaffairsdevelopment@support.ucla.edu

WHO WE ARE

Friends of UCLA Rowing (FOUR) 

FOUR’s primary mission is to provide financial, organizational, and inspirational support to the UCLA Men’s Rowing Team. UCLA Men's Rowing is a Varsity Club Sport recognized by both the Pac-12 Conference and the American Collegiate Rowing Association. UCLA Men's Rowing has over twelve hundred alumni, friends, parents, and students who repeatedly give their time, talent, and treasure to make these boats go. AND to secure the benefit of this program, we must continue to fund it. There’s a long-term goal of funding the team through a $10M+ endowment that we are making real progress towards. But today, we need to cover the bills and keep the fuel in the furnace.

Why UCLA Men's Rowing Needs Your Support

UCLA Men's Rowing is a club sport, which means it is not a sport in the UCLA Athletic Department and receives no university funding. Thus, the team relies heavily on a combination of athletes’ fees and donations from generous alumni, family members, and friends. FOUR uses this financial support to purchase and maintain equipment, pay for travel, meals, and accommodation, cover the entry fees for regattas, and provide stipends for the coaching leaders.

Our Student Athletes The team of oarsmen and coxswains wake up to practice at 5:45 AM six days a week and participate in grueling land workouts at Drake Stadium twice a week. This requires a commitment of over 20 hours per week, all while upholding the virtues of a hard-working student. 

This program is an invitation for courageous young men and women to answer the call to better themselves behind the oar. It’s a journey that forms character and brings young student-athletes to the peak of their capabilities. It’s the pinnacle of what holistic higher education can and should be. As we secure the program’s success, we will continue to remove barriers to attending UCLA and compete on the crew with additional scholarship opportunities. 

This level of care and intensity doesn’t happen without your generosity. 

UCLA Men's Rowing graduates 10+ hardworking seniors per year, the positive energy this team generates is electric, and, of course, we’re winning NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS. The progress that we have been able to achieve with this program is astonishing.

WE NEED YOU!

So, friends, FOUR's request is clear and direct:

During our "Season of Giving" from D0ecember 1st until March 6,2026, please consider renewing your annual donation to FOUR. 

After that, please share this page with your former teammates, post it on your social media, and help us drive it across the finish line. 

With the program secure for the year, we can spend the rest of the academic year inviting you into the joy and victories of the program through our communications, regattas; the San Diego Crew Classic : March 27-29, 2026. Come enjoy a packed UCLA tent and thrilling races from Friday evening to Sunday morning. Join us, too, if you can, at the Lake Natomas (Sacramento, CA) Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships April 25-26, 2026, and in Oak Ridge, TN, for the American Collegiate Rowing Association Championships May 15-17. With that, Friends of UCLA Rowing would like to thank you for all your energy and attention you give to this profoundly meaningful program. We are all absolutely blessed to be stewards of this community that is forming future leaders of the world and maintaining lifelong friendships.

Join (FOUR) in giving back to this deserving program that we love.

More info about UCLA Men's Rowing: Check out our website: https://uclarowing.com

From:

Frank Kovac and the Friends of UCLA Rowing Board of Directors

Coach Marcel Stiffey and the UCLA Men's Crew

Dervla McDonnell, Matthew Valenzuela & UCLA Student Affairs Development

Erinn McMahan, Megan Normansell and the UCLA Recreation Sports Department

CLICK HERE TO READ THE UCLA FOUNDATION'S DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS FOR DONORS

Should this fund reach the campus minimum required for the establishment of an endowment or quasi-endowment, The UCLA Foundation reserves the right to convert this fund to an endowment or quasi-endowment. Please click here to learn more about how the UCLA Foundation invests and manages its endowments.