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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Aug 18, 2022 11:31:07 GMT -5
Ron Capozzoli Sr. understands the value of opportunity, impact and access – and, in memory of his late father, he has made the largest donation in Holy Cross football history, establishing an endowment that will support summer access for football student-athletes for years to come.
Capozzoli's $1 million donation to the Holy Cross football team has been made even more impactful, thanks to the Hope + Access Campaign for Financial Aid's Williams Match, which elevates the endowment to a total of $2 million. His gift contributes to the cost of summer classes and housing, allowing student-athletes to further their pursuit of a Holy Cross degree while also benefiting from training and nutrition enhancement during the summer access period.
"My father always loved the game of football," Capozzoli said. "His greatest hope was that everyone had the same opportunities that he had to play the game. He loved his time at Holy Cross, and I have great memories of him sharing stories from his experience on campus and his love for the game throughout his lifetime."
Capozzoli, a businessman and real estate investor residing in Jupiter, Florida, is a graduate of Worcester Academy and a Massachusetts native. The gift is made in memory of his father, Luke, and is credited to his father's love for the game of football – and his aspiration to share that passion with others. His father played football at Holy Cross in the late 1910s after a standout career at Medford High School, and he eventually spent a season with the Chicago Bears.
"Scholarships provide access and affordability to higher education and have the power to make a transformational impact on families," said Holy Cross Associate Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Kit Hughes. "Through the generosity of Ron and Markay Capozzoli, future generations of Holy Cross student-athletes will have the opportunity to maximize their time on The Hill, and pursue excellence in all areas of their lives. Luke Capozzoli knew firsthand the impact that education and athletics can have on a young person's life, and we are grateful for this incredible opportunity to honor his legacy. Enhancing scholarship resources will continue to be a top priority for our department, and I am excited to take this first step toward our vision for future success."
The benefits of Capozzoli's donation have made an immediate impact, launching a more enhanced program in the summer of 2022 to benefit the team's pursuit of excellence both in the classroom and competition. The gift will impact Crusader football forever – lifting up a program that is in pursuit of its fourth straight Patriot League title and one that owns the most outright titles in conference history (nine).
"Our program is so thankful for the generosity of Ron and Markay," said Holy Cross head football coach Bob Chesney. "For years, we have hoped to cover summer access for our players, and this gift ensures our student-athletes' ability to remain on The Hill during the summer where they can continue to develop their minds in the classroom, their bodies in the weight room and our overall team chemistry by investing time with one another. To know that this will ensure summer access for the foreseeable future allows us to continue to build on the positive momentum that makes Holy Cross football so special."
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Post by td128 on Aug 18, 2022 11:51:42 GMT -5
KY . . . Thanks very much for sharing this piece highlighting this incredibly gracious gift and the background that goes along with it. I do not think I need to inform anybody on this forum that the tradition and greatness within Holy Cross Football and Alma Mater at large are truly special. That said, seeing the fact that Mr. Cappozoli's father played for the Crusaders back in the late 1910's and the gracious gift that he is bestowing on the program now is absolutely fabulous and might further help some of our younger brethren appreciate this tradition even further.
Is today a great day to be a Crusader?
TODAY AND EVERYDAY!!
LET'S WIN!!
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Post by alum on Aug 18, 2022 13:24:42 GMT -5
Great gift. IIRC, this guy and his wife gave Worcester Academy a boatload of money earlier this year. What a wonderful family.
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Post by kaftan12 on Aug 18, 2022 13:25:11 GMT -5
What an incredible and generous gift from the Capozzoli's! Great day for HC Football program!!
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Post by Crucis#1 on Aug 18, 2022 13:26:58 GMT -5
I did not know that there is a new elevated title for the position of the head of the Athletic Department. From reading the article regarding the gift, I see that Kit Hughes is the Associate Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics. Is this a recent development? Neither Marcus or Nate had a VP title for their position.
A truly generous gift by the Capozzoli family to Holy Cross football.
Without a doubt, the program is heading in the right direction. Let’s see that it is sustained!
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Post by hchoops on Aug 18, 2022 14:09:56 GMT -5
I presume that Ron C. sr. is a graduate of HC, but the article did not indicate.that fact.
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Aug 18, 2022 14:16:12 GMT -5
Great gift. IIRC, this guy and his wife gave Worcester Academy a boatload of money earlier this year. What a wonderful family. $20 million, mearly two months ago. He was class of 1949 at Worcester Academy/ |
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Aug 18, 2022 14:28:00 GMT -5
I presume that Ron C. sr. is a graduate of HC, but the article did not indicate.that fact. I searched and cannot find a reference that he graduated from any college or university. This could be consistent with his gift to Worcester Academy. |
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Post by Sons of Vaval on Aug 18, 2022 14:41:01 GMT -5
I presume that Ron C. sr. is a graduate of HC, but the article did not indicate.that fact. If he was a graduate of HC, then you'd think the release would have included his graduated year next to name. |
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Post by football44 on Aug 18, 2022 15:21:29 GMT -5
I presume that Ron C. sr. is a graduate of HC, but the article did not indicate.that fact. He did not graduate from HC. His father did. |
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Post by deep Purple on Aug 18, 2022 16:14:13 GMT -5
"The gift is made in memory of his father, Luke, and is credited to his father's love for the game of football – and his aspiration to share that passion with others. His father played football at Holy Cross in the late 1910s after a standout career at Medford High School, and he eventually spent a season with the Chicago Bears."
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Post by HC92 on Aug 18, 2022 16:14:51 GMT -5
Nice to see that we’re seemingly trying to build some long-term competitive advantages from our current success. Seems like we didn’t do that effectively either during the RW years or after the Minnesota upset in hockey. Making investments for sustained success so we’re not just a team that needs to get lucky with a great coach every few decades is good.
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Post by longsuffering on Aug 18, 2022 16:39:53 GMT -5
It would be pretty neat if a sharp HC employee in Development followed Ron, Sr.'s $20 million donation to neighboring W A., noted the mention of his father playing football at Holy Cross, contacted Mr. Cappozolli and explored the relationship leading to this gift in memory of his father.
Anyway the gift occurred it is wonderful for HC football. Not amped about Kit's new title. What if an alumnus endows the position? Kit's title will then be a paragraph long. Violates Dr. Fauci's Jesuit slogan of "Precision of thought, economy of expression." Or words to that effect.
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Post by purple1 on Aug 18, 2022 16:46:12 GMT -5
What a generous gift to the Holy Cross football team !! These type of acts and gifts are what is needed to sustain excellence in a historical program and help Fuel the Momentum campaign. Be part of the campaign and give a boost of energy to the coaching staff and players with your support. Something is happening on Mt. Saint James in a very positive manner.....
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Post by football44 on Aug 18, 2022 18:40:55 GMT -5
What a generous gift to the Holy Cross football team !! These type of acts and gifts are what is needed to sustain excellence in a historical program and help Fuel the Momentum campaign. Be part of the campaign and give a boost of energy to the coaching staff and players with your support. Something is happening on Mt. Saint James in a very positive manner..... Not done yet.  |
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Aug 19, 2022 5:37:08 GMT -5
Question: For those familiar with the Fuel the Momentum campaign, was this gift expected at the time the campaign was announced?
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The Agnes Williams match ended on June 30th. For this gift to receive the match, it should have been booked by June 30. Chesney acknowledged that, by saying the gift was put to use this summer.. (AFAIK, HC did not have a summer session this year, although the language of the gift suggests there will be a summer session in future years.)
Chesney posted a tweet, since taken down, of he and Kit Hughes meeting Ron Capozzoli on Cape Cod. I assume this meeting coincided with the announcement. Perhaps Ron C. was not in Massachusetts until this summer, and the announcement was timed accordingly.
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Post by longsuffering on Aug 19, 2022 6:32:48 GMT -5
If Ron C. graduated from high school in 1949 he probably turns 91 this year. His father played football at HC over a century ago. Fabulous. Thank you Mr. Capozzoli.
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Post by purple1 on Aug 19, 2022 8:18:46 GMT -5
To my knowledge the Capozzoli gift was not expected by the campaign. The original group of alums, about 25, committed $1.5M over the next 5 years. The campaign was then announced and is ongoing.
It is a tax deductible gift to Holy Cross to be used strictly for football. Coach Chesney sees this campaign and generosity by alums as confirmation to the high interest with the football program. He is all in 100%, to do his part and win.....
It is a great day to be a Crusader !!!
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Post by longsuffering on Aug 19, 2022 8:28:31 GMT -5
Making it an endowment with a specific objective of summer support was smart to not dilute the campaign.
My limited involvement in fundraising indicates donors enjoy their gift solving a tangible need instead of just being absorbed in a general fund.
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Aug 19, 2022 8:38:46 GMT -5
Is it an endowment (typically can only use a small percentage of the fund each year in perpetuity?) or a fund that can be used as desired?
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Aug 19, 2022 8:40:30 GMT -5
To my knowledge the Capozzoli gift was not expected by the campaign. The original group of alums, about 25, committed $1.5M over the next 5 years. The campaign was then announced and is ongoing. It is a tax deductible gift to Holy Cross to be used strictly for football. Coach Chesney sees this campaign and generosity by alums as confirmation to the high interest with the football program. He is all in 100%, to do his part and win..... It is a great day to be a Crusader !!! Thank you. I had the campaign title wrong: it is Fueling the Momentum. It would appear this gift fully funds the first campaign objective, the summer program. $2 million x 4.5 percent annual distribution = $90,000. |
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Post by midwestsader05 on Aug 19, 2022 8:46:50 GMT -5
To my knowledge the Capozzoli gift was not expected by the campaign. The original group of alums, about 25, committed $1.5M over the next 5 years. The campaign was then announced and is ongoing. It is a tax deductible gift to Holy Cross to be used strictly for football. Coach Chesney sees this campaign and generosity by alums as confirmation to the high interest with the football program. He is all in 100%, to do his part and win..... It is a great day to be a Crusader !!! As someone on the fundraising committee , this caught even us by surprise. I’m sure we will have a meeting soon and discuss the implications and now optionality this gift gives the campaign. For some final numbers, we finished FY 2022 with ~570k deposited and have ~600k in commitments the next 4 years (so 2.4M total from FY 23-26’). |
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Post by longsuffering on Aug 19, 2022 15:19:34 GMT -5
Is it an endowment (typically can only use a small percentage of the fund each year in perpetuity?) or a fund that can be used as desired? I'm thinking endowment as summer nutrition will be needed every year and you can buy a lot of food for $45-50,000. With any luck the principal will grow to help the income keep up with inflation and/or donors will add to the fund over the years. |
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Post by football44 on Aug 19, 2022 15:55:20 GMT -5
Is it an endowment (typically can only use a small percentage of the fund each year in perpetuity?) or a fund that can be used as desired? I'm thinking endowment as summer nutrition will be needed every year and you can buy a lot of food for $45-50,000. With any luck the principal will grow to help the income keep up with inflation and/or donors will add to the fund over the years. That is the plan. |
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Post by efg72 on Aug 19, 2022 15:58:29 GMT -5
To my knowledge the Capozzoli gift was not expected by the campaign. The original group of alums, about 25, committed $1.5M over the next 5 years. The campaign was then announced and is ongoing. It is a tax deductible gift to Holy Cross to be used strictly for football. Coach Chesney sees this campaign and generosity by alums as confirmation to the high interest with the football program. He is all in 100%, to do his part and win..... It is a great day to be a Crusader !!! They need to do a better job keeping the lists for the campaign updated |
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