NDSU’s Athletics, Foundation, and Team Makers announce integrated partnership to enhance donor experience

John Glover, Tim Polasek, and Matt Larsen

Fargo, N.D. — North Dakota State University Athletics, NDSU Foundation, and NDSU Team Makers have entered into a partnership agreement designed to strengthen philanthropic support for Bison Athletics and NDSU through a more unified and donor-centered approach to engagement, fundraising and stewardship.

For decades, the Foundation and Team Makers, as separate, 501(c3) affiliated organizations to NDSU, have worked alongside each other to support fan and donor engagement and provide financial resources to Bison Athletics.

Effective July 1, 2026, the partnership will enhance collaboration among the organizations to create a more seamless experience for donors, alumni, fans, and friends who support the university and its student-athletes.

“This agreement reflects a shared commitment to serving all of our benefactors well and maximizing philanthropic support for NDSU,” John Glover, president and CEO of the NDSU Foundation, said. “By working together intentionally and strategically, we create a more coordinated and consistent donor experience for all areas of campus.”

“Our donors care deeply about NDSU and Bison Athletics,” Mark Sellin, president of Team Makers, said. “This partnership honors that commitment by making it easier to engage, give, and see the impact of philanthropy on student-athletes, programs, and the university community.”

“We have a vision for One NDSU, and this partnership helps bring that to life by showing up in a more coordinated and connected way for the people who invest in this university,” NDSU President Marshall Stewart said. “Bringing the Foundation, Athletics, and Team Makers together allows us to strengthen relationships and generate the philanthropic support that benefits student-athletes, while also supporting the broader university mission and student body through a unified approach to philanthropy.”

For donors, the partnership is intended to create a more seamless giving experience. Donors can expect more coordinated outreach, clearer information about where and how to make gifts, enhanced stewardship and recognition, and continued confidence that their support is being aligned with university and athletics priorities.

The agreement also strengthens internal coordination among development officers and staff, helping ensure donor conversations are timely, informed, and connected to the full range of opportunities across NDSU Athletics and the university.

Team members from the respective organizations will communicate with benefactors to help explain the changes, how gift and financial support will work, and what it means for the donor and fan experience moving forward.

Key agreement terms: 

  • A unified donor engagement strategy: The Foundation, Athletics, and Team Makers will coordinate fundraising priorities, donor visits, asks, and stewardship to present a consistent institutional voice and create clearer giving pathways. 
  • A single system of records for charitable giving: The Foundation database will serve as the primary record for charitable giving to NDSU and affiliated organizations, including financial transactions and customer relationship management contacts. 
  • Clear giving pathways: Team Makers will continue to receive and receipt annual membership dues, tickets, certain annual giving campaigns, charitable gaming, the Team Makers General Endowment, and planned gifts specifically designated to Team Makers. The Foundation will process and receipt all charitable gifts, including major and leadership gifts, expendable gift support for operations and sports, named endowments, capital project gifts, Green and Gold Fund gifts (Name, Image, Likeness), sport-specific gifts, and planned gifts designated for Athletics. 
  • Expanded fundraising support for Athletics: The Foundation will provide campaign strategy, major and leadership gift support, direct financial resources, and collaboration with Athletics and Team Makers to strengthen philanthropic giving for Bison Athletics. 
  • Coordinated events and fan engagement: The respective organizations will collaborate on donor and fan gatherings, including away football game events in fall 2026 and 2027 associated with Bison football’s new schedule in the Mountain West Conference. 
  • Aligned recognition: Donations to the Foundation will count toward Team Makers points consistent with established policies, and Team Makers giving will be included in Foundation giving recognition societies. 

July 1, 2026, will also mark the first collaborative fundraising campaign between the Foundation and Team Makers for 701 Day, a 24-hour online giving event supporting the Climb the Mountain campaign and the future of Bison Football with the move to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).  

Media contacts: 

  • Kira Sornsin, Director of Marketing and Communications, NDSU Foundation 
  • Ryan Perreault, Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Communications, NDSU Athletics 
  • Jen Burris, Media & Community Engagement Specialist, NDSU 

About the NDSU Foundation: The NDSU Foundation builds enduring relationships and inspires philanthropy to support North Dakota State University, its students, faculty, programs, and priorities. 

About NDSU Team Makers: NDSU Team Makers supports Bison Athletics by engaging fans, alumni, and friends in philanthropic support for student-athletes and athletic programs. 

Margaret and her husband, Hugh Veit ’79, established the Eleanor S. Fitzgerald Memorial Graduate Student Scholarship to support NDSU students earning advanced degrees in the Department of Health, Nutrition, and Exercise Sciences or the Department of Human Development and Family Science.

Core areas of home economics remain part of current NDSU degree programs such as accounting; apparel, retail merchandising, and design; education; family and consumer science; financial planning; human development and family science; interior design; and nutrition science.

Home economics programs opened doors, particularly for women, to earn college degrees and pursue careers in education, Extension, state and federal government, business and industry, health care, and more. NDAC listed domestic economy as one of its courses in its founding year, 1890.

Established by Dr. Teresa Conner, dean of the NDSU College of Health and Human Sciences, and co-chaired by Dr. Margaret Fitzgerald ’83 and Col. Esther Meyers ’75, the Wisdom Keepers provide support and share their knowledge and expertise with students, faculty, staff, and leadership in the College.

The home management house at NDAC was the first facility built on a college campus specifically for home management practice. In 1954, it was named in honor of Alba Bales, the first female academic dean at NDAC.