“WHAT THIS WORLD NEEDS IS MORE TEXANS.”
A LETTER FROM PRESIDENT HURLEY
Dear Fellow Texans,
There has never been a more exciting time to be at Tarleton State University! For 125 years, we have impacted lives through education while personifying the spirit, tenacity, and drive inherent in each and every Texan.
Our incredible foundation is the basis for a new era of excellence as we celebrate a historic milestone and build toward our important future. Through it all, our devotion to student-centered excellence has been our cornerstone.
Our students define us, and their success is a tribute to the strength of our Texan family and the growing significance of a Tarleton State degree.
As we look ahead and chart our future, we recognize that resources vital to our service-based mission are increasingly imperative. Expanding support from alumni, friends and stakeholders is essential to student-centered excellence.
MEET THE TEAM
The Texan Excellence Fund is our response to this important challenge. Dedicated to the holistic development of our students as lifelong leaders, the Texan Excellence Fund offers all who recognize the significance of our mission to make a life-changing difference. Generosity at all levels matters, as participation is the measure of success.
I ask that you join us as we define the future of our great university by becoming a Texan Excellence Fund member. Together, let’s exemplify the leadership of our legendary founder.
Together we thrive,
Dr. James Hurley President
John J. Gladchuk
Cori Brown
Tina Sartor
THIS IS THE TEXAN EXCELLENCE FUND
The Texan Excellence Fund (TEF) is Tarleton State University’s catalyst for student-centered excellence and the continued rise of Tarleton State as nationally preeminent.
When you join the Texan Excellence Fund, you directly advance essential student success factors that combine to make Tarleton State the standard for serving first-generation students.
No university impacts students from rural, undeserved areas like Tarleton State… and the Texan Excellence Fund is the engine for life-changing impact and the development of Tarleton State Texans as lifelong leaders.
INVEST IN ACHIEVEMENT
Tuition Assistance: Funds generated through the Texan Excellence Fund are deployed to offset the cost of tuition for firstgeneration students qualified for enrollment but unable to afford the cost of attendance.
Housing: Texan Excellence Fund contributions support students unable to afford the cost of campus housing. Stipends made possible by TEF allow deserving students to live on campus and thrive as Texans.
Wellness: TEF contributions are utilized to provide essential health and wellness services to deserving students in need.
Nutrition: Students unable to afford the cost of proper nutrition receive support through the Texan Excellence Fund.
Retention: TEF funds keep Texans enrolled and on track to graduate at Tarleton State by countering the steady rise in the cost of attendance. This is an essential success factor in Tarleton State’s national ranking and profile (6-year graduation rate).
INTEGRATED IMPACT
TARLETON ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
At the core of the Texan Excellence Fund is unwavering alignment with the Tarleton Alumni Association (TAA). Increasing alumni participation is a shared mission, and the Texan Excellence Fund is designed to reward alumni giving and its lifechanging impact.
• All who join TAA with a lifetime membership contribution will be automatically credited for an amount equal to that TAA contribution in the Texan Excellence Fund for their first year of membership.
• In subsequent years, lifetime members can maintain their TEF membership by continuing to give through TEF.
TEXAN ATHLETICS
The Texan Excellence Fund will offer donors the opportunity to enable championship success for Texan Athletics by selecting Texan Athletics as the designation for their TEF contribution.
Annual philanthropic gifts (not tied to tickets or Texan Club) starting at $125.00 directed to Texan Athletics will qualify, in full, as Texan Excellence Fund commitments.
• Annual joint TAA donors will receive full credit for their TAA contribution while annual TAA individual members can activate a credit equal to their TAA donation with a Texan Excellence Fund contribution of $25.00 or more.
• Joint TAA – TEF members will be stewarded according to the benefit level corresponding with their annual contribution amount (combination of TAA and TEF annual donations).
COLLEGE-SPECIFIC GIVING
It is widely known that donors typically choose to invest where they feel they can have the greatest impact. Motivation to give, therefore, is often linked to a college, department, or division within a university.
One fund with many ways to participate, benefits-accruing Texan Excellence Fund gifts start at $11.00 per month and can be directed to a college, unit, or program of choice.
This means that a College of Engineering (COE) graduate can direct his or her annual gift to COE and the full amount will count toward status in the Texan Excellence Fund.
Specifically, a $125.00 annual contribution directed to the College of Engineering will register as a $125.00 contribution to the Texan Excellence Fund, with the donor extended all respective TEF benefits.
STEWARDSHIP: SECOND TO NONE
As a Texan Excellence Fund member, you exemplify the values that define our great university: excellence, integrity, and respect. The significance of your generosity, therefore, is reflected through the fulfillment of TEF’s unprecedented benefits model.
Tangible, personalized gratitude is a hallmark, with each Texan Excellence Fund donor – at all giving levels – recognized and celebrated in substantive, meaningful ways. The appreciation matches the impact as we build a community of investors who believe in our students, our alumni, and our leadership.
Specific examples of Texan Excellence Fund exclusive benefits include:
• ALL-ACCESS PARKING PASS: Branded hangtag allowing holder to park in any designated Tarleton State parking lot for free.
• MEMBERSHIP CARD: Commemorates membership, activates discounts, and represents a gateway to exclusive TEF experiences.
• DONOR / MEMBER SPOTLIGHTS: Web features on Texan Excellence Fund members that showcase the power of their philanthropy through the TEF website and social media platforms.
• TEF EXCLUSIVE MEMBERSHIP DECAL: Personifies pride of membership and builds fraternity with fellow Texan Excellence Fund donors.
• RECOGNITION IN TARLETON MAGAZINE: Name and giving level recognized in a publication that reaches across 100,000 alumni.
• EXCLUSIVE EVENTS: Members-only events that celebrate the centrality of student success at Tarleton State to include the Texan Excellence Fund Fall Reception and the Texan Excellence Fund Spring Social.
TEXAN EXCELLENCE FUND BENEFITS CHART 2025
TEF EXECUTIVE RECEPTION, LIMITED EDITION TEXAN RIDER VIP PACK
TEF ALL-ACCESS PARKING PASS
TEF PREMIER HOSPITALITY AT SELECT FB, MBB AND TARLETON RODEO EVENTS
FALL SCHOLARSHIP RECEPTION WITH STUDENT RECIPIENTS
HOLIDAY RECEPTION AND MASTERWORKS CONCERT TICKETS
LISTING ON TEF RECOGNITION WALL
ACCESS TO EXCLUSIVE TEF NIKE APPAREL LOCKER
EXCLUSIVE 1899 SOCIETY PIN
EXCLUSIVE INVITATIONS TO TEF & TAA JOINT LEADERSHIP NETWORKING EVENTS
LISTING IN TARLETON MAGAZINE
TEF PICK A GIFT / EXCLUSIVE TEF COMMEMORATVE ITEM
TEF EXCLUSIVE 15% DISCOUNT AT TEXANS CAMPUS STORE
NAME ON DIGITAL DONOR WALL, MEMBERSHIP CARD, TEF STICKER, LANYARD AND SLEEVE
TEAM TARLETON: TEXANS SUPPORTING TEXANS
CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP
PROGRAM
Team Tarleton is the Texan Excellence Fund’s corporate and community engagement platform dedicated to strategic, highimpact partnerships that leverage, in full, the strength of Tarleton State’s alumni base – around 100,000 strong.
This novel, first-of-its-kind program is energized through collaboration with the Tarleton Alumni Association. Driven by the theme “Texans supporting Texans,” Team Tarleton is designed to drive consistent visibility, maximum awareness, and intentional engagement to deliver unprecedented value to stakeholders.
All Team Tarleton partners will be prominently featured in a new Team Tarleton Digital Directory that highlights Team Tarleton partners to incentive Tarleton alumni to choose sponsors when in need of aligned goods and services.
Each Team Tarleton partner will be spotlighted across the TAA and Texan Excellence Fund digital platforms at least once per quarter. The feature will celebrate the sponsors unique strengths and inspire “interest with intent” among the ever-expanding Tarleton State alumni base.
Exclusive Team Tarleton business networking sessions will, in addition, allow sponsors to activate across a series of networking events, hosted by TAA and the Texan Excellence Fund, designed to showcase the strengths, capabilities and product/service lines that make each Team Tarleton sponsor unique.
Perhaps of greatest significance, Team Tarleton sponsors will be afforded an exclusive opportunity to pursue status as “An Official Sponsor of the Tarleton State Alumni Association.”
Official sponsors will have access to TAA’s marks and logos, will be able to produce co-branded product, will be able to use the “official” tagline in external marketing, and will be strategically branded across TAA’s elite events.
• Exclusive feature in the Texan Excellence Fund – TAA Digital Directory
• One-a-quarter Corporate Spotlight on Texan Excellence Fund home page, and across TEF and TAA social media
• Exclusive invitations to Team Tarleton / Texan Excellence Fund business networking sessions (with TAA)
• Chance to pursue “Official Sponsor of the Tarleton State Alumni Association” status with right to co-brand, develop co-branded product, market externally and activate at elite TAA and Texan Excellence Fund events.
