CARY, N.C. - Since USA Baseball’s first medal in 1938 at the inaugural Baseball World Cup, the organization has pursued and set a gold standard with 69 gold medal finishes since the first in 1967 at the V Pan American Games. But it can take a lot to keep the organization functioning at such a level, and in a changing financial landscape for the sport both internationally and at home, National Governing Bodies (NGBs), such as USA Baseball, are facing new challenges.

In the U.S., NGBs are not government funded. Instead, they run thanks to a combination of memberships, sponsorships, U.S. Olympic and Paralympic (USOPC) funding, and events. USA Baseball is no different, as it is fueled by sponsors and events hosted at the National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina, and at the Peoria Sports Complex in Phoenix, Arizona. Revenue can range greatly depending on the organization, with some of the United States’ NGBs, such as U.S. Soccer, coming in at around $100 million in revenue while others are closer to the $1-5 million mark.

To buoy the existing forms of revenue, NGBs have begun turning to another source of revenue that is emerging as a potential game changer - donations. Total revenue for U.S. NGB’s courtesy of donations alone rose from around $40 million to north of $65 million in 2022, and continues to rise. Part of that rise has been a willingness from these governing bodies to hire full-time staff to oversee gifts and donations and head up major campaigns to bring in donations. These donations have gone to multiple different causes, such as youth development programs and/or facility upgrades.

Now, USA Baseball is joining the movement with the launch of Our Pastime’s Future Fund, which features seven donor tiers of support that range from $100 to $10,000. Donors to the fund will have access to exclusive benefits provided by USA Baseball that are tailored to each tier, beginning with recognition on USABaseball.com and at the USA Baseball National Training Complex, and eventually climbing all the way to having the chance to meet and interact with future national teams.

Helping to lead this new frontier for USA Baseball is Drake Sacenti, the Director of Development who has been on the job since April of this year. Sacenti, who has an extensive background in collegiate fundraising and development, has been embracing his new challenge as part of the team that put the fund into motion. Previously spending time at the Universities of Nevada, Oregon State, and Houston, Sacenti is now spearheading USA Baseball’s jump into the world of fundraising and donor relations, and for him it’s been a new and exciting experience that brings a set of challenges different from the collegiate athletic world.

“I think it’s extremely different from what you see on a college campus. In my experience, many annual giving programs were tied to season tickets for football and men’s basketball as well as parking for those events. With the USA Baseball Foundation, like many other NGB’s, all gifts have a charitable and philanthropic aspect to them,” Sacenti explained.

So, without the ability to incorporate benefits such as parking passes and season tickets like colleges can with their respective donor funds, what was Sacenti looking at to focus on with the future fund? That question was one he asked frequently in interviews with other development staff at fellow NGBs.

“The first thing I did in my first 30 days was reach out to other NGBs and then speak with their development staff. The purpose of this was to see what works and what doesn't, what their goals have been, what they raised in the past, how big their staff is, everything relating to what they're doing on an annual basis to be able to grow funding for their respective NGB. After doing the research, that kind of started a brainstorming session with, ‘What are our needs? What are the opportunities? What are events that we can execute to entice a potential donor to contribute to USA Baseball?’”

The notion of what USA Baseball can offer was big to Sacenti, because without the presence of season tickets and parking, NGBs such as USA Baseball have to pivot to what events they can promote and what can fill in the void opened by parking.

“The biggest advice I got was making sure that I'm speaking with our whole staff here at USA Baseball to really focus on, ‘Hey, what opportunities do we have available that can’t be bought? Because obviously there's some really cool experiences with the Olympics, with our national teams, and with the World Baseball Classic that you really can't experience without being a part of or a member within USA Baseball. We wanted to be intentional about what we can offer and make sure that it resonates with a potential donor,” Sacenti explained.

He noted that he’s been consulting with several of the staff at USA Baseball to put Our Pastime’s Future Fund together. Paul Seiler, USA Baseball’s Executive Director/CEO, David Perkins, the Chief Operating Officer, and Ray Darwin, the Chief Financial Officer, have all been working in close cooperation with Sacenti in building the plan for Our Pastime’s Future Fund from the ground up.

Returning to the differences between running an annual fund with USA Baseball compared to at a university, the next challenge after creating and launching the fund is actually getting donors to become involved. Bringing alumni in for football and basketball games at their alma mater is one thing; encouraging others to donate to the national governing body for baseball in the U.S. is another. So how do Sacenti and the team at USA Baseball behind the fund plan to perform outreach and secure donations?

“We have to be able to tell USA Baseball’s story to show a direct need and educate individuals that we receive no government funding. Every program and initiative that we run, whether that’s Fun At Bat or any of our national team programming, has a cost that continues to increase. Our goal is to be able to enhance the lives of any athlete we come in contact with, which is something that Our Pastime’s Future Fund will directly impact,” Sacenti highlighted. “As we continue to grow the game at the amateur level, the best way to do that is from the community and youth engagement side. Fun At Bat has recently eclipsed 5.5 million participants and we hope that number continues to grow as we have the ability to enhance our budgets and introduce the game to more children.”

Sacenti outlined how the launch of Our Pastime’s Future Fund would be a collaborative effort on multiple fronts, primarily through social media and communications. Generating interest and highlighting why the fund is impactful, along with the potential benefits that come with donating, are top priorities to ensure early success. On that front, he’s ecstatic about how the rollout plan has come together within the USA Baseball office.

Bringing in donations that provide valuable support to USA Baseball, and all that falls under the USA Baseball umbrella, will be an obvious indicator of the fund’s success. But it goes deeper than that for Sacenti, who outlined what he believed a perfect launch would look like.

“Being able to execute on the fulfillment and stewardship side is something that’s going to be extremely important. For every donor, whether they give $10 or $1,000, we need to be continuing to thank and educate them on our needs.” Sacenti said. “We are going to do everything possible to ensure that our donors and supporters understand how much their gift impacts the organization.”

For Sacenti, the opportunity to support baseball at the national level through USA Baseball and the Our Pastime’s Future Fund has been something special. It’s a feeling he wants future donors of the fund to experience as well, being able to see the impact they have on the game and the players and organizations who make things possible.

“Having the opportunity to make an impact on the game of baseball is extremely meaningful to me. USA Baseball is such an impactful organization, and I hope that individuals will be able to see the impact they can make by donating and supporting the growth of amateur baseball at all levels,” he highlighted.

Now, Sacenti hopes that the opportunity to make this kind of impact on baseball in the U.S. will be just as meaningful for many more people as well.