For Our Past, For The Present, And For Our Future

The Florida Rugby Endowment is a permanent fund supporting Gators Rugby, held by The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida. Its principal is never spent — instead it is invested permanently, and roughly 4% of the fund is distributed to the University of Florida Rugby Alumni Association each year to support both the men's and women's programs. One gift keeps giving indefinitely.

The 1969 Society is made up of everyone who contributes to the Florida Rugby Endowment. There is no minimum gift and no separate fund to join — any contribution to the endowment makes a donor a member. It's named for 1969, the year the University of Florida rugby club was founded. The society currently stands at 144 lifetime members and 326 contributions.

No. Any contribution to the Florida Rugby Endowment makes a donor a member of the 1969 Society, with no minimum amount and no separate fund to join.

The Florida Rugby Endowment is held at The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, an independent community foundation, rather than by the rugby club or the alumni association directly. That structure means the fund's principal is protected and professionally managed, and its annual distribution flows to the University of Florida Rugby Alumni Association.

Roughly 4% of the Florida Rugby Endowment's value is distributed each year to the University of Florida Rugby Alumni Association, divided between the men's and women's programs and presented to the clubs at Alumni Weekend at the start of each year. The fund also supports the Florida Rugby Alumni Scholarship, a $5,000 award paid $2,500 per semester.

Dues are spent this season on what the teams need now. An endowment gift is never spent — it is invested permanently, and roughly 4% of the fund is distributed to the University of Florida Rugby Alumni Association every year to support both programs. One helps this year's team; the other helps every team after it. Many supporters do both.

The Florida Rugby Endowment stands at $188,435. Recent annual distributions to the programs were $3,806 in 2026, $2,995 in 2025, $1,099 in 2024 and $1,876 in 2023, presented to the clubs at Alumni Weekend at the start of each year. Most of the fund's growth has come from continued giving rather than investment returns. The 1969 Society behind it numbers 144 lifetime members across 326 contributions.

Yes. A planned gift through your estate is one of several routes into the Florida Rugby Endowment, alongside stock, life insurance, real estate, retirement plan distributions and wire transfers. For any of these, contact John Zell, Senior Vice President at The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, at 904.224.7209.

This depends on what you are paying for, and it is the easiest thing to get wrong. For an endowment gift, make the check payable to "The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida" and write "Florida Rugby Endowment" in the memo line. For membership dues, make it payable to the University of Florida Rugby Alumni Association. Two different organisations, two different addresses.