The Rams Club

What The Rams Club does

The Rams Club, legally The Educational Foundation, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, that serves as the primary fundraising arm for University of North Carolina Carolina Athletics. Founded in 1938, the organization supports all 28 UNC varsity sports programs by funding scholarships for 550+ student-athletes, capital facility projects, and team operational needs. Its core offering is a tiered membership program with annual dues starting at $25 for students, $35 for youth (Kids Club and Junior Rams Club), and $100+ for general members, accumulating Priority Points that govern ticket access for football, basketball, and Olympic sports across Kenan Stadium, the Smith Center, and other UNC venues.

The organization operates with 50+ staff members organized into functional teams covering Annual Fund, Major Gifts, Communications, Member Services, Ticketing, Stewardship, Finance, and Human Resources. Its technology stack comprises a donor database integrated with UNC's GoHeels/Evenue ticketing system for membership tracking, Priority Point calculation, and gift processing. Revenue streams include recurring annual membership dues, endowed scholarships, multi-year capital campaign pledges, planned giving through the Carolina Forever Society (bequests, gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, donor-advised funds), and sport-specific operating endowments. Capital projects funded to date include the $35.5M Carolina Soccer & Lacrosse Stadium, $18.5M Chewning Tennis Center, $16.2M Track & Field Complex, $15.2M Karen Shelton Stadium, and the in-progress $13.1M Finley Golf Team Building.

The go-to-market model is sales-led, combining direct membership acquisition (online, phone, mail, gameday presence) with a multi-channel engagement program including the Born & Bred quarterly magazine, email newsletters, social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), and exclusive member events. Distribution is supplemented by partnerships with On Location (travel), REVELxp (premium tailgating), Learfield/Tar Heel Sports Properties (multimedia rights), and a 30+ partner Heels Deals discount network. Leadership transitioned in 2025, with Seth Reeves becoming Executive Director in September 2025 (succeeding John Montgomery, who led the organization from 2001 to August 2025) and Lee Roberts joining as Deputy Director in November 2025.

Name

The Rams Club

Legal name

The Educational Foundation, Inc.

Website

https://ramsclub.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Rams Club (The Educational Foundation, Inc.) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit fundraising organization that supports University of North Carolina athletics through a 22,000+ member program, funding scholarships for 550+ student-athletes and capital facilities across 28 varsity sports via annual memberships, major gifts, and planned giving.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Collegiate Athletic Fundraising

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Fundraising & Development Services (Foundations, NIL Collectives Support) (MPAKAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Athletics Fundraising, Sponsorships & NIL Support (EDALAIAN)

Keywords

• Athletic fundraising services
• Collegiate membership programs
• Scholarship endowment giving
• Planned giving society
• Athletic capital campaigns

Headquarters

HQ city

Chapel Hill

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Annual Membership Dues: Recurring annual contributions from members at various giving levels ($100-$50,000+ annually) that provide membership benefits including ticket priority, events, and publications.
2. Scholarship Endowment Trust: Major gifts and endowed scholarships supporting approximately 500+ student-athletes annually with long-term funding commitments.
3. Capital Campaign Gifts: One-time and multi-year pledges for facility projects including football center, golf renovation, tennis center, soccer/lacrosse stadium, track complex, and Karen Shelton Stadium.
4. Planned Giving / Estate Gifts: Deferred gifts through bequests, retirement accounts, charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder unitrusts, donor-advised funds, and life insurance policies through the Carolina Forever Society.
5. Sport Operating Endowments: Team-specific giving to sports operating endowments and friends accounts providing flexible funding for coaches to meet specific program needs.
6. Carolina Excellence Initiatives: Flexible funding through The Carolina Athletics Excellence Fund and The John & Sharie Montgomery Excellence Endowment providing adaptable support for all 28 sports programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Rams Club is the nonprofit fundraising arm of UNC Athletics (legally The Educational Foundation, Inc.), selling annual memberships and soliciting charitable gifts to fund athletic scholarships, facilities, and team operations for all 28 UNC varsity sports. Members receive priority ticket access through a cumulative Priority Point System, exclusive events, the Born & Bred quarterly magazine, and Heels Deals discounts. The organization also operates the Carolina Forever Society planned giving program, capital campaigns for facility projects (football center, golf, tennis, soccer/lacrosse, track, field hockey), and sport-specific endowments.

Product overview

The Rams Club is a membership-based athletics fundraising organization for UNC Carolina Athletics, not a technology product company. Its core offerings consist of membership tiers (Rams Club Annual, Student Rams Club, Carolina Kids Club, Junior Rams Club, and Recent Graduate memberships) priced from $25-$100+ annually, providing donors with priority point access to game tickets, exclusive events, and charitable giving opportunities. The organization manages multiple giving programs including the Annual Fund, Scholarship Endowment Trust, Carolina Athletics Excellence Fund, John & Sharie Montgomery Excellence Endowment, and Carolina Forever Society for planned giving. Supporting initiatives include FORevHER Tar Heels for women's athletics and various facility project campaigns (football, golf, tennis, soccer/lacrosse, field hockey, track & field). Members receive benefits through the Priority Point System, Turn It Blue ticket program, Heels Deals discounts, and Born & Bred magazine. The organization connects to ticketing infrastructure through goheels.evenue.net but operates no public API or AI-enabled products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FORevHER Tar Heels: An initiative led by The Rams Club and Carolina Athletics that celebrates and champions the women of Carolina Athletics, providing opportunities through scholarships, facilities, team operational support, and professional and personal development.
• Carolina Excellence Initiatives
• Carolina Forever Society
• Carolina Kids Club
• Junior Rams Club
• Student Rams Club

Products and services

• Rams Club Annual Membership
• Student Rams Club
• Carolina Kids Club
• Junior Rams Club
• Recent Graduate Memberships
• FORevHER Tar Heels
• Carolina Forever Society
• Carolina Athletics Excellence Fund
• John & Sharie Montgomery Excellence Endowment
• Scholarship Endowment Trust
• Ticket Services (Football, Basketball, Olympic Sports)
• Heels Deals

Quantifiable outcome

• 550+ student-athletes receive scholarship support annually through Rams Club contributions
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• On LocationcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerOfficial travel partner providing travel options including hotel accommodations, special event admission, and gameday transportation to Rams Club members and fans for bowl games, away games, and basketball tournaments.
• REVELxpcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerOfficial fan experience partner providing premium tailgating experiences for Rams Club members at gameday events.
• Learfield/Tar Heel Sports PropertiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term multimedia rights partnership supporting Carolina Athletics and The Rams Club through corporate partnerships and sponsorship activation.
• Heels Deals Partners (30+ businesses)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNetwork of local and national businesses offering exclusive discounts to Rams Club members including hotels, restaurants, retailers, and service providers throughout Chapel Hill and beyond.
• University Development (UNC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with UNC's University Development office for planned giving programs, estate planning resources, and coordinated fundraising efforts across the university.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Tiger Athletic Foundation (LSU): LSU's Tiger Athletic Foundation is a 501(c)(3) supporting LSU Athletics through annual memberships, capital campaigns, scholarship funding, and premium seating/priority point systems. Operates at a similar scale and structural model to The Rams Club.
• Belmont University Athletic Development: Belmont University's athletics fundraising program, mentioned via Rams Club staff member Collin Sonderman's prior tenure as Associate Director of Athletic Development there. Comparable smaller-scale collegiate athletic development operation.
• V-Card (University of Virginia): University of Virginia's athletics fundraising organization (Virginia Athletics Foundation / VAF and the Varsity Club), with similar membership tiers, priority point-based seating, scholarship endowments, and capital campaign capabilities as The Rams Club.
• The Ohio Bobcat Club (Ohio University): Ohio University's athletics fundraising and development organization operating with similar membership, ticket priority, and scholarship support structures. Rams Club staff member Morgan Shump previously served as a graduate assistant there.
• The Deacon Club (Wake Forest University): Wake Forest's official athletics fundraising organization with comparable membership tiers, priority point-based seating, annual fund, and scholarship support programs. Rams Club staff member Ashton Wooten previously worked at the Deacon Club.
• The Panther Club (University of Pittsburgh): Pitt's athletics development fund with membership tiers, ticket priority, and major gifts programs. Notably, Rams Club's new Deputy Director Lee Roberts previously ran Pitt's fundraising operation, indicating direct industry knowledge transfer.
• IPTAY (Clemson University): IPTAY is the official athletics fundraising and development organization for Clemson University, with a comparable tiered membership structure, priority point system for tickets, annual fund, capital campaigns, and scholarship endowment programs. It is one of the most direct structural analogs to The Rams Club in the ACC.
• Alexander-Tharpe Fund (Georgia Tech): Georgia Tech's primary athletics fundraising organization with tiered memberships, priority points, annual fund, and scholarship endowment components. Mentioned directly in the background of Rams Club staff member Kevin Kitchens, indicating industry recognition.

Broad incumbents

• Varsity Club (Ohio State University): Ohio State's alumni athletic association and development organization with a similar membership, event, and scholarship support model. Operates at a much larger scale but follows the same collegiate athletics fundraising blueprint.
• Tar Heel Sports Properties (Learfield): Multimedia rights holder and corporate sponsorship partner of UNC Athletics with which The Rams Club has a strategic alliance; operates broadly in collegiate sports marketing and revenue generation across many schools, overlapping with the corporate-sponsorship side of athletic development.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TheRamsClub
• Facebookfacebook.com/theramsclub
• Instagraminstagram.com/theramsclub
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-rams-club

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Rams Club