Gifts Can Throw Teams Off Balance
By Lauren K. Meade, Boston Globe, June 23, 2005

The $500 you chipped in to buy football jerseys may have caused more headaches than cheer.
As donors stipulate where their money should go, athletic directors grapple with factoring in Title IX guidelines and ensuring each sport gets its fair share of the pie.

”Because of Title IX and other guidelines, we can’t support the boys without supporting the girls. In a lot of cases, we might receive jackets for the girls’ swim team and may not be able to accept them because the boys' team would not receive them,” said Anne Gulati, director of financial operations for Needham public schools.

Strings-attached donations to specific sports can complicate the entire budget. Each time a team receives a contribution, Palmer must make sure its counterpart is compensated equally, he said.

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