About Us

The GRAA was formed in the summer of 2022 solely by alumni of Georgia Rowing. (Scroll down to meet our board!)

As alumni, we all know how expensive the sport of rowing is, both for students paying dues, and for the officer board managing the team’s budget. We started this organization because we want to give back to the team that gave us a unique college experience.

There’s a community of roughly 30 years of Georgia Rowing alumni out there, but there has never been a formal organization engaging that community or giving them a tax deductible way to give back to the team. With the GRAA, that has already changed.

We achieved our 501c3 status in December of 2022, and have begun a formal relationship with the current team to figure out how best to support them financially.

Yes! We became an official 501c3 organization in December of 2022. If you donate to the GRAA, you’ll receive an end-of-year donation receipt that you can use on your taxes.

We use all incoming donations for three things:

1. Giving back to the current team.
   We give money to the current team twice a year. All our funds outside of operational costs go towards supplementing the team’s annual budget, unless otherwise specified.

2. Planning + hosting fundraising events.
   While the current team still runs their own fundraisers, the GRAA plans to run additional fundraisers targeted specifically to alumni to bring in more funds for the team.

3. Operational costs.
   None of our board members receive a single penny from the GRAA, but running this organization does come with a few bills.

Yes! Our goal as an organization is to support the team and it’s current members. We send money to the team twice a year, which the officer board spends at their discretion. Depending on what the board uses the funds for, your child could see the benefit in the form of…

• nicer, higher quality equipment to practice and race in

• more coaching

• more competitive opportunities

In the long run, we hope to be able to help reduce the cost of dues and provide scholarship and financial aid opportunities for current members.

For starters, join our community to make sure you’re getting our monthly emails! Be sure to enter your personal email, not your UGA email.

We also encourage new graduates to sign up for a monthly recurring donation to help support the team.

And don’t forget to join our Alumni Network on LinkedIn where alumni can connect about networking and job opportunities!

We’d love to hear from anyone who wants to get involved! We hold board elections every summer, with board members serving staggered two year terms. Feel free to contact us if you have further questions.