Ways to Give

We encourage all friends and alumni of The Marching Virginians to make an annual gift to the MVs through the Virginia Tech Foundation. Gifts of any amount are welcome and appreciated through our annual giving efforts. These gifts are combined with those from hundreds of other donors to address the many needs of the marching band, including those listed here.


GIVE TO AN ENDOWMENT

The Marching Virginians continue to build several endowments that provide long-term financial support for the band.

*Donors can create a new endowed scholarship or make a gift to one of the existing funds.

The Marching Virginians General Endowment

Established in celebration of the band's 30th anniversary in 2004, the Marching Virginians Endowment provides significant income which supplements the operational funds provided by the University. Your generous contributions have allowed us to provide an improved experience to our student-musicians in many different areas, ranging from better instruments to better game day food.

Since the 35th anniversary of the MVs, we've taken on an even loftier goal – we're going to CRESCENDO TO A MILLION!

Why CRESCENDO TO A MILLION? Because we understand the importance of providing increased operational funds for the band, as well as the value of long-term financial support for the MVs. Over the past several years, the endowment has begun to provide meaningful support to our student-musicians. As the endowment principal continues to increase, the endowment will provide even more meaningful support for The Marching Virginians in the future. This is the next step in a long-range plan to provide the best possible support for our student-musicians.

Graduate Teaching Assistant Endowment

Graduate Teaching Assistants are vital to the ongoing success of the marching and athletic bands program at Virginia Tech. They are the hands-on educators who work one-on-one with our students to provide a quality experience. Most of these graduate teaching assistants are alumni of our own program, having completed their undergraduate Music degrees at Virginia Tech during the previous academic year. They perform important teaching functions with the bands and gain valuable real-life experience conducting various bands and lending their hand to the creative processes.

Undergraduate Scholarship Support

One of the truly unique aspects of The Marching Virginians is that not one student receives a scholarship for participating in the band. The students are the strength of our program – without them, there would be no band. They are the spirit that cheers Virginia Tech teams on to victory. Marching band members spend almost 20 hours a week in rehearsal in addition to their rigorous academic schedule. This makes it extremely difficult for them to work part-time jobs to help pay for their education. Increased scholarship support for our students is one of our long-term priorities. An endowed scholarship provides funding for a named award that can be presented annually to a member of The Marching Virginians

Instrument Needs

Instruments are the life-blood of The Marching Virginians; we can't perform without them. Our goal is to provide all of the instruments used by our band members to ensure a matching look and sound for the band on the field. This also ensures that marching band members and their parents do not face the additional financial burden of supplying an instrument. Thanks to our generous donors, The Marching Virginians now have a full set of school-owned instruments, but after many years of wear and tear, these will need to be replaced, too. The process of replacing instruments one section at a time is almost never-ending, and there will always be a critical need for funds for this purpose.

Uniform Needs

Just like our instruments, our signature uniforms must be replaced after years of wear and tear. The typical lifespan for an MV uniform is about 8 years, and each time a full set of uniforms is replaced, it is a huge and expensive undertaking.


HALFTIME SPONSORSHIP

Marching band members spend many hours each week in rehearsal, preparing a new halftime show for each home football game. The performance is a culmination not only of the hours of rehearsal by the students, but of much hard work by our music and drill writers as well.

Having professional musical arrangements and drill designs created specifically for The Marching Virginians is a costly undertaking. To show their support for The MVs, friends have the opportunity to support a halftime show.

*A donation of $10,000 will sponsor one halftime show for one season.

Persons sponsoring a halftime show will:

  • Be acknowledged in the football program for that game
  • View the halftime performance from the Virginia Tech pressbox
  • Receive a framed photo of their name spelled out by the MVs during the show
  • Click here for a list of additional benefits


SECTION SPONSORSHIP

The Marching Virginians band is comprised of eleven unique instrument sections all working together to present the exciting performances for which the band is famous.

From the dancing tubas to the frenetic piccolos, these sections achieve excellence from pride in their individual instruments and their connection with the band as a whole. Your section sponsorship will help support the MVs, while recognizing the contribution of an individual section.

*A donation of $5,000 will sponsor one section for one season.

Persons sponsoring a section will:

  • Be our guest for a Virginia Tech home football game
  • Be acknowledged in the football program for that game
  • Receive a framed photo of themselves with the sponsored section
  • Click here for a list of additional benefits


THE GAME DAY EXPERIENCE

For many fans, the highlight of a Saturday afternoon at Lane Stadium/Worsham Field isn’t the football game, it’s what happens before and during the game: The MVs "GAME DAY!" rehearsal and field performances.

Your gift to the The Game Day Experience will help support The Marching Virginians while giving you the opportunity for an up-close visit with the MVs on game day.

*A donation of $2,500 will qualify for the Game Day Experience.

Donors will:

  • Watch Saturday rehearsal from the top of the Tony Distler Tower
  • Have lunch on the field with the MVs
  • March with the MVs into the stadium
  • Watch the MV halftime performance from the field
  • Click here for a list of additional benefits