General | January 14, 2020

PHILADELPHIA - The Division of Recreation and Intercollegiate Athletics (DRIA) at the University of Pennsylvania is excited to announce a $500,000 endowment matching challenge gift from Christopher B. Mario C'85 and The Mario Family Foundation to the Penn Band Endowment Fund. This gift will match all donor commitments dollar-for-dollar up to $500,000, with the effort to provide $1,000,000 in programmatic endowment to the program to ensure the long-term financial stability of the Penn Band in its current formation as a scramble band.
 
"The scramble band was one of, if not the best part of Penn for me," Mario said. "I was blessed to take part in the Penn Band family and I am committed to current and future members of the band to be able to take part in the great experiences I had within the program. Hopefully this gift will motivate others with similar experiences to secure the scramble band for the future generations of Penn."
    
Mario, who was the drum major during his senior year at Penn, was inspired to make this gift in order to promote the need for endowment funding to others who were impacted by the program and to inspire them to invest back to the Penn Band. He remembers his experiences fondly, especially performing across campus and Ivy League football road trips, which provided great camaraderie and the opportunity to create a strong social existence during his time on campus. Chris hopes that this challenge will spur others to draw from their favorite Penn Band experiences and invest in the program that provided such vivid memories as well as sparked lifelong friendships and connections to Penn.
    
"It wasn't enough that Chris and his family gave us our band room 10+ years ago. Oh, no – now he outdoes himself by making sure the band exists in its scramble format forever," noted Greer Cheeseman, EE'77, Director of the Penn Band. "This is a transformational gift for the program – and ensures that our hijinks will continue in perpetuity, along with making sure the students are clothed (uniforms), fed, and able to go on the road to as many away Ivy games as possible."
 
The ultimate goal of this challenge is to leverage The Mario Family Foundation's and Chris' generous conditional pledge to raise $1,000,000 in total for the program's endowment, spendable income which will have a positive impact on the program in perpetuity. Individuals are able to make one-time gifts or multi-year commitments which will be counted in their full amount towards the challenge goal.
 
The Penn Champions Club, the fundraising arm of DRIA, will continue to provide updates on a regular basis to share the challenge's progress. The Penn Band hopes that everyone will participate. Only through the philanthropic support of the alumni, friends, and family will this challenge succeed in unlocking these matching funds to benefit the program.
 
To make a gift to the Penn Band Endowment Fund today, you can visit www.pennathletics.com/supportpennbandendowment and click on the "Contribute Here" button. For more information on the challenge or to discuss making a multi-year commitment to the program, please contact Tim Folan of the Penn Champions Club at tfolan@upenn.edu or 215-573-0315.