Garnet Trust lands million dollar match gift
An anonymous donor has committed to match all contributions to Garnet Trust up to an amount of $1 million, it was announced on Tuesday.
The match applies to all new memberships and contributions to Garnet Trust as well as donations to Garnet Trust Foundation up until December 20, which marks the first day of the early signing period for football.
If maximized, the match program would mean a benefit of $2 million to enhance NIL for Gamecock athletics.
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“We are thankful for this gift leadership commitment to South Carolina’s student-athletes. This match does a couple of things,” said Jeremy Smith, Director of Operations for Garnet Trust. “It doubles the impact of every Gamecock fan who may be wondering if their $10 per month can really make a difference to our student-athletes. Secondly, it serves as a marker for other major donors who may be waiting for someone else to make the first significant move in this space. We are excited to see how quickly Gamecock Nation rises to this challenge, knowing it is just the beginning of what is to come for current and future South Carolina student-athletes.”
Garnet Trust launched in November 2021 with a stated goal of becoming “the most unique,
built-to-last, and effective NIL entity in the country.” The organization has a partnership with the University of South Carolina that makes it the official NIL collective of Gamecock Athletics.
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Memberships to Garnet Trust begin as low as $10 per month, although there are also options to contribute on a one-time basis.
Garnet Trust Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3); its mission statement is “to help promote, support, and advance charitable organizations and causes, educate the general public regarding these charitable organizations and causes, and to make positive impacts on communities by utilizing the names, images, likenesses, and notoriety of the University of South Carolina student-athletes.”
South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer has gone on record multiple multiple times stating the importance of name, image, and likeness opportunities in recruiting.
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“Whether you agree with NIL, disagree with NIL, you want to win at the highest level and you want to win championships like we do here at Carolina, we’re going to have to be very active from an NIL standpoint, a collective standpoint,” Beamer said in October. “We’ve got some people that have done some great things for our student-athletes and grateful for them, and frankly we need more of them, as well. NIL is certainly a major factor not just in college football but all across college athletics right now in every sport.”
