Tonight is your last chance to get your application in for a Spring 2024 Buggy Enhancement Grant! I will be online tonight if anyone has any last minute questions or issues getting their application in. As always, the easiest way to get in touch with any BAA Officer is through our Discord.

Submit your grant application here!

For more information about Buggy Enhancment Grants, including tips from the committee on how to strengthen your grant proposal, the actual text of previously approved grant applications, how to access shared resources funded by this program, and how you can support this program, please read All About Buggy Enhancement Grants!

The first committee review is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 5. Applicants should expect to receive the initial questions and feedback from the committee by Monday evening. Please respond to the committee’s questions by Sunday evening, Feb 11, at the latest. We expect the final review to be scheduled for Monday, Feb 12, with the final funding decisions to be sent out that evening.

Apply here! https://cmubuggy.org/2024springgrant

There are 10 days left to apply for a Buggy Enhancement Grant for Spring 2024! Applications are open until the end of January. Don’t wait, get your application in today!

If you are looking for inspiration, for your grant proposal, you can view previously approved grant applications here. For your one stop shop to learn everything there is to know about Buggy Enhancement Grants including tips from the committee on how to strengthen your grant proposal, please read All About Buggy Enhancement Grants!

Apply here! https://cmubuggy.org/2024springgrant

Apply Here:
https://cmubuggy.org/2024springgrant

Applications for our Spring 2024 Buggy Enhancement Grant campaign are now open! If you consider yourself a member of the Buggy Community, and you have ideas that could enhance your Buggy experience, please apply!

Submissions are due by the end of January, and will be reviewed by the Buggy Endowed Fund Committee in the first week of February. Applicants will have 1 week to respond to committee feedback before the final vote.

Last semester, the number of student submitted applications doubled, and $4,620 was awarded to 9 different projects representing 7 different organizations!

For more details on the program, a summary of previously approved grants, and tips from the committee on how to write a stellar grant application, please read All About Buggy Enhancement Grants.

If you would like to support this program, please consider donating to the Buggy Endowed Fund. Your gift will help perpetually fund this grant program and keep the buggy hype rolling for generations to come! A donation of at least $1000 to the endowment is recognized on our placard in the University Center and with a lifetime membership to the Buggy Alumni Association. There is no shortage of excellent project proposals coming from the community, so please consider supporting this program. Join us Now!

Apply Here:
http://cmubuggy.org/2023fallgrant

It is time to submit your ideas for Buggy Enhancement Grants for the fall semester! We have over $6,000 available for this round of funding. This money belongs to you as a member of the buggy community, to enhance your enjoyment of the sport! If you have ideas that you think will make buggy better, we want to hear from you.

September 13th and 19th, we’ll be hosting a virtual brainstorming and grant writing session on the BAA Discord. We’ll be live in the ⁠#general voice chat from 5PM to 6PM Pittsburgh local time. If texting is more your thing, reach out any time in the buggy-tech forum (more specifically, this thread).

Submissions are due by the end of September, and will be reviewed by the Buggy Endowed Fund Committee in the first week of October. Applicants will have 1 week to respond to committee feedback before the final vote. Approved grants will then be announced October 15th.

Apply Here:
http://cmubuggy.org/2023fallgrant

For our Spring 2023 campaign, we approved $6,268 to fund 9 projects from 7 different organizations. Details about these projects can be found here.

Please feel free to take inspiration from these suggestions from the Buggy Endowed Fund Committee:

• Improve the experience of driving a buggy by improving visibility, safety, or the quality of the roads.
• Improve the quality of life for the people that help support buggy around the course with a warming hut, covered storage, or better tools (ie. higher flow leaf blowers).
• Make a new addition to the BAA’s historical data by professionally digitizing old photos or course footage, buying software to upscale low resolution photos and videos, or hiring a professional to capture an event.

Proposals can even be specific to your team. Please include some details on how the community as a whole will benefit from funding your project. For example, you might share documentation of your process, publish a video, or give a talk summarizing your results. You might build something to collect better data during rolls, test out a new material, or design a wheel mold that can be shared among teams.

Apply Here:
http://cmubuggy.org/2023fallgrant

Hi all,

CMU has spearheaded the design and development of a Buggy Centennial Celebration art installation in the Cohon University Center, next to the auditorium entrance. Included in this 6’x20′ permanent installation is a list of BAA Lifetime Members in recognition of their gifts to Buggy. All current and future Lifetime Members will be listed with their indicia (if they wish) on an acrylic plate with black vinyl lettering. Although we are committed to updating this list with future Lifetime Members, we wanted to give people a chance to be a part of the inaugural group, to be unveiled at Carnival later this year.

We’re currently in the process of writing letters to thank those who have already donated, and recognize that we have unfulfilled promises still; 2 t-shirts and lifetime membership badge to be delivered at the next in-person Raceday we’re able to host. At the same time, we wanted to let folks know about this unique opportunity to be recognized and added to the installation in time for the formal unveiling.

If you are interested in becoming a Lifetime Member, please make a gift of $1,000 or more to the Buggy Endowed Fund by following the link below. Starting next semester, yields from the Buggy Endowed Fund will be distributed to student projects which “support the continued success and growth of Sweepstakes”. Yields from the Endowed Fund (as of this writing, approximately $2,500 yearly) will be designated to projects by a committee of students, alumni, and staff which will meet regularly to consider formal proposals. We’ll publish the bylaws for this committee shortly for those interested in reading more on how it works.

If you’d like to receive confirmation that your name will be added to the display in time for this year, please email your gift receipt to admin@cmubuggy.org and we’ll make sure that everything is squared away.

Lastly, we want to thank those who have given gifts this year at any level. The students are working hard to make rolls happen this semester and your contribution will support Sweepstakes this year and for years to come. We’re excited to share our plans for Carnival soon and promise to be in touch!

Winter Greetings to BAA Members,

In case you didn’t know, we have fewer than 100 days until the 100th year of Buggy! We’re very busy getting things ready. Here’s a quick rundown of the latest happenings and work-in-progress:

New podcast series: Will Weiner, in collaboration with several community members, is launching a podcast interview series on the compelling narratives leading up to Buggy 100. We’ll post on cmubuggy.org as soon as the first episode is available!

Crowdfunding push: In collaboration with CMU Marketing and Communication, we are launching a crowdfunding initiative that you can check out here. We’ll be offering stretch goals and special incentives on top of the usual membership perks, so check back!

Bookstore merchandise: We’re finalizing the designs for Buggy100 bookstore merchandise, to be made available soon. Available items include shot glasses and t-shirts among other things. We’re hoping the bookstore is able to post these items on the website as well as make them available for pre-order and pickup on Raceday itself.

---

New teams, endowment, membership levels: If you haven’t heard, we’re switching to a new model of membership for Buggy100 in order to encourage the well-planned funding of buggy moving forward. As a part of this, we have started a Buggy Endowed Fund, which will generate regular yields that we can use to support student (and alumni) initiatives to keep buggy going strong. You can read more here: https://cmubuggy.org/news/2019/11/giving-cmu-day-and-new-membership-levels/

History of Buggy: Bryan Arsham’s blockbuster series continues this week with the 1980s. If you haven’t gotten a chance to check out this feature series, it is chock full of amazing facts and photos from Sweepstakes of years past. https://cmubuggy.org/news/2020/01/100-years-of-buggy-history-1980-1983/

---

Database update for website: We’re working on migrating our historical records to a SQL database for easier management and accessibility. If you’re interested in helping or requesting data, let us know!

Exhibition heats: On the topic of piquing your interest, we are looking for people (pusher) interested in Reunion Races to be scheduled during exhibition heats for Buggy100! Don’t miss your chance to participate on the course on the most epic Sweepstakes in history. Sign up here or by emailing us at admin@cmubuggy.org

If you’re interested in volunteering or just chatting, please feel free to email us or message on any of our social media platforms: Facebook/Twitter/Instagram or join us on our Discord chat server . We’ll be back with more news soon!

-Mike Darcy, BAA President

In connection with Buggy100, we are offering special membership options for anyone who wants to support the centennial activities or the future of Sweepstakes.  We are also proud to announce the formation of a Buggy Endowed Fund! The BAA, University Advancement, the Office of Alumni Relations, and others have worked to set up an Endowed Fund specifically to support Sweepstakes in perpetuity, administered jointly by the BAA and CMU. Yields from the Endowed Fund will be awarded by a board of BAA officers, CMU staff, and current Sweepstakes officers each year to support the continued success and growth of Sweepstakes. We’ll dig into the details of how the funds will be distributed and managed in a future post for those interested.

Without further ado, our new membership offerings!

Limo (Bronze) Membership – $10+

This is the standard membership and is unchanged from the past – You’ll receive the Raceday Preview and other BAA publications, and have access to BAA-only events!

Quantum Leap (Silver) Membership – $100+

At this level, you’ll receive everything at the Limo level, PLUS you’ll receive a limited edition Buggy100 T-Shirt!

Golden Goose (Gold) Lifetime Membership – $1,000+

At this level, you’ll receive 2 copies of everything at the Quantum Leap level, PLUS you’ll receive LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP to the BAA (Note that donations at this level will contribute to the Buggy Endowed Fund).

---

Regardless of which Membership Level you donate at, if you donate AT LEAST $50, we will list you (or your designee) in a “Special Thanks” section of cmubuggy.org and in the Raceday Preview.

---

Below is a list of current members for Raceday 2020/2021/2022, as well as the associated levels:

Please let us know if you have any questions; we can be reached by email (admin@cmubuggy.org) as well as through Facebook/Twitter/Instagram or join us on our Discord chat server!

For gifts to either the Buggy Alumni Association account or the Buggy Endowed account in excess of $100, the donor will receive a commemorative Buggy 100 t-shirt.  The fair market value of this will be $15 and thus their legal gift credit is $15 less than their total gift amount.

For gifts to either the Buggy Alumni Association account or the Buggy Endowed account in excess of $1000, the donor will receive two commemorative Buggy 100 t-shirts.  The fair market value of this will be $30 and thus their legal gift credit is $30 less than their total gift amount.