The athletics department was surprised earlier this month by the largest donation from a university staff member in the history of Northeastern when Jack Grinold, longtime associate director of sports information, donated $1 million to the program.
Grinold, who has been Northeastern's sports information director for the last 46 years and the associate athletics director for the last 20, said his main goal in making the donation was to help the general fluidity of operations of the athletics department.
"[The donation was made] just to make life easier on everyone in the future: the athletes, the coaches, the administrators, everyone that participates in Northeastern athletics," Grinold said.
Grinold's donation comes as the athletics department launches a fundraising campaign for athletics at Northeastern. He said he decided to donate some time ago and the time became convenient, as it coincided with the beginning of the campaign.
"As it got closer and closer to this point, and we are trying to generate a general athletic campaign, it seemed the proper moment to donate. We'd like the campaign to of course be successful," Grinold said.
The donation comes in the form of a charitable gift annuity, which, according to the American Council of Gift Annuities website, is "a contract (not a trust), under which a charity, in return for a transfer of cash, marketable securities or other assets, agrees to pay a fixed amount of money (payment) to one or two individuals, for their lifetime, not a term of years."
This means Grinold will be able to annually receive some percentage of his donation in the form of a payment for the remainder of his life. The way in which charitable gift annuities work - to provide a small, fixed return for those making the donation - often allows these types of large charitable contributions.
Grinold's work at Northeastern has been recognized and honored throughout the years. For the school's 100th anniversary in 1998, he was named one of the top 100 individuals responsible for the growth of the university. He's been elected to both the Sports Information Directors Association Hall of Fame and the New England Basketball Hall of Fame. In 1985, he also became a member of Northeastern's own hall of fame.
He has also expanded his work and taken on varying challenges during his career. Grinold served as the chairman of the New England Collegiate Writers Association for the last 38 years and, for about 20 years, as the executive director of the Eastern Massachusetts chapter of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame, which has since been renamed the Jack Grinold chapter. He also puts considerable work into the Beanpot each year and has helped in developing the Beanpot Hall of Fame.
His passion for Husky athletics is impressive as well, as he hasn't missed a NU football game since Sept. 22, 1962, a span which includes 460 games.
Grinold insists he's just interested in seeing the continued improvement of the athletics program at Northeastern.
"No, I don't need the attention," he said.
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