An Innovative Card-Linked Solution

The Ascend
Collegiate
Athletics Solutions

No risk and no upfront costs to get your membership program launched. Ascend’s value-based membership products & services solution is the foundation of our unique platform for creating subscription-based recurring revenue.

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Membership products & services:

No risk and no upfront costs

Ascend’s value-based membershio products & services solution is the foundation of our unique platform for creating subscription-based recurring revenue. Ascend understands the need for our partners to develop new and recurring revenue without adding any bottom line cost to their budgets.

Ascend has 3 core value propositions for their budgets:

Build recurring revenue

Ascend is a fundraising technology company at its core and our digital membership and 5050 raffles technologies are best-in-class, but we are differentiated by our people and our knowledge of the industries we work within. We always strive to be experts in our client’s businesses so that we can fully understand their goals & objectives, thereby enabling us to become a trusted and valued partner. This model has provided us with the ability to have raised over $1.4B for our partners.

Because of our history of success in the sports market place, entering the collegiate NIL space was a natural fit. We believe our commitment to assessing our partners needs and then building and providing the necessary solutions, including people, sets us apart from our competitors and makes us uniquely positioned to help set a path for our partners in the ever-changing landscape of NIL.

Ascend platform & tech

The Ascend Membership platform integrates best in class tech to create a comprehensive offering for NIL revenue generation efforts. This includes the ability to grow & manage a membership base in the most efficient and cost effective manner. Our stack gives our partners access to tools that include email, social media management, website/landing pages & service desks.

White glove service for member acquisition & retention

The Ascend Collegiate team is an extension of the athletic departament providing the people and service levels needed to both supercharge membership growth and manage/retain members. Ascend serves as the lead agency partner for our Collective clients as a one-stop source for all their marketing and service needs including member acquisition, benefit fulfillment & level 1 support for all members.

Ascend’s strategic go to market planning, tactics & execution

The third leg of the stool is our tested playbook that includes tactics our team employs to generate long-term member growth & retention. Our team works with our partners to build out a calendar of campaigns for continued increase of revenue while continually testing tone, messaging and creative that will resonate with your fan base and the specific culture of the market.

Ascend member services team

Experience matters and Ascend brings over 50+ years of combined experience to the member services team including working in the collegiate athletics space. The Ascend team has a proven track record of growing and sustaining revenue for our partners collaboratively and consistently with our partner’s objectives.

Dan Libro

Head of collegiate athletics membership

Dan brings 10 + years experience working in collegiate sports and the product and tech space including tima at Nelligan Sports, as a founder at Circle Media and the last 6 years as the Chief Product Officer at Ascend. Dan now runs the Changelt & Collegiate Membership services division at Ascend.

David Bertram

President Ascend collegiate athletics division

David brings 26+ years of collegiate multi-media experience having represented the NCAA Corporate Marketing Program, lead NCAA Football, and launched the University of Kentucky Digital Network and Total Campus Marketing programs for JMI Sports. He has vast experiences in merchandise and media licensing, national campaign development and MMR strategy.

Rui Nunes

Vice president, marketing

Rui brings over 15+ years experience in building growth engines across the sports and software industries including stops at BetOnline and Warner Music. Rui currently oversees marketing at Ascend across all business units focused on increasing top line revenue for our partners.

Gonz Sarmiento

Head of growth marketing

Gonz has spent the past 15+ years helping early-stage technology companies scale. He has spent the last 3 years helping to grow On Deck from 0 to 300+ employees. Gonz currently overseas growth marketing for Membership Services with his focus on growing sustained revenue for partners.

Victoria Gonzalez-Milroy

Director, program MGT

Victoria brings 5+ years client service and success working with some of Ascends most iconic clients. A former student athlete, Vic is deeply passionate about making a meaningful impact via a proactive approach to keep our membership programs healthy and growing.

Get it done with Ascend