Stephen F. Austin Basketball Hero Nate Bain Reveals Plan For $150K Raised On GoFundMe
Stephen F. Austin senior forward Nate Bain is on a tidal wave of blessings he hopes never stops.
After scoring the game winning basket in a monumental upset of the Duke University Blue Devils in overtime last Tuesday (November 26), Bain saw an uptick in donations on a GoFundMe account set up to aid the rebuild of his home and church in the Bahamas that was destroyed by Hurricane Dorian.
According to TMZ, Bain’s story went viral after the upset win over Duke.
Kara Carpenter, Stephen F. Austin’s assistant athletic director for compliance, said the school had started a GoFundMe account in September to help Bain raise money for his parents’ home in a way that would not violate NCAA rules.
It had raised about $2,000 by game night and had not had a contribution in a month. But after his layup and an emotional postgame television interview, donations skyrocketed. By Friday afternoon (November 29), the total had climbed to more than $137,000 with more than 3,500 people contributing.
As of today (December 3) the total stands at more than $147,000 with just under 4,000 people donating.
Bain spoke to TMZ and said his home was insured, so the money will be used to help those in need in the Bahamas.
Because the account was set up by the school and because Bain is an NCAA athlete, there may be an issue with just handing the funds over to people in the Bahamas. Or even using the funds to rebuild the church.
According to a New York Times article:
Carpenter said the funds would be distributed to the Bains once they provide receipts for goods and services that comply with the N.C.A.A. bylaws.
It’s not clear the funds can be used to rebuild or refurbish the church where Norris (Nate Bain’s father) has served as minister. Excess funds must be donated to a charity, and it is unclear whether Tabernacle Baptist Church would be considered a charity, Carpenter said.
Regardless, Nate Bain thanked everyone who donated.
"To those people who are watching right now or you’ll see this later, just thank you so much! You have no idea how [many] folks you’re helping. How [many] families and lives you’re gonna change ... because there’s still folks back home without constant water, without shoes, without clothes that this money is going to go towards.
"You’re making an impact inside a little kid’s life, you’re changing somebody’s life for the better. Shows there’s still great people inside this world, still humane people that are still thinking about others so I just wanna say THANK YOU! My whole country thanks those who are still contributing!"
