December 2024 Fundraising Update
On October 21, 2023, the alumni board, fellow alumni, and the active
chapter executive board gathered in the chapter room at 706 W Ohio St in
Urbana, IL for our annual Homecoming meeting to discuss the state of
Alpha Chapter. During the active chapter report, members of the executive
board highlighted that morale in the house was on the rise. Member
involvement was increasing, and the active chapter was setting its sights on increasing recruitment
numbers, improving academic performance, and continuing philanthropic success. In contrast, the
alumni chapter reported an opposite trajectory—namely, dwindling financials. Low active
membership in the house—resulting in missed rent payments to the alumni chapter—compounded
with increased property taxes and operating expenses projected a future where, unless something
changed, Alpha Chapter would struggle to continue to exist as it does today.
And so, in November 2023, the alumni board expeditiously called a virtual meeting to discuss a
major concern: the possibility of having to sell the house. The turnout at the meeting was going to
be somewhat unpredictable. Would only a handful of people show up? A dozen people? It was
around the time of the holidays, after all. As it turned out, over 40 brothers joined the call that
night. This left an impression: Our alumni—despite leaving campus years ago—still care about
Beta Sigma Psi at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
While the meeting, itself, was made up of good questions, dialogue, and discussions, arguably
some of the most important conversations didn’t occur over Zoom that evening... but, rather,
played out in the months that followed, as brothers called brothers to bring awareness to the situation, brainstorm what could be done to turn things around, and build some strength in
numbers.
Since that meeting, over the past year, the number of brothers who reached out and offered support
has been remarkable. There are too many positive notes and messages and actions to highlight and
capture in a small article like this. But we do want to feature one significant achievement which,
thankfully, is helping us deal with the primary subject which painted a gloomy picture this time
last year: financials.
Following the November 2023 alumni Zoom meeting, alumni
recognized some urgency to buy Alpha Chapter some time. Some
initial donations were made by alumni. While they were certainly
helpful and a step in the right direction, some recognized we
needed more and believed we could go bigger. Starting with
brother Steve Geske’s “Three Zeroes Campaign”, a $10,000
matching program was launched. Then, two other alumni—Alan
Schramm and Bob Mulch—stepped up and offered similar
incentives: a $10,000 and $5,000 match, respectively. Chris
Nack also picked up the cost of the upstairs bathroom renovation,
and Andrew Elders, Dave Wu, and the actives brought it to life.
Other significant donations were made. Overall, the goal was to
raise $50,000 by Homecoming... and that goal was met! With
the help of our alumni, from the time the “Three Zeroes
Campaign” was announced up until today, a total of $65,361 has been raised!
This article does not do justice to extend enough gratitude to all those who contributed to the
financial campaign this year. Nor does it recognize all who contributed in other ways, such as
donating time and energy to volunteer. All in all, put simply, we are very blessed to have alumni
who willingly donate time and money to help our fraternity continue its mission of developing
young men in college and life thereafter. We, on the board, greatly appreciate each of you and the
positive contributions you made to strengthen our fraternity this year.
There is still much work to be done at Alpha Chapter, and
we certainly are not out of the woods yet. But this year has
been a significant step in the right direction, and we will be
looking to build upon this momentum next year—which just
so happens to be a special year... our centennial year!
Fraternally,
Dan Ross
Spring ‘91
Alumni Board President
