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| Questions and Answers about Fundraising and Renovations |
| May/18/2007 4:12 PM |
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It’s been a while since you’ve seen a newsletter from us. For the past year, many of us have been hard at work meeting with contractors and breaking down the costs of the Fuller Audit and we wanted to wait until important decisions were made regarding the future direction of Alpha Theta before contacting you again.
You’ll remember from previous newsletters that the College-mandated repairs under the Fuller audit had an original cost estimate of nearly a million dollars. It was thought we could do the repairs for less, but it was unsure what the real number would be or if it would be at all financially viable for the house to undertake the repairs itself. (Past estimates from newsletters you may have read cited such numbers as “between $750,000, and $900,000” or at least “well over $500,000”, still daunting to say the least.)
Ultimately, it was felt we couldn’t make an informed decision on the future of the house without knowing all the facts, so last year we embarked on a project to actually cost everything out, consulting with the College administration, soliciting bids and working with contractors.
Similarly, our previous bid to “test the waters” with fundraising a couple of years ago did manage to raise $30,000, but letters did not go out to all alumni and there was little follow-up. (Thanks to all of you who contributed money during this effort!) This time, select groups of alumni were contacted in person or by phone and asked to consider what they might be able to give over a multi-year effort -- and thanks to all of you who pledged money when asked!
We’re pleased to report that the numbers ended up being far more manageable than were first feared. It looks at present that the mandatory repairs will at present cost under $350,000. Many of the renovations that originally seemed somewhat foolish to us are now no longer being required by the College, and various solutions have been found for other problems. (Our open stairway, for example, will now no longer need to be walled-in, but can be protected by a “water curtain” system.) Our efforts at fundraising, too, proved similarly encouraging. The experience and advice of other fraternities who have already undertaken their repairs, and managed to do it within roughly the same price range, such as AD and Chi Gam (formerly Kappa Sig) offer further evidence that this plan is viable.
As you can see from James’s letter, we have decided to move forward in the direction of undertaking the repairs ourselves. The alumni corporation has voted unanimously to keep the house in private hands.
We’re sure there are many questions about this, so we wanted to take some space to try to answer some of the concerns you might have.
Is the Fuller Audit part of a long-term plan on the part of the administration to minimize or eliminate the fraternity system?
In a word, no. When the Student Life Initiative (SLI) report, out of which the Fuller Audit ultimately emerged, came out a few years back, there were many concerns about the long-term view of the administration towards the system.. That is now by and large past us, whether or not you want to attribute the motives to the College’s being in capital campaign.
The current attitude of the administration is positive, as evidenced by the recent repeal on the “freeze” on the number of single-sex organizations on campus -- perhaps paving the way for new sororities -- and a package of material from the College at Alumni Council that included a glossy four-color brochure trumpeting the glories of the “Greek system”. The College has put considerable work into its new and renovated dormitory buildings, and it could be said that the desire here is to have the fraternity system try to match that level of renovation -- especially in terms of “life safety” improvements. It further goes without saying that unrenovated housing becomes, over time, less attractive for undergraduates to live in.
The fact that the College has offered us an attractive ten-year low-interest loan to do our repairs ourselves is further evidence of their willingness to help. Their loan program was directly authorized by the Board of Trustees.
Why not sell the house to the college and have them do the repairs?
There are a number of reasons, beyond the gut feeling that the house is better remaining in private hands. While the attitude of the current administration is favorable, there is no telling what future administrations may bring, and any leaseback arrangement with the College would allow the College to terminate the lease with 30 days’ advance notice.
A number of things that influenced the board were purely financial. If the College owned the house, all rents would go up to the College average for dormitory rooms, resulting in increased costs for our undergraduates, while if we keep the house in private hands, while some increases may be necessary, we will be able to maintain rent below the College average. Additionally, the College would obviously keep all the rent money, which would mean that all funding for all house activity would have to come from dues. The most important element in this is that our liability insurance, essential for any fraternity on campus, which is currently paid for out of room rents, would now become the responsibility of the undergraduates. This would mean significant increases in dues, making the house less affordable to students, and frankly, mean no “rides” or scholarships for members of limited means, something that has become a significant part of our undergraduate program in recent years.
What kinds of repairs does the house need to make?
As James noted, the most expensive items involve fire safety and handicapped access. Plans include a new fire escape, a new fire alarm system, new fire exit lighting, a new “water curtain” system on our stairway, a handicapped bathroom on the first floor, and handicapped access to the basement. In addition, the electrical system will be revamped and all the bathrooms will be renovated. Many general improvements and cosmetic repairs will be undertaken as well, with new carpet, ceilings, etc. -- older alumni should be pleased to hear that the former basement “chapter room”, now the Pong room, will finally be cleaned and refinished. The original list of repairs from the College runs 94 pages, so there is not space to list them all here. For the past few years, the Corporation has held off putting any major money into the house until a decision was made on the Fuller audit, so now is finally the time to move forward and start putting in some long-needed improvements!
How exactly will this all work, and how much money do you need to raise?
Thanks to those who have already given money, the undergraduates patiently skimping on their expenses the past few years to accumulate $95,000 in a reserve fund, the ten-year loan from the college as part of the program authorized by the Trustees, and the fact that our room rates are required to stay at least close to the cost of a comparable dorm room (which rises above the rate of inflation) we would need to raise approximately an additional $150,000 over a ten-year period to be totally free of debt at the end of that time.
Our hope is to raise $200,000. We have already raised over $45,000 in pledges from the small proportion of people we have been in contact with this year, so we think this is possible. The corporation will initially be asking for three-year commitments (recent graduates have been offering $100 a year), with money given on an annual basis over that time, and then we will see where we are at the end of that time.
A mailing will be going out to all alumni this fall, and you should not be surprised if you receive a phone call. Beyond writing a check, there will be options to pay by credit card and on-line, as well as something that is becoming more popular with younger graduates, PayPal deductions.
Are donations tax-deductible?
Sadly, no, Donations to fraternities have never been tax-deductible because of the type of non-profit corporation we are, and this has been held up in court a number of times. Bills are introduced in Congress every year to change the law but as of yet they have not passed.
For anyone who might be interested in giving a larger amount if only it was tax-deductible, we are working on a solution. We are considering setting up a separate non-profit educational foundation, donations to which will be tax deductible (Sigma Nu is doing the same). While we will still need to raise the bulk of our money in the conventional manner, this will allow people whose donations must be tax-deductible to give towards educational purposes, This include scholarships for undergraduate members, computer equipment for our study area, new furnishings for the library, and so forth. We’ll be sure to let you know more about this situation as it develops.
What if we don’t make our fundraising goals? Will we have to sell the house to the College anyway?
No. The current plan will eliminate all outstanding debt and mortgages within ten years, and hopefully allow us a debt-free base to plan for the future. If we fall short, the College will allow us to finance any remaining debt into a new mortgage. This is not desirable -- outstanding mortgages over the decades have always been something we have carried with us that have prevented the house from truly being where we would want it to be -- but it is something we could live with in a worst-case scenario.
I’d like to know more. Where can I find plans, a full list of repairs, and some hard numbers on how the finances will work?
The amount of paperwork on this is formidable -- it took five hours just to go over the plan in the last Alumni Corporation meeting -- but we want to make the details available to all alumni who are interested. If you want to know more, please just drop me a line. I’ll be glad to answer any questions and e-mail you the information.
Chris Robinson '86 |
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| Alpha Theta House Corporation Decides to Retain Ownership of Alpha Theta |
| May/17/2007 4:00 PM |
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The recent corporation meeting was perhaps the most important one in the last 25 years in terms of determining the future direction of Alpha Theta. The Fuller Audit is a daunting 88 point college mandated document that has to be complied with over the next few years. It is very detailed and expensive. The most expensive items involve fire safety and handicapped access. Our options were to take out a loan, raise rents and attack this ourselves or to sell the house to the college. As we debated this, we always tried to frame the discussions from the point of view of “what is best for the undergraduates, now and moving forward”.
With this in mind, we have decided to take this on ourselves. It is something the undergraduates favored strongly (see enclosed undergraduate resolution). They realize this comes with some sacrifice and obligation on their part, both now and moving forward. That sacrifice will take the form of increased rents, “sweat equity” (the projects they can take on themselves like painting etc) and intensified fundraising efforts. We also will be taking a substantial loan from the College at a very favorable interest rate to help finance the project.
Thanks to the efforts of corporation members of Chris Robinson ’86 and Beth Krakower ’93, we have seen that going down this path is viable. Chris and Beth took on the arduous task of breaking down the document point by point. They got estimates from various contractors and walked through our proposed attack plan, point by point with the administration. Everyone owes Chris and Beth a debt of gratitude for their dedication. Please read Chris/Beth’s note later in this newsletter which will include a means of looking at all the numbers in detail, which we hope you will do.
One of the biggest keys to this plan is to do a better job of fund raising than we have in the past. We have never had something like this to frame our efforts and our hope is this will galvanize everyone (corporation, undergrads and everyone getting this letter) involved. As a board, we are committed to working harder and smarter at this, as are the undergraduates. “Turning out the vote”, if you will, will be paramount. We hope to increase our participation and get 3 year commitments from as many alums as possible. That sustained participation, at whatever level is comfortable for each person, will get us where we want to go. Many of us have been moved to action as we recalled the valuable lessons that our “self governance” taught us during our undergraduate years. We hope you feel the same way and will embrace the cause.
Sincerely,
James Evans ‘85
Corporation President
P.S. At the beginning of the most recent corporation meeting Bruce McAllister ’54, our treasurer, rock and backbone, announced he was going to retire from his position by the next meeting. However, Bruce was moved enough by the outcome and the attendant fundraising efforts, that he has decided to stay on for a little while longer to keep us moving in the right direction. We hope you are equally inspired! |
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| Robert Butts '06 is Dartmouth Valedictorian! |
| June/11/2006 3:54 PM |
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| Alpha Theta has yet again produced a valedictorian, Robert Butts '06. Click here for more details. Congratulations, Rob! |
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| Savina Rizova '04 is Dartmouth Valedictorian! |
| June/21/2004 10:48 PM |
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| This year's Dartmouth Valedictorian (announced after the spring newsletter went to press) is Alpha Theta sibling Savina Rizova '04! Congratulations, Savina!
For more details, click here. |
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