Our Alumni rallied in four different efforts to assist our Chapter this Spring: Brothers from five decades increased the Chapter's Scholarship Leadership Endowment Fund during the SAJ Weekend by $17,930, Alumni raised $25,000 to create a $1000 Scholarship in Cliff Browne's name and are starting a second scholarship in Brian McDowell's name; Brother Broome stepped up to provide a new screen, shades and professional installation for the Chapter Meeting room and Alumni raise money through contests to purchase 24 additional chairs to accommodate a chapter that has grown to 115 members!!
Theta-Upsilon Alumni respond in impressive fashion for the second year as the Fraternity breaks all expectations SAJ Weekend of Giving
The Kappa Sigma Fraternity's biggest annual fundraiser the Stephen Alonzo Jackson Weekend of Giving kicked off Friday March 1, 2024 and when it ended at midnight it had broken not on previous record but all expectations raising $1,279,710 from 18,414 gifts! The former record from the previous year was $793,876.
Like last year, several of the KSTUAA Board Members have issued challenge Matches to get the ball rolling.
- Brother Wes Bren IC '85 will donate $500 when we see Five First-Time Donors this year. (Completed. We have had over 15 first-time donors)
- Brother Jim Lewis IC '74 will match every donation from fellow 1970s Theta-Upsilon Alumni up to $1000 (Completed.)
- Brother Chris Elder IC '85 will match every donation from fellow 1980s Theta-Upsilon Alumni up to $1000 (Met. Alumni from the 1980s have donated over $7600 in this campaign!!!)
- Brother Wes Bren IC '85 will donate $500 when we see Five Theta-Upsilon Alumni initiated from 1996 to 2015 make donations this year (Completed. We had exactly Five Alumni from 99,00, 03 & 08 step up with over $500 in donations)
- Brother Jim Lewis IC '74 will match every donation made by Theta-Upsilon Hall of Fame inductees up to $1000 (Completed. Hall of Fame Members contributed over $3,150 in donations)
By the end of the weekend, Theta-Upsilon Alumni, undergraduates and friends had made 202 donations and the 19th highest total in North America of $17, 929.75. While on the SAJ weekend scoreboard Theta-Upsilon was only in 19th place and second in Ohio behind Theta-Omicron, Theta-Omicron Chapter who raise $25,544.18, if you included the money raised at the same time for Cliff's Scholarship, Theta-Upsilon would be in 7th place with $39,504.75 raised.
The real benefit is that through this generosity the Alumni donated enough to raise the annual total scholarships awarded each year to six $500+ and one $1000 scholarship (Cliff Browne II)!
During SAJ Weekend of Giving, One hundred precent of each donation can be directed to our Chapter. Follow this link for the Theta-Upsilon page: https://donate.sajgiving.com/amb/SAJ2024MiamiOh
100% of the Theta-Upsilon undergraduate members and pledges contributed $10.34 or more.
Brothers Rally to create a new $1000 Annual Scholarship in honor of Cliff Browne II to begin this Fall!
A week before Stephen Alonzo Jackson Weekend of Giving, Brothers primarily from the initiation years of 1989-1994 started donating to a new Kappa Sigma Endowment Fund account that will provide a $1000 annual Scholarship to a Theta-Upsilon member. The Award is activated once $25,000 has been donated to the account. Thanks to a matching gift of $5000 and the generosity of two dozen brothers the account exceeds reached $21,575 by March 6.
Brother Chris Ferritto will use funds from the original GoFundMe account created shortly after Brother Cliff Browne IC '91 joined the Chapter Celestial to cover the remainder and activate the Scholarship for THIS Fall.
With the Cliffe Browne II Named Scholarship fully funded Brother Ferritto will use the remaining funds from the Go Fund Me account to start a second Named Scholarship in the name of Brian McDowell IC '91 who joined the Celestial a a year after Cliff.
To donate to the Cliff Browne II Scholarship click here. All donations are tax deductible.
Brother Broome's Generosity Helps the Chapter
Last spring, the Oxford Fire Department took issue with the wood panels the Chapter had used for 44 years to create privacy during meetings. They threatened to fine the chapter $500 per window if spotted and cited building codes about items attached to "walls." Rather than waste time and money fighting it in court we turned to a Subject Matter expert... our own Chris Broome IC '89 who is president of the Draper Company who in fact manufactures window coverings and blinds and screens for companies and institutions including Miami University. Brother Broome's generosity led to the donation of new fire-rated blinds for the windows and doors and the services to professionally measure and install them! He also provided a projection screen to fit the space that the Chapter is now taking advantage of with Chairmen inserting slides and photos into their reports. Attendance and focus has never been higher according to the Grand Master!
Brothers Rally to Purchase an additional 24 meeting chairs to accommodate the growth in the Chapter
KSTUAA Chapter Advisory Council has been asking alumni to donate to KSTUAA cover the costs of 26 new chairs as the Chapter grows from the current 80 members to 117! The total bill is $3,872.27. The chairs are designed for durability. KSTUAA Approved using the proceeds from the Super Bowl Squares and the Cossa Challenge to fund this project. To date KSTUAA has received $3,185. The Cossa Challenge and other donations need to cover teh remaining $687.27
