Fundraising Update

The projects underway at the chapter house come with a price tag. For those of you who are not familiar with the construction industry, you may find it surprising that the cost to dig a hole in the front yard for a pipe is $17,000. Or the cost to have a sprinkler system installed is about $16,000. And then you have things like upgraded electrical services which allows our facility to be conducive with safety codes, costing over $13,000.

These are just handful of the many projects that need to be completed by the start of the fall 2010 semester. The total price tag to complete all projects on schedule will come at a hefty $150,000 price tag. Rest assured - the Oak Society, Kappa Omega’s housing corporation, has been working aggressively to keep costs as low as possible. The mini workdays in June and July saved the chapter thousands of dollars in labor costs. Furthermore, the chapter is fortunate to have alumni who are connected to individuals working in construction vocations that benefit the projects we are trying to complete on time and within a budget.

The housing corporation began an aggressive fundraising campaign in March seeking to raise $36,000 in capital over the next year. Not only will these funds will be used to offset the cost of life safety projects already in progress, it will allow the chapter to further improve the living conditions in the house. Items such as kitchen appliances, exterior cosmetic improvements, additional common area space and luxury furnishings are NOT covered by loans that the Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity is providing to the Oak Society to fund current projects.

I am happy to report that at this time the Oak Society has raised $10,238.66. We are almost a third of the way to our goal thanks to generous alumni who’ve laid a solid foundation for our fundraising efforts and set the course for the remainder of this campaign.

If you’re anything like me, you don’t have a thousand dollars lying around waiting to be mailed to the Oak Society. That’s ok, because even a little bit of money can help us achieve our goal. The men of Kappa Omega have over 400 alumnus members. Imagine how much money we could raise if just a 100 of these alumni each donated $100 a piece? Although I may suck at math, I know 100 times 100 equals $10,000.

Ten thousand dollars would bump our overall fundraising efforts to over $20,000. Do you think we can do it? I think we can. In fact, I am so confident that we will get 100 alumni to donate $100; a few members of the Oak Society Board of Directors have volunteered to put our money where our mouth is. This weekend I will be posting a video of these individuals each making a $100 donation to the capital campaign.

Hopefully – 98 more of you will follow.