Our new house at the prestigious 975 S. Milledge location is truly a marvel. It is the first Gold LEED-Certified fraternity house in the U.S., and the first fraternity house to be on the Classic City Tour of Homes. LEEDS certification stands for Leadership in Energy, Environment, and Design, and our house is completely energy-efficient and virtually indestructible. We also shut down the house for two weeks during the year for maintenance and repairs to maintain its pristine condition.
While we have secured pledges of approximately $3 million and actually received funds of about $2.5 million, it is critically important that we reduce our debt load which is significant. We must complete our repayment of approximately half of our debt load this year and cannot extend one of our two loans.
The boys have done their part in keeping the house in good shape, maintaining above-average grades and a good relationship with the neighborhood. The latter is no small task, as it took us years to overcome neighborhood opposition and go through the red tape to secure the necessary zoning and build the magnificent new home. We, as alums, must do our part to complete the necessary funding to pay off this loan, as the active chapter has done its part to make us proud.
As an additional incentive for this year, in order to complete the payoff of one of our two loans, the threshold amount of pledge necessary for tax deductibility has been lowered from $50,000 to $10,000 for all monies received by the end of June 2014. Thereafter, it will go back up to the $50,000 threshold. The limits on tax deductibility are caused by the fact that only a portion of the contributions to the new house are tax deductible under IRS rules. This is also a particularly good year to donate appreciated securities to Chi Phi, due to the rising stock market and the avoidance of taxation on any capital gains associated with the securities.
To the left is a link to our growing donor list and statistics for the campaign. You can tell our initial outreach efforts have been extraordinary, and alumni continue to come forward to support this project.
Today, you too, can add your name to this list of loyal supporters by making a pledge of support . It is vital that we work together to retire the debt for our new house. Click the “Support This Campaign” link to the left and make your pledge today.
Recruitment season is underway for Chi Phi Eta, and we would greatly appreciate recommendations from our outstanding alumni. If you have a candidate you would like to recommend, please contact Jim Wimberly at jww@wimlaw.com with the following details:
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