"What Does the Foundation Do?"

I am often asked about what the foundation does and how we do it.  Part of the challenge for me in answering the question is that there is a difference between what the foundation has historically achieved and what our priorities are today.  

The foundation has spent much of its history focused on providing scholarships to our sisters and legacies, and aid to sisters in need.  These are certainly worthwhile endeavors and I can say without doubt that these funds have made a difference for the recipients.  We have done this with gifts from collegiate chapters; and from generous alumnae donors, about 300 donors a year.  We have also been able to raise substantial monies through our fundraisers at Convention every other year.

At the same time, however, the sorority landscape has changed. Collegians today expect state-of-the-art resources--in programming, in housing and in the overall university experiences.  As universities have grown more sophisticated in the personal and professional development programming available, sorority programming has had to evolve as well.  Women in college today have an abundance of opportunities for involvement.  Sororities provide important, unique "leadership laboratories" that help young women network, build soft skills and gain important workforce experience.   The leaders of tomorrow will not look as they did in the past--and we need to help prepare women for these roles with a diversity of experiences.

In order to remain viable, Delta Phi Epsilon must continue to provide something of value for collegians and we must keep it affordable.  And after graduation, we want to continue to provide opportunities for alumnae sisters to come together to promote our ideals and support our philanthropies in order to grow our reputation and our sisterly bonds.  Sisterhood is a lifetime relationship, one we want to help nurture.

The foundations of other National Panhellenic Conference member groups provide hundreds of thousands of dollars to their respective sororities each year to fund educational and personal development programming, in addition to scholarships and philanthropic grants.  These organizations have provided funding for nationally known, expert speakers at conferences; online personal development programs; new member programming books that share the heritage and inspiration of alumnae sisters; "life after college" guides and resources, free to the graduating seniors; and leadership academies at their headquarters that promote womenhood and offer challenging experiences  Many sorority conventions are almost wholly subsidized by their foundations, making the cost to attend and participate in their sisterhood experience even more reasonable and exciting.  This is the kind of support that could catapult our own sisterhood forward and make it one of the best educational opportunities available for women.

Becoming a DPhiE changed my life.  I know for some that may seem like a strong statement, but it did.  It helped me become a woman, giving me a way to build important character traits and skills in a safe learning environment, such as being responsible, etiquette, financial and organizational management, ritual and public speaking.  And as an alumna, no matter where I have moved, DPhiE has been there to sustain me. 

This is part of why I have been so engaged in our foundation--I want to ensure that young women today will have the opportunities to not only take the same pledge we all have taken, but to fully engage in the experience.  DPhiE has something unique to offer--we have always been progressive and our founders' story of perseverance is a strong compass to follow. Our founders felt empowered through their support of one another, and our women today need that example and deserve it.

It will take work and faith, but the foundation is focused on building funding in several key areas so that the sorority and our sisters will THRIVE.  Look for more information in the coming months.  But please know, this is your foundation. We want to hear from you.  If money were not an object--what would you want to do for your sisters or women?  What difference could your philanthropy make that would be most meaningful to you?  Join us--let me know what will make you feel good about giving to DPhiE.  Together, we'll ensure an even brighter future for our sisters.

Yours In True Sisterhood~

Heather Locke Green
President

Veterans' Day

It is Veterans' Day.  We honor those who have served and their families for the sacrifices made.  Yours is a gift that can possibly never be repaid--but thank you is a start.

Do you have a special veteran in your life? 

Cystic Fibrosis News

There is great news for people with cystic fibrosis-- a breakthrough drug!

"A new oral medication could significantly improve the quality of life for a portion of people with cystic fibrosis and pave the way for the development of additional drugs that will help others who have the disease, according to a study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine."

To read the full story, visit Cleveland.com: http://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2011/11/breakthrough_drug_announced_fo.html

Relationship Between the Sorority and the Foundation

The United States Internal Revenue Service.  Many might argue that no fun and interesting blog post should ever start with those words, let alone be about the tax code.  The IRS is an organization known for enforcing stringent rules and laws with complicated filings and forms, that sometimes inspire feelings of  dread and cause anxiety.  But take heart because the IRS has done something special--they created a tax code that encourages and rewards people for giving to help address social needs. The IRS oversees the regulations that make charitable giving tax advantageous for millions of Americans, and, alas, it is these rules and laws that helped inspire the establishment of the Delta Phi Epsilon Educational Foundation.

As a 501(c)(7) organization, the Delta Phi Epsilon Sorority is classified as an exempt membership (social and recreational club) organization and, as such, gifts to the sorority and its chapters directly are not tax deductible according to the tax code.  The sorority is limited in the kinds and amounts of income that it can bring in while still maintaining a tax exempt status.  501(c)(3) charitable organization, as defined in the tax code, however, can collect funds for charitable and educational purposes, and it was with these intentions that  the Delta Phi Epsilon Educational Foundation was established.

[Did you follow all of that?  Why isn't there a Schoolhouse Rock segment to cover this??]

For many years, the sorority and foundation existed together but infrequently were jointly strategic.  The foundation was squarely focused on providing scholarships to individuals and emergency aid to sisters.  At the same time, the sorority's programming was maturing and more extensive learning opportunities developed to keep pace with the needs of our membership, with those costs almost exclusively passed on to collegiate chapters.

Today, the relationship between the organizations has evolved.  Delta Phi Epsilon Sorority requires support from a recognized charitable organization to conduct fundraising for educational programming and philanthropic giving, and to provide scholarship assistance to members and legacies.  And since the Delta Phi Epsilon Educational Foundation was originally founded to provide such support, we have renewed our commitment to ensuring we can help provide the educational programming and philanthropic outlets for sorority women that our members require.

In truth, we do have to remain legally separate and at "arms length," but that should not keep us from understanding each organization's needs and how we can serve our common constituencies.  We delineate our roles simply: the sorority is in the business of member recruitment and chapter management, whereas the Educational Foundation is focused on fundraising for all sorority education and service opportunities.  The foundation's self-sustaining board allocates a fee to the sorority in exchange for day-to-day operations management by sorority staff, keeping our costs low.

The best way the foundation can serve our sorority and sisters is to fulfill the purpose designed by the IRS-- to provide resources for scholarships and other educational and philanthropic programming, such as Convention, New Member Programming and contributions to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and ANAD.  In future posts, we will share more information about funding philosophy and what we would like to be able to fund with alumnae and collegian contributions.  For now, please know that we have an extraordinary opportunity to do some amazing things for our sisterhood  and to ensure the viability of DPhiE in the future sorority landscape ... but we can only do it with gifts from you and our sisters.

Friday Fun: Be Inspired

"I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver"  ~Maya Angelou

Help!

We want this blog to be interesting and educational for you and all our sisters.  So here is your opportunity to tell the foundation what questions your have or what content you'd like to see here.

Do you want to read about the Delta Phi Epsilon Scholarship recipients?  Are you interested in learning about giving opportunities?  Do you need tips on gift planning?  Do you just want to be inspired to give?  Tell us!

We also want your feedback.  What can we do better?  What difference do you want to make for your sisters?  Of course, we want to keep it constructive--but all feedback will help us shape our communications and programs for our sisterhood.

So have at it--use the comments section below to share your questions... or send us an email.

Infinity Delta

Have you seen the beautiful Infinity Delta necklace that the foundation is promoting?  $20 from every necklace sold goes to the Educational Foundation.  You can order one today by visiting the g.Lorin Jewelry website.

The genesis of the piece is an interesting story.  Gina Ussel, the designer and owner of g.Lorin, donated an Infinity Heart necklace for the last foundation auction at the 2010 Convention.  A sorority woman herself, Gina was inspired by Delta Phi Epsilon's symbols, including the Delta triangle shape, and she began designing a prototype.  A picture was posted on Facebook, and the response was great--many were impressed with the simplicity of the timeless design.  We solidified our partnership to bring the necklace to our sisters.

As a freelance designer, Gina has put her own money and time toward developing this project, and we are grateful for her vision and support.  We hope our sisters are inspired to buy this beautiful custom piece that represents never-ending DPhiE sisterhood.

Meet the Board

The Delta Phi Epsilon Educational Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, and as such, we have a volunteer Board of Directors who help manage and oversee the foundation's operations.  We are a self-sustaining board, meaning that the board is responsible for recruiting and electing members to serve as directors.  All directors are sisters of Delta Phi Epsilon who serve two-year terms.  We work with the sorority's IHQ staff, led by Executive Director Nicole DeFeo, to solicit donations, select grant recipients and promote philanthropy.

The 2011-2013 Board of Directors and their chapter affiliations are:

President: Heather Locke Green, Beta Chi Chapter at St. Norbert College
Vice President: Kristen P. Lee, Alpha Epsilon Chapter at Kennesaw State University
Secretary: Nancy Hart-Esposito, Phi Tau Chapter at Rutgers University-Camden
Treasurer: Nicole Tuccillo-Wachs, Alpha Kappa Chapter at Fairleigh Dickinson University
Director: Gabriela Alvarez, Alpha Gamma Chapter at Florida International University
Director: Allyson VanVeelen Vitato, Beta Phi Chapter at Central Michigan University

Through this blog, we will share with you more about the people who are volunteering with or benefiting from the work of the foundation.  We hope you enjoy getting to know YOUR sorority foundation.

Welcome!

Hello my dear sisters and friends:

This is the first blog posting of the new Sisters Always blog, a place where we will share news and answer your questions about the Delta Phi Epsilon Educational Foundation.  One of the common comments I hear about the foundation is a need to communicate more about what the foundation does and how gifts to the foundation are used to benefit our sisters.  This blog is one of the ways we plan to connect with you and - hopefully - inspire your engagement and investment with the foundation.

We will share stories about how your gifts impact our sisters and dialogue about opportunities for you to get involved.  Questions will be answered and we'll hear from guest bloggers.  And we will celebrate our sisterhood!

We are "sisters always," and I am excited for the foundation to connect with you in this way.  (I am also available via email or you can find me on Facebook.)  I look forward to seeing what we will accomplish for our sisters together.

Yours in True Sisterhood,
Heather Locke Green
President