Case Statement

Ensuring Brotherhood for Generations

A Case Statement for Beta's Capital Campaign

The Beta Chapter of Chi Phi and The Beta Foundation have recently embarked on a once-in-our-lifetime capital campaign. The support pledged already by Brothers, as well as the generosity from our remaining Brothers going forward, will ensure Brotherhood for future generations, strengthening Beta's ability to thrive at MIT in its cherished home at 32 Hereford Street.

The Context:

When the Beta Chapter of Chi Phi was chartered in 1890, the founding Brothers, having unprecedented foresight, did something remarkable. Rather than simply creating a fraternity that would nurture pledged Brothers through their years at MIT, they also created the Beta Corporation, a vehicle for alumni to steward their Chapter through financial management, intergenerational mentorship, and enduring Brotherhood.

The Beta Corporation ultimately became The Beta Foundation, the current steering group. As the Chapter moved through several locations through its history, it was undeniably the support of alumni that allowed Beta to evolve. Alumni saved the house from foreclosure after the Depression. Later, alumni participation made it possible for the Chapter to seize a unique opportunity to move from 22 The Fenway to its current home, the historic John F. Andrew House designed by McKim, Mead, and White, which The Beta Foundation has owned since 1950. Since that time, The Beta Foundation has made it a mission to provide the actives of the Chapter with a safe and comfortable place to live.

"The House" is merely one symbol of our Brotherhood, but it is a powerful one. Living together, facing the daily challenges of growing into manhood while studying at MIT -- with the support and camaraderie of our Brothers and friends -- is for many of us our enduring memory of Chi Phi. Our Chapter House at 32 Hereford Street in Boston's Back Bay has been called, by the country's foremost expert on architecture by that firm, the best-preserved city house by McKim, Mead, and White. It may seem ironic to some that a fraternity would be the best caretaker of an architectural treasure, but to Brothers it is no surprise. The dedication of actives and alumni working together have saved the house time and again from age, disrepair, and the continuing pressures for redevelopment into condominiums that makes some interests eager to see Beta vacate.

The BF Board has done a particularly extraordinary job of keeping up with the constant maintenance demands of a historic structure while ensuring that Beta has both kept up its standards and remained competitive with MIT campus housing. Specific projects over the last several years have included the full replacement of the roof, the remodeling of the kitchen, improved heating efficiency, and the installation of a sprinkler system and high-speed internet lines, among other things, all without marring the historic interior or exterior of the house.

However, The Beta Foundation's mission is not limited to the physical condition of the house. Thriving at MIT, both as individuals and as a chapter, requires more than just a place to live. The Beta Foundation has worked with actives to develop formal peer tutoring programs within the house, to enlarge scholarship awards that encourage high academic achievement and chapter spirit, to subsidize participation in Chi Phi National's College of Excellence Program, and to create an in-house Resident Advisor position. Judging by the ability to rush new members successfully and to retain them through graduation, Chi Phi is one of the top fraternities at MIT, a place where young men learn self-governance and responsibility along with their academic subjects.

At the chapter level, constant alumni participation has allowed Beta to succeed despite changing policies and attitudes within MIT's administration that have created significant challenges for the fraternity system. For a number of years, the Institute had subsidized expenses for students living in dormitories, forcing fraternities to adopt various strategies to remain financially competitive. At the same time, MIT (as well as a number of the national headquarters) applied very stringent behavioral standards to fraternities, threatening to close them for minor rule violations that were resolved differently in dorms.

Most recently, the Institute built modern dormitories to house all freshmen men and women and required them to live in campus housing -- in effect, reducing the occupancy rate in fraternities by anywhere from 25 to 30%. Following a nationwide trend, MIT is expanding their investment in "learning communities" by using school resources to create curricular and programmatic opportunities explicitly earmarked for students who live in dorms.

To be fair, in the case of each of these policies, MIT has acted on behalf of national trends and perceived student needs, and has attempted to make resources available for fraternities to rise to these challenges. Even so, only the extraordinary and steady support of The Beta Foundation and Beta alumni has allowed our Chapter to survive and thrive. Indeed, Chi Phi now sets a flagship example of Alumni participation, and is the fraternity at MIT that best exemplifies how alumni can help chapters adapt and grow and continue to excel. Even our annual Initiation Banquet has been recognized as a unique and powerful institution, a way to foster intergenerational friendships that further strengthen the bonds of brotherhood.

The Campaign:

The Beta Foundation has done an excellent job as stewards of our trust. They have managed necessary repairs and upgrades to the house, kept the Chapter on sound financial footing, and, in collaboration with the actives, developed programs within the house to help individuals succeed and make sure the Chapter remains strong.

With that core of necessary work completed, The Beta Foundation Board feels it is the right time to pursue moving forward with a capital campaign. Remaining repair and upgrade projects include replacing windows, replacing deteriorated leather wall coverings in the Oval room, repointing the exterior brickwork, and insuring electrical and plumbing systems meet the demands of the future. Several sponsored and donor-recognized projects honoring the historical character of the Chapter House, such as restoring the painting on the ceiling of the Gold Room, an original mural by the noted painter Thomas Dewing, are available.

Likewise, the fact that the finances are sound gives us a strong foundation from which to continue building for the future. Building an endowment for future unrestricted use would allow Chi Phi to continue to position itself as a leader among fraternities at MIT, with the financial capacity to meet any future challenges and opportunities head-on.

Finally, The Beta Foundation envisions even greater cooperation and collaboration between actives and alumni in developing a multitude of innovative student learning and leadership programs. Such programs would be dedicated to giving bright and motivated actives guidance and support that would help them to succeed, both as MIT students and after graduation. For example, one program currently under development will provide summer rent grants for actives with MIT UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program) positions, encouraging them to stay in Boston at the Chapter House and pursue career-related work. Other potential alumni-initiated projects include a formal internship network, entrepreneur-assistance programs, and study/research abroad grants. Beta's programs would serve as a counterbalance to the many dorm-based programs being developed by university student-life divisions, demonstrating that fraternities can provide equal -- or greater -- advantages and opportunities to students.

What we propose is a once-in-our-lifetime capital campaign, gathering critical mass by asking Brothers to consider financial contributions at a sacrificial level (pledged over as many as five years), for Beta's future. The last comparable campaign was in 1936, when an alumni campaign committee and houseboy William "Rastus" Rice succeeded in raising $15,000 to save the Chapter House from foreclosure.

Although no imminent threat currently looms, Beta's ability to continue thriving and evolving is never guaranteed; it will take continued stewardship by the alumni to ensure ongoing success. We are confident that now is the right time to build for the future. With the success of this campaign we will not only put the Chapter on a thriving financial footing for the century to come, but also build an endowment dedicated to completing the remaining physical projects and initiating new academic, enrichment, and leadership programs. Our success will not only differentiate Chi Phi from other fraternities at MIT, but will become a model nationwide for proactive intergenerational collaboration. Most of all, our generous support now will ensure opportunities for generation upon generation of Brotherhood into the future.