Gamma Phi
Today
D
uring the course of the Honoring Our Traditions,
Providing for the Future campaign and renovation/
expansion, the house corporation was prepared
to carry a $1 million debt, payable over a period of 15-20
years. e debt would be serviced by the house corporation
and undergraduate chapter. During construction, we ran
into unforeseen expenses due in large part to excavating
the new basement as part of the addition while ensuring
the foundation of the original house was not damaged.
e decision to proceed with the new basement, which
has a large lecture hall style room, used for study hall and
chapter meetings and individual study rooms, was done aer
countless conversations with alumni leaders. e consensus
was: "We're never going to have this opportunity again."
ree other things resulted in our current debt of
$1.8 million:
• e corporation purchased the house directly to the
west of the Beta house for $250,000 with the long-
term plan of creating additional parking spaces.
• By starting construction before all the pledges were
collected, the corporation had to borrow against a line
of credit, thus incurring interest expenses.
• Despite collecting more than 97.5% of all pledges
made to the campaign, we don't expect to collect the
final $250,000 due to unforeseen life events (illness,
death, divorce, and job loss, to name a few).
e financial status of the corporation and chapter are
strong, and we're optimistic this will continue. However, the
debt creates a burden and puts the chapter at risk. Never
before was this risk clearer than during the spring 2020
semester when the house had to be closed in response to
COVID-19.
By raising $1 million to reduce the mortgage, the
corporation will be able to retire the remaining debt in
less than five years. e annual savings will be in excess
of $100,000, and these funds will then be available for the
proactive maintenance of the structure and mechanical
systems of the chapter house.
