Endowment

In January of 1917 a small group of Georgia Tech students were awarded a charter in Beta Theta Pi, one of the nation’s oldest and most respected national fraternities, having been founded in 1839.  In February of this year, the newly established Gamma Eta Endowment Fund reached its initial funding goal of $500,000.  The initial “quiet phase” of the campaign was accomplished through the generosity of 17 alumni who responded to the invitation to create a lasting legacy for the chapter.

Contributions to the endowment are made to the Beta Theta Pi Foundation, are administered and invested by the Foundation, and are 100% tax deductible.  Earnings from the endowment are used to fund annual distributions, currently at 4% of the corpus.  These dollars are used to fund active member scholarships for outstanding achievement, to support our chapter members’ participation in leadership development programs sponsored by the Foundation, and to help offset the cost of operating and maintaining the chapter house, in equal thirds.  Based on earnings on the cash received and invested by 12/31/16, the initial distribution is to be over $11,000.

Our overall goal is $1,000,000, which at the current conservative 4% payout level will produce over $13,300 for each of our three objectives.  Now is the time for our remaining 2,000-plus alumni to pitch in to help reach the million-dollar goal by June 1st.  Pledges of up to three years are accepted, but the sooner the cash or gifts of appreciated stock are invested, the sooner we can increase the payout.