Iowa State Scholarship Fund / Donations – August 2008

The Board of Directors of the Iowa Xi chapter at Iowa State University successfully raised over $30,000 to create a permanent scholarship endowment.

The Concannon Memorial Scholarship was created to offer scholarships as a reward to outstanding incoming freshman and as an incentive for men to join Phi Kappa Theta. The scholarship honors Richard ‘Dick’ Concannon, a brother in the Iowa Xi chapter during the late 60’s who went on to serve as an Army helicopter pilot and was tragically killed-in-action February 15, 1971 during a medical extraction mission in Vietnam.

Iowa Xi utilized an already established chapter restricted account with the Phi Kappa Theta National Foundation to offer tax-deductions for donations as they built the endowment, which now totals close to $40,000.

Two incoming freshmen of the Iowa Xi fall 2008 associate member class will each be awarded a $500 scholarship. The recipients are Alex Davis of Paullina, IA and Mike Bear of Melbourne, IA.

Alex attended Spalding Catholic High School, is an Honor Roll Student, Varsity Baseball Letterman, and will be an undeclared Business major. Alex was involved in the St. Francis Project at his school which included service work for the elderly, packing food for the Food Bank and fixing houses for the poor. Alex is joining Phi Kappa Theta and will be moving into the chapter house this fall.

Mike is a graduate of West Marshall HS of State Center. Mike was the President of the National Honor Society, Honor Roll Student, Captain of the Football Team, three-time Captain of the wrestling team, placing 6th at the State wrestling Tournament and member of the Varsity Golf team. Mike will also be joining Phi Kappa Theta this fall.

View the Iowa Xi Honor Roll of Donors from April 2007 — June 2008.

If you would like to make a contribution to the Concannon Memorial Scholarship, or if you have questions about starting your own scholarship or chapter account, contact foundationstaff@phikaps.org.

The Foundation re-emerges with success in past year – October 2008

You’ve made an impact! Thanks to the generosity of several hundred donors, Phi Kappa Theta raised $112,000 in the Annual Fund. Funds were used to support Leadership Institute, a leadership development program for collegiate members, as well as (iServe) Institute, a new alumni/volunteer training program. The Foundation also awarded 15 scholarships for excellence in leadership and academics and restored operations of its staff. To learn more about the Annual Fund, Foundation programs and scholarships, or to view donor recognition lists, visit the Foundation Page.

The Foundation has much more potential and needs the support of more alumni right now. Although we funded several scholarships and programs, only handfuls of members benefited. We have hundreds of more brothers who need the leadership training and financial support that will change their lives and help them become effective leaders who passionately serve their society, Fraternity and God!

We’re asking you to Join The Excitement this year. If you’re ready to make a gift to the Foundation or learn more about how you can support, please contact foundationstaff@phikaps.org

Tax-Free Charitable Transfers From IRAs Extended Through 2009! – January 2009

You may have heard by now from your favorite charitable organizations that Congress extruded the allowance for taxpayers to transfer directly from their individual retirement account (IRA) to a qualified charity up to $100,000 each year in 2008 and 2009 free of federal tax.

What is the advantage of this law?

Recall that when you withdraw money from your IRA – you annual minimum required distribution of an additional amount – you must include those amounts in your income. If you make a charitable contribution by making a transfer directly from your IRA to the charitable organization, the amount transferred will count toward your required minimum distribution, but it will not be included in your taxable income, thereby saving you income tax.

And what are the restrictions?

• This benefit is only available to taxpayers who are 70 ½ or older.
• The maximum amount that can be transferred directly from your IRA to the
• charitable organizations and excluded from your taxable income is $100,000 in 2008 and $100,00 in 2009.
• The amount must go directly from your IRA to the charitable organization.
• The charitable organization must be a 501©(3) public charity.
• You cannot receive any gift from the charitable organization in exchange for your donation.
• Because the amount you distributed directly from your IRA to your chosen charitable organization will not be included in your income, you will not be permitted to take an income tax deduction form the amount you transfer directly from your IRA to charity.

You should obtain a receipt from the charitable organization for your donation or your income tax records.

Foundation sponsors 2009 Presidents Academy – January 2009

It’s time to ring in 2009 with our best and brightest leaders. During the weekend of January 9-11th, 26 collegiate men who currently serve as chapter president will travel to Chicago for a weekend-long program devoted to improving their leadership skills.

Phi Kappa Theta conducts this annual leadership program, known as the “Presidents Academy,” specifically for our collegiate chapter presidents. The Academy features workshops and seminars led by well-known and respected professionals in the fields of leadership, management, motivation and character development. Attendees network with other chapter presidents and take away numerous resources to be effective leaders.

The Presidents Academy was established in 2002 through the generosity of several alumni donors, including a major gift of $100,000. The program is endowed and fully funds the cost of 25-30 chapter presidents each January. That number is representative of applications we receive; however, should more chapter presidents apply, we would be unable to fund any more attendees. Therefore, we need to increase the size of our endowment in an effort to fund 100% of chapters, which would be 50.