Dear Brother,  

 I hope and trust that this letter finds you and your family well. I wanted to take a moment to give you a brief report on Kappa.

For the new academic year, the total number of Actives is up! We have 50 total Actives, 25 of which are living in the house. These are great numbers, in comparison to recent years and in the face of the challenges that fraternities continue to face nationwide.

I’m pleased to also report that the house and Kappa’s finances are in strong shape. The House looks great, thanks to the dedicated and regular efforts of Board member David Hyland '80, who serves as House Committee Chair, and to the very caring and involved Actives. Please see the article about Work Weekend on the website for photos and a story about a very successful effort to maintain and improve the House. The financial position is strong, which is directly due to the Board’s stewardship. As I have described before, the Board adopts two separate budgets – one for housing and a second for alumni association activities. We have been successful in running the housing P&L at a surplus, which surplus is being used to make the additional payments to principal. As a result, the mortgage debt has been reduced to about $275,000 and we are on track to pay off the mortgage by no later than the end of 2023.

The alumni association activities budget includes all communication costs (which include the Affinity website), events hosted by the alumni, and the Scholarship Fund. The alumni association activities budget for this year is $20,000. Your donations go directly to this budget and to these activities. For the just completed academic year, and for the second Founder’s Day in a row, we gave a total of $2,000 in scholarship money to worthy Actives. We look forward to continuing this effort. With your support, we will be able to do so.

Speaking of support, the Kappa alumni have been a great support. Kappa experienced strong donations for this past giving year (8/1/20 through 7/31/21). Looking back over the last 15 years, when one special one-time gift is excluded, the amount donated this past year was the second highest amount in 15 years (the previous year being the highest amount)! My heart-felt thanks for all of the support.

As I close out this letter, allow me to repeat a previous offer - to be available for your input. The board is very interested in identifying and implementing steps to improve communications with alumni and to provide activities and events for alumni. Our Alumni Communications Chair, Fred DeCock (a former Board president), is ready to hear from you. So am I. Please feel free to contact either of us.

Be well, and I hope to see you soon.

Fraternally,

Martin Barbato ‘79

President,

Phi Sigma Kappa Association of State College

732-742-0066