ABOUT THE FOUNDATION

There have been many significant milestones since the Foundation was established in 1945. The following attempt to highlight moments when the Fraternity was significantly impacted by alumni contributions.

2020 - ALPHA SIGMA PHI COMPLETES 10 MILLION DOLLAR CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
At Elevate 2019, a new campaign, The Campaign to Better the Man, was publicly launched. The campaign goal was to raise $10 million dollars. In 2020, the campaign concluded, having successfully raised over $11 million dollars.

2010 - FOUNDATION RECEIVES HALF MILLION DOLLAR GIFT
Until 2010, the Fraternity had only ever received a significant gift at the time of a members passing into the Omega Chapter. In 2010, that changed when Stan G. Thurston, Iowa State '66 and his wife Dotty Thurston mailed a check for $500,000 to the Foundation in honor of Founders Day. This was the largest gift ever received from a living member of the Fraternity. $250,000 was restricted to establish a chapter endowment for Phi Chapter at Iowa State University and the other $250,000 was directed toward Alpha Sigma Phi leadership programming.

2005 - FOUNDATION RECEIVES $2 MILLION GIFT
The Educational Foundation received another very substantial bequest of $2,063,000 from Guil Gerlach, Ohio State '43, who entered Omega Chapter in 2003, and an anonymous gift of $500,000. Gifts of these magnitudes are a convincing attestation to the great value that many brothers place on their fraternity experience, and of their desire to ensure an ongoing opportunity for undergraduate men to experience the brotherhood of Alpha Sigma Phi. Contributions each year from living alumni assure the quality of Alpha Sigma Phi programs.

2005 - FOUNDATION INCORPORATES
The Trust dissolved on January 1, 2005 and was replaced by the Alpha Sigma Phi Educational Foundation, Inc. and the Board of Trustees evolved to the Foundation Board of Directors.

1999 - NEW HEADQUARTERS BUILDING CAMPAIGN BEGINS
In 1999-2002 the Foundation spearheaded Alpha Sigma Phi's second capital campaign, a drive to finance the new Ralph F. Burns Alpha Sigma Phi Headquarters Building in Carmel, Indiana. More than $900,000 was raised in this campaign.

1990 - LARGEST FRATERNITY CHARITABLE GIFT EVER GIVEN
Brother Howard L. Kleinoeder, Washington '35, passed into Omega Chapter, and provided in his will the largest bequest to any fraternity's educational endowment fund to that date, 6.4 million dollars. Brother Kleinoeder had not made his intentions known prior to his passing, but his gift markedly changed the role of the Foundation. Its investments and disbursements could no longer be readily managed by a three to four member board of trustees supported by part time assistance of the CEO and staff of Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity, Inc. More to the point, the bequest left Alpha Sigma Phi able to assuredly support its national leadership programs, and much of the educational work of the Fraternity staff. As a result, the number of Trustees of the Foundation was increased, and individual Trustees were assigned to one of several committees on investments, grants, or fund raising.

1988 - RESTRICTED FUNDS/ENDOWMENTS ESTABLISHED
The Foundation authorized creation of restricted funds within the Educational Foundation. These can be established to support academic awards by chapters or with an endowment of at least $10,000 to support any objective consistent with the purposes of the Foundation.

1985 - CAMPAIGN SURPASSES GOAL
On December 6, 1985, Third Founding Campaign Chairman and Past Grand Senior President Stan N. Miller, Purdue '64, announced that the campaign had surpassed its goal with a total of $1.1 million in contributions and pledges.

1984 - FIRST CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
After years of preparations and planning, the Grand Council, Fund Trustees, and Fraternity Staff instituted Alpha Sigma Phi's first official capital campaign, known as the Third Founding. The campaign was publicly announced by Evin Varner, Presbyterian '58, upon his installation as Grand Senior President in 1984. The goal of the Third Founding was to raise an endowment of over $1 million to fund qualifying grants to the Fraternity supporting its educational programs and activities. Major gifts to the Third Founding were made on behalf of Ralph F. Burns, Ohio Wesleyan '32, and by John Hoyt, UCLA '29, each of over one hundred thousand dollars. Charles M. Beeghly, Ohio Wesleyan '27, and Warren Hanna, Minnesota '15, followed with gifts of fifty thousand dollars each. There are formal remembrances honoring all four of these Third Founding major donors on display at the Alpha Sigma Phi Headquarters.

1983 - NAME CHANGES TO EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION
The name of the Memorial Fund was changed to the Alpha Sigma Phi Educational Foundation and operated as a Trust and was led by its Board of Trustees.

1970's - FUND SUPPORTS FRATERNITY STAFF
Fraternity and Fund leaders saw a need to broaden the work of the Fund, to provide assured funding for the National Leadership Conference and to fund salary and expenses of work that Fraternity staff members performed which was educational in nature. Upon his retirement as Executive Secretary of Alpha Sigma Phi, Ralph F. Burns became Secretary of the Foundation, a position in which he continued until his death in 1993.

1965 - ALUMNI DONATIONS RECEIVED
Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity began an alumni contribution campaign, soliciting tax deductible donations; these contributions were placed in the Memorial Fund. The endowment in the Memorial Fund grew slowly over the next few years as current needs always seemed to exceed contributions. Nevertheless, by 1969-70 a permanent endowment principal of $40,400 had been established. Trustees from 1959 to 1976 were Paul J. Cupp, Pennsylvania '21, Dr. Ray E. Glos, Illinois '22, Hugh K. Duffield, Michigan '21, and Dr. John L. Blackburn, Missouri Valley '48.

1963 -  FIRST NATIONAL EDUCATION CONFERENCE HELD
Alpha Sigma Phi's first National Educational Conference was held at Morris Harvey College (now University of Charleston, West Virginia). The National Educational Conferences and their successors, the National Leadership Conferences were held biennially in odd numbered years through 2003 and was then brought back as Elevate in 2011. Initially the Memorial Fund defrayed the costs of curriculum development and facilities. Later the cost of the conference became largely underwritten by the Foundation for all undergraduate attendees. Alpha Sigma Phi was one of the first national fraternities to offer this benefit to its undergraduate members.

1945 - MEMORIAL FUND ESTABLISHED
The Fraternity established a memorial fund that would collect charitable gifts to be used to support scholarships.