A note from the Board of Trustees Finance Chair, John Sweeney ’09
Delta Alumni,
After five years of fundraising, we are in the final stretch! Our redevelopment plan for 125 Chancellor Street has been approved by the Board of Architectural Review and final approval by the City of Charlottesville is expected in the coming weeks. The renderings are available on the ATO Delta website here, and the full 48-page site plan is available upon request. Read on for more details on fundraising, and how you can secure your invitation to the groundbreaking ceremony and party.
We will break ground in May 2022. While we originally had hoped to break ground in May 2021, the pandemic and resulting supply chain issues rendered this timeframe imprudent and potentially uneconomical. The upside of this delay is more time to plan and ensure a well-executed project – and also to finish our fundraising.
We’ve had a very strong fundraising year: over $96,000 in donations from 76 donors! As a reminder, May 31 is the cutoff to have your name listed in this Summer’s Delta Dispatch. We are aiming for at least 100 donors, so any amount you can contribute would be greatly appreciated.
As an added incentive, there will be a groundbreaking ceremony and house party in May 2022. Think of it as the “last dance” with 125 Chancellor Street as we know her. This event will be invitation-only to people who have donated to the Capital Campaign. So pick a donation tier – $75, $125, $250, $500, $1000, whatever fits your budget – and get your name on the donor roll so that you can attend what is sure to be a memorable send-off.
With groundbreaking planned for May 2022, the next year of our Capital Campaign will be crucial. We need to raise $132,000 next year to meet our goal of $700,000 by the time we start construction. Thanks to the generous support from more than 190 donors, our combined donations and pledges currently total over $568,000. With over 700 chapter alumni, we can bridge the gap if everyone donates according to their means.
We cannot overstate this: The success of this project is vital to ATΩ’s future at the University of Virginia. 125 Chancellor Street has served us well for over 25 years. It allowed ATΩ to re-establish itself and has served as a “home base” for reunions and visiting alumni. But the maintenance issues are piling up and the house itself has become a recruiting headwind. Our Chapter’s long-term survival is simply not sustainable without a major overhaul to the existing house structure. We are very close to reaching our fundraising goal, but we need your support now more than ever.
To make a donation or pledge online, please visit the ATΩ Delta website by clicking here. To donate by check, make the check out to ATΩ Capital Fund and address it to:
UVA Fund
c/o Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity
P.O. Box 400314
Charlottesville, VA 22904
To learn more about the Capital Campaign, please contact John Sweeney at JohnHSweeney@gmail.com or visit www.ATODelta.com.
A note from Senior Rush Chair, Troy Holsworth ’22
This year, the Delta Chapter of Alpha Tau Omega had what is likely to be the most unique Rush in the history of our chapter. Navigating Rush while staying in line with the State, City, and University COVID-19 policies was challenging. In an ordinary year, there is one Rush event per night, usually based at 125 Chancellor Street. This year, to abide by social-distancing restrictions, we held multiple events per night in locations such as the house, Brothers’ apartments, restaurants, and even some online events. The timeline was also condensed into the shortest Rush schedule in recent memory.
Largely as a result of these challenging circumstances, the Chapter’s overall recruitment was down from prior years. But we are nonetheless excited to welcome four new members of the Beta Gamma pledge class into the Chapter. Despite the difficult conditions, the Brothers and rushees made the most of a difficult situation and took away many important lessons to apply in future recruiting efforts. We held creative new events such as “ATΩ Snapshot”, where we showed the rushees what a typical year of ATΩ would look like, and a socially distanced evening of Top Golf in Richmond. Several of these new events will likely be incorporated into the normal Rush schedule going forward. This year’s experience also underscored the importance of “365 Recruitment” which the Chapter intends to pursue more aggressively going forward. This year’s Rush experience also reinforced the importance of the Capital Campaign and House redevelopment project. The state of the physical House has often been a headwind to recruitment that we have worked around by emphasizing the quality, character, and inclusivity of both the active Brothers and our alumni. The ability to convey these less tangible attributes of our Chapter becomes more difficult when personal interactions are curtailed as they were this year, in which case the physical House becomes a more decisive factor to rushees. We believe our recruitment would greatly benefit if this headwind were removed. As such, we strongly support the anticipated May 2022 groundbreaking, and we are grateful to all the alumni donating and volunteering their time to ensure this timeline is met.
We look forward to integrating the Beta Gammas into our Chapter’s traditions and rich 153-year heritage. These men have endured a tumultuous introduction to collegiate life across the board. As we emerge from the social isolation of the pandemic, the bonds of brotherhood are all the more important and meaningful. We are honored that these young men have chosen the Delta Chapter for their fraternal experience at the University.
L&R,
Troy Holsworth
The Beta Gamma Pledge Class
Aayush Patel – Bristol, VA
Ramy Farah – Lorton, VA
Dylan Copenhaver – Arlington, VA
Serlin Puerto – Tysons Corner, VA