Lodge Alumni Brothers,
First, thank you to those who were able to come to our tailgate before the Homecomings game against Washington State on Saturday, October 18. What an exciting game! The Hoos are now 8-1, ranked 12th, and bowl eligible. An amazing turnaround thus far this season.
Now to the primary purpose of this letter. Four years ago, we completed the fundraising campaign in advance of the Grand Opening of the New Chi Psi Lodge at UVA. We raised over $850K from generous Lodge alumni and combined those funds with a $1M mortgage to completely renovate the New Lodge. Since then, the Chi Psi actives have been successful in every respect: academics, participation in university activities, charitable projects, parties, and more. They have successfully replicated the engagement, friendships, and overall great experience we enjoyed during our Lodge years. Thus, the Recolonization of Chi Psi and the total renovation of the New Lodge at UVA have been a complete success in every aspect.
However, our $1M mortgage is subject to a significant rate increase in March 2026. The projected higher debt service cost will require a rent increase to the actives that may push Chi Psi out of the competitive range for fraternities and other living options at UVA. The only way to keep our debt service cost under control is to reduce the current mortgage by approximately $175K.
We need your help to accomplish this. Yes, we are asking Omicron alumni to be generous once again. Please consider this as the capstone of the original New Lodge Fundraising Campaign, for which the sole purpose is to keep the mortgage servicing cost at our current level upon the interest rate reset in March of next year. This is an immediate and short-term push for your help before the rate increases early next year.
We have quickly received new pledges exceeding $60K from Chi Psi Corporation Board Members and closely involved alumni. Further, the Chi Psi Educational Trust has provided advance notice of a minimum $25K grant to Omicron in 2026 in recognition of the substantial investment we made in educational study space when the New Lodge was renovated. However, we still need help from a broad range of Omicron Alumni, including the decade of new Omicron alumni that have graduated since the recolonization in 2015 to reach our funding goal.
For reference, please see the below Omicron Giving Case Statement, which was presented to the Chi Psi National Educational Trust in connection with our favorably received grant request.
Note: New contributions can be made through either the UVA Alumni Association or through the Chi Psi Educational Trust, and will pass through 100% to Alpha Omicron and will be fully tax deductible.
Our goal is to secure a broad range of Omicron alumni support before the end of 2025 to save the brothers by paying down the current Lodge mortgage by $175K.
If you are one of the generous $5K and higher donors from the original Lodge Renovation Campaign, please consider a new donation amounting to 20-25% of your prior donation for this final push. For all other prior donors, new donors, and more recent Lodge alumni, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution now of $500 to $1K, or whatever you can give for this very important cause. Your generosity will be hugely appreciated and impactful to help preserve the New Lodge at UVA as a favored and cost-competitive fraternity for the top-tier of prospective brothers in the coming years.
Thank you for your understanding of this need and your help with this capstone fundraising campaign to support and ensure the long-term success of the new Chi Psi Lodge at UVA.
Thank you again for your consideration and support.
Yours in the bonds,
Randy Spotswood (Com ’77)
Alpha Omicron Fundraising Team
jrspotswood@outlook.com
Omicron Giving Case Statement
Background: Alpha Omicron at the University of Virginia was dormant from 2008 to 2014, primarily because our beloved brother Billy Hearns – Omicron’s heart and soul – retired in 1996, and we were unable to find anyone else who could come close to replacing him. Billy took care of us and the Lodge, which was then 2.5 miles from Grounds, and drove a van that took us back and forth to class every hour. The van was our lifeline to the University.
While we were dormant, the Alpha Omicron Corporation sold the old Lodge and bought another property, which we knew would need to be renovated, that was much closer to Grounds and in the middle of UVA’s Greek life. With the Central Office leading the way, we recolonized in 2014 with a strong group of young men who laid the groundwork for Omicron’s future. We also initiated a fundraising campaign to renovate the New Lodge, called Honoring Our Past, Building the Future – the New Lodge Capital Campaign! By 2019, that campaign had raised over $850K. We used those funds toward designing and renovating the New Lodge. We also took out a $1M loan to complete the renovation in 2021 at 4.25%.
Problem Statement / Fundraising Need: The $1M loan has a current balance of ~$930K. It is up for re-amortization in March 2026. We anticipate the re-amortized interest rate to be considerably higher. If we had to re-amortize today, it would be 7.5%. Our mortgage service would go from $68K/year to $86K/year.
In order to keep our debt service at its current level after re-amortization, we need to pay down the loan by approximately $175K. This will allow the rent we charge the actives to remain competitive with similar student housing. The amount we currently charge for rent is getting close to the point of being too high to be competitive given the aggressive moves UVA is undertaking to increase upper class housing options – moves that UVA had not publicized when we took out the $1M loan. If we raise the rent to cover the increased financing costs, we will undermine our ability to maintain a thriving brotherhood and a full Lodge.
Our goal is to raise at least $175K by March 2026.