Dear Brother,
I am writing to you on behalf of the Beta Pi Board with an update on the chapter and a direct request for your help.
As you know, our house at 1533 Virginia Avenue suffered a serious fire in December 2024. Since then, Beta Pi has been operating without a home. Recruiting has been harder. Brotherhood has been harder. Delivering the experience that defined our time in the chapter has been harder.
The current brothers did an informal fundraiser this past winter to help close the funding loop on spring rush. We wanted to recognize those that helped out and thank you for your support. Thanks to our donors, the house recruited 16 new pledges to join Sigma Pi. We have firm commitments of 10 brothers to live in the house next year.
Current sage Ashton Khamphavong said it best: “If I am being completely honest, the men on this list practically saved our fraternity this year.”
Thank you to the 85 donors who supported Beta Pi through our fire recovery and Spring rush efforts. Our rush fundraising raised $35,000 and helped us recruit 16 new pledges!
The house is currently under renovation and remediation, with completion expected in late summer 2026. When it reopens, it will be safe, modernized, and ready to serve the chapter again. Insurance is going to cover the cost of repairing the fire damage. However, the fire has forced the Board to confront a broader issue that existed long before December 2024.
For too long, the financial burden of owning and maintaining the house has fallen, directly or indirectly, on undergraduate members. That model no longer works. It distracts young men from what they should be doing: Recruiting strong members. Building lasting friendships. Living the values that have always defined Beta Pi.
The Board believes the solution is straightforward. The house is owned by alumni. The responsibility for funding, maintaining, and protecting it should sit with alumni as well.
With that in mind, the Beta Pi Board is launching a focused fundraising campaign with a goal of raising $1,000,000 by the end of the year. Ideally, we would raise $250k by the end of May so we can put that money to use immediately.
These funds will be used for three purposes.
- Retire the remaining mortgage on the house – approximately $180,000.
- Complete post-fire improvements, safety upgrades, and necessary capital work so the house reopens in strong condition. We will initially utilize the insurance funds for this, but there is more work to be done.
- Establish an endowment to cover ongoing maintenance, utilities, and insurance, removing this burden from undergraduate members and creating long-term stability.
Excess funds will be professionally invested through the UVA Fund (which invests in the funds with the group that manages our endowment), under Board oversight and with a disciplined annual draw. This is about stewardship and long-term sustainability.
This campaign is intentionally ambitious. We believe it is achievable if a group of alumni step forward with leadership commitments and a broad base of brothers participates at a level meaningful to them. If 200 alumni participate at an average of roughly $5,000, we reach the goal. Some will give more. Some less. All participation matters. Multi-year pledges are welcome and encouraged.
This campaign is being run through Beta Pi of Sigma Pi Alumni, Incorporated, a 501(c)(7). While the organization is a nonprofit, contributions are not tax deductible. All funds raised will be restricted by Board policy for the purposes outlined above. We have the ability to leverage 501(c)(3), but the use of those funds is strictly managed to very distinct use that doesn’t allow us to accomplish our near term goals. Those tax-advantage vehicles are part of a longer term goal once we set the house fund up.
This is not about saving Beta Pi. It is about strengthening it. A paid-off house and a sustainable endowment will make the chapter more resilient, more attractive to recruits, and better positioned for future generations. Help us achieve that goal by giving to Sigma Pi.
We will be planning a homecoming at the House this fall once it is opened as a celebration of our reopening as well as a thank you for the help you are all providing.
I am honored to serve as Chair of the Fundraising Committee and would welcome the opportunity to speak with you directly. Members of the Board and alumni volunteers will also be reaching out in the coming weeks.
Thank you for what Beta Pi has meant to you, and for what it can mean to those who follow.
Fraternally,
John Ayers (Col class of ’97)
Chair, Fundraising Committee
On behalf of Sigma Pi, Beta Pi Chapter Board of Directors