Mike Tumolo
ABT President
Sept. 2007

The future of Cortland has never looked brighter or more promising than it does today! It is a privilege for me to serve this great Chapter as President of the Alumni Board of Trustees. It is my goal to do all I can to advance the mission and ideals of Delta Chi at Cortland and to help translate alumni involvement into continued success for our undergraduates.

I believe engaging alumni is critical to the success of our Fraternity on a variety of levels. Their wisdom, experience, and sage advice can provide added insight to the overall operation of the Chapter and as I like to say "keep trouble from finding our undergraduates." More so, alumni involvement can lead to new and exciting programming opportunities for our members that could further encourage personal, academic, and professional development.

At our first meeting of the year in September at Cortland, I outlined my thoughts and goals for the ABT as your President and for increasing alumni involvement with Members of the Board. My thought, the "Delta Chi Campaign For Cortland," is a piece of our outreach program and one that has the ability, in short order, to engage both alumni and local business leaders in a new way.

The primary goal of the "Delta Chi Campaign For Cortland" is to raise $10,000 by December 31, 2008 through alumni and corporate donations. Monies raised will be used to offer scholarships to our undergraduates as well as provide necessary funding for educational opportunities and programs (i.e.: Regional Leadership Conference, International Convention, UIFI, Recruitment Boot Camp, etc.). Having funds available to our undergraduates, donated by generous alumni and corporate donors, will allow our young men to grow in new ways and will reward them for their outstanding work.

The Board gave unanimous and enthusiastic support to the "Campaign" and as President of the ABT I have activated a Chapter Scholarship Account (CSA) with the Delta Chi Educational Foundation (DCEF) for Cortland. Using our CSA account will provide our donors with a tax-deduction (DCEF, and as such our Cortland CSA account, is registered as a 501(c)3 not-for-profit with the Internal Revenue Service) and allows for gifts of cash and securities (stocks, bonds, other financial instruments) that would otherwise be unavailable at a local bank. Gifts given as part of our "Campaign" also count towards lifetime giving levels with Delta Chi and the Educational Foundation.

I believe wholeheartedly in the Cortland Chapter and in our "Campaign," so much so that I have put my money where my mouth is. To kick us off, I have personally pledged $2,500 (25% of the $10,000 goal) to the cause and continue to recruit additional donors (both individual and corporate) to join me in this important endeavor. I now ask each of you to consider donating what you can, even if only $20, to the "Campaign." Each gift will be recognized on the Chapter website, by the ABT, and via other various mediums and events throughout the year.

We can’t do this alone…we need each and every one of you to be involved! I invite you to be a part of something special and to join our crusade towards making our Cortland Chapter the very best Chapter it can be!

Join us today! Send your gifts to: The Delta Chi Educational Foundation; P.O. Box 383, Columbus, IN 47202 and remember to designate the "Cortland Chapter Scholarship Account" on the memo section of your check (checks can be made payable to The Delta Chi Educational Foundation – Cortland).