CLICK HERE to make a donation and view the standings!
March Challenge Overview
Our annual March Challenge starts Thursday, March 25th and runs until Monday, March 29th . During this new tradition chapters are competing against one another for bragging rights and the chapter with the most donors to the Annual Fund will be crowned the champion. In addition, generous donors have stepped up to match gifts, so your donations will have double the impact during the challenge!
In 2020 we were able to raise just over $20,000 for the Annual Fund and the Gamma Tau Chapter at Georgia Tech was victorious with 39 donors. This year we hope to raise over $30,000 and have every active chapter participate.
Thank you to the following donors who are matching gifts during the March Challenge, ensuring every gift makes twice its impact!
• J. Martin Brayboy, Gamma ’84 (Amherst)
• Matthew R. DalSanto, Omicron ’03 (Illinois)
• Mark DiPasquale, Pi ’88 (Syracuse)
• Patrick Gilrane, Psi ’83 (Hamilton)
• James Mazzarella, Epsilon Nu ’88 (Michigan State)
• James Pugliese, Tau ’78 (Penn)
• Greg Rupp, Phi ’81 (Michigan)
• Alexander Senchak, Eta ’06 (Lehigh)
• William T. Stevens, Theta Theta ’54 (Washington)
• Jonathan Szynkowski, Epsilon Nu ’06 (Michigan State)
If you would like to make a matching gift please contact Director of Administration Bethann Taylor at Bethann@psiu.org or 317-571-1833 x 102
How to Participate
• Make a gift to the Psi Upsilon Annual Fund HERE
• Share and encourage your chapter brothers to participate in the March Challenge via social media, text, or
email: “Get in the Game and join the 2021 Psi Upsilon March Challenge! Make your donation and track who
is winning here: https://psiu.crowdchange.co/18483 ”
• See a brother you recognize who made a gift? Send them a public “Thank You” on social media!
• Follow our social media accounts and like the posts (this boosts our reach!)
• Add a temporary Profile Frame to your Facebook or Instagram profile picture.
To do so, click your profile image, then “Update Profile Picture” then “Add a Frame“.
Under “Choose a Frame” select “Psi U March Challenge 2021”.
DONATE * SHARE & FOLLOW * SUPPORT
Psi Upsilon Needs Your Support
This past year has been difficult for Psi Upsilon, like it has been for so many. Last year, with the spring semester being cut short on most campuses, we saw a 40% decline in new members – in a ‘normal year’ we usually initiate about 450 members, only 274 initiated last year and we’re on track to have 380 initiate this year. In addition, we saw about a 25% drop in returning members – from 969 in 2019 to just 719 in the Fall of 2020. This kind of attrition was expected given the coronavirus pandemic, but still greatly impacted our bottom line.
Despite this setback, there is much to be proud of in Psi U during these turbulent times and we’ve had several ‘victories’ worth note:
• We overhauled our Archons Academy – and expanded programming to more officers and reached over 25% of our total undergraduate membership during the month of January.
• Our Foundation has hosted some great events both educational and social in nature, like the Psi Upsilon Speaker Series. Over 300 alumni have participated to date.
• We’ve developed new online resources to support members including a more robust risk management program for new members which includes Mental Wellness, New online programs to assist alumni advisors, and even online programs on recruitment and Dignity.
• We’ve begun the process of digitizing our archives and you can now review them online.
• A group of dedicated alumni and young men have been able to restart our Phi Beta Chapter at the College of William and Mary.
• The Social Impact Fellowship launched last year and has an initial cohort of 5 fellows that our Foundation is helping support.
• In place of in person visits our staff has been scheduling bi-weekly check ins with chapter leadership to ensure chapters are encouraged and supported, and we’ve been able to build stronger relationships with many for that reason.
We have continued to weather the storm that is the coronavirus pandemic, but we know that is not enough and need to further adapt and revitalize our chapters that have struggled without decreasing current support. The focus of this years “March Challenge” is on growth and recovery within Psi Upsilon for the Fall of 2021 and beyond. We plan to do this by creating and hiring a new position, the Director of Growth, who will create new resources and work directly with chapters that need recruitment coaching, work on restarting dormant chapters and expanding to new campuses. In addition, the focus of the 177th Convention and Leadership institute will be built around recruitment – not only growth, but ensuring our chapters are finding quality members. Your gift during the March Challenge will help make this happen!
