Bill that will give tax breaks to Housing Donations
 

http://www.ato.org/ATO/FULLSTORY.asp

This bill affects all fraternities and sororities not just ATO.

We are asking you to take a few minutes of your time and draft three letters to Congress in support of H.R. 1523.



Click here for sample letters and address lists.

During the last several months we, along with other members of the North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) have been working with key Congressional leaders on passage of HR 1523, the Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act of 2003. Thanks, in large part, to the NIC lobbying firm, Washington-based Patton Boggs, we are gaining important momentum on getting this legislation incorporated within a larger charitable giving act.

In short, HR 1523 would redefine existing tax law to allow for tax-deductible charitable contributions to be made to local or national 501(c)(3) organizations (such as the Alpha Tau Omega Educational Foundation) and for those contributions to then be used at the chapter level for a broad range of purposes, including making safety and infrastructure improvements to our chapter houses. Currently, tax-deductible gifts may be used for “bricks and mortar” only when directly related to educational purposes such as study rooms, computers, libraries and the like. Ironically, our host institutions do not have such restrictions on their use of their charitable contributions.

Clearly, passage of this legislation would immediately change the playing field for chapters, housing corporations and alumni who would have a much easier time soliciting donors for all chapter-house “bricks and mortar” needs.

As of August 1, HR 1523 has 41 sponsors and co-sponsors. The lead sponsors, Congressman Paul Ryan, (R-WI) and Congressman Ben Cardin (D-MD) have recently circulated a “Dear Colleague” letter seeking additional co-sponsors.

The House Ways and Means Committee, which has announced a September 3rd mark-up for the Charitable Giving Act (HR 7). HR 7 makes comprehensive reforms to the tax code’s treatment of the charitable giving industry. We believe HR 7 may be our best chance to get the concepts of HR 1523 attached to a larger, related tax measure that will be moving in this year’s Congress. In fact, it may take several years before Congress again takes such a comprehensive look at the universe of charitable giving laws.

A Word document sample letter to use as a model in writing your letters is included below. There are places in the letter for you to insert the proper name and fax number of the Member of Congress you are writing. Please be sure to personalize this information before sending the letter. The letter is not ready to be faxed “as is.”

There are two Excel spread sheets, one which shows all 403 members of Congress who are not yet sponsors of NR 1523 and another spread sheet showing just the 34 members of the Ways and Means Committee who are not yet sponsors. Both spread sheets include the names, addresses and fax numbers along with the colleges and universities located within their Congressional Districts.

Please follow these instructions in writing your letters:

1.Use the Excel spread sheet to determine the names and fax numbers of the Members of Congress. You will be writing:

Your Hometown Member of Congress

The Member of Congress who resides in the district your alma mater is located

The Member of Congress on the Ways and Means Committee spread sheet that resides in the district your alma mater is located (or closest)

2. Use the Sample Letter for all three Members of Congress

3. FAX THESE LETTERS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE (A letter by U.S. Mail will take days/weeks to get to the appropriate Congressional Office because of the extremely tight post-anthrax security measures)

4. Fax a copy of the letter you wrote to National Headquarters (317-684-1862). (This is important because our lobbying firm needs to know who has been contacted)

As well, and possibly even more important, if you have a personal relationship with a Member of the House of Representatives, please fax, e-mail or call to ask for his/her support as a co-sponsor of HR 1523.

Thank you for taking the time to help get this measure through the House, and more importantly, take a major step in improving living facilities for our brothers.

Wynn Smiley
Chief Executive Officer
Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity

I commend You fellow Fraternal Brother!

I think you should move this to Greek Life if you have not yet.

Thank you for pointing this out and I will try do my part!

In My estimation, we as Greek Organizations do more to make young men and women more knowledgeable about what is really going on in the world after Graduation. They will be more ready to tackle real life.

Great to hear!

(even from an ATO:D )

Our new chapter is in the process of beginning a campaign to build our own new house. This is exciting news that would has the potential to make things lots easier. Let's hope this passes.

Kudos to ATO for taking such an active roll!!

And thanks to Pi Kap 142 for posting. I noticed my congressman on the list. He will be receiving a letter shortly. ;)

Communication is the key...

in addition to faxing it - i am definitely going to post this on my chapter website tonight and let the other greeks on my campus know about it.

Yes, the reason I psoted it is so you can forward this on to any other greeks you may know. This is a major hurdle for a lot of chapters to gettting a house. Scholarship funds have grown a lot in the last twenty years, which great do not get me wrong, becuase alumni want to give back and would prefer it to be tax-deductable. If you have an alumni email list forward it on, tell your fellow greeks at work, tell your parents about it.

Does anyone have any info on what happened to this?

-Rudey

The effort is still on-going.

I really hope this procedes but have heard nothing of late.

Money at present can be donated towards a House and can only be used for Educational Space and Purpose, say a Library or Computor Room.

The IRS in their infinte wisdom closed the so called loop hole some years back so they could get more, You guessed it Money.

Greek Housing does help allieviate school Housing problems at many schools.

The bill was introduced in 2003. I don't understand how it's still on-going. Don't bills have to get voted on at some point? When is that deadline?

-Rudey

Good Question!:)

Rudey, as far as I know From My IHQ, there is not any News.

We should desearve a Break! Especially now with College expenses going up along with everything else but what is take home!:eek:

Collegiate Housing Act Needs Your Help

January 3, 2006

For the past few years, Sigma Chi and other members of the North-American Interfraternity Conference have been engaging in important legislative efforts in Washington, D.C. These efforts have focused on gaining support for the Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act, reintroduced earlier this year in both the House (H.R. 1548) and Senate (S. 713).

Current tax law greatly restricts the ability of fraternities and sororities to raise tax-deductible money for housing and infrastructure improvements. Unlike housing owned by our host institutions, the only areas within Greek housing that can currently utilize tax-deductible funds in their construction or renovation are those portions that are exclusively used for educational purposes (ie: libraries, study rooms, etc.). The Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act would change tax laws and permit qualified 501(c)(3) foundations to make collegiate housing and infrastructure improvement grants to fraternal organizations. In other words, this bill would enable house corporations to utilize existing foundations (ie: Sigma Chi Foundation) to conduct capital campaigns for chapter houses in which all of the contributions could be raised on a tax-deductible basis!

Throughout 2006, we are asking Sigma Chi alumni, undergraduates and their parents to contact their United States Representative and Senators by letter, e-mail or fax to request their support for this legislation. For your convenience, we have included sample letters attached below for you to customize and send to your elected officials. Please take a moment to contact your U.S. Representative and Senators as soon as possible. Also, please be sure to fax a copy of your letters to Sigma Chi Headquarters at (847) 869-4906 or e-mail your letters to alumni@sigmachi.org. This additional step will enable Sigma Chi to follow up with your elected officials to be sure they are aware of your support for this legislation.

Attached below [~~Go to the link at the top of the page and click on Collegiate Housing Act Needs Your Help then go to the bottom of the press release for the links listed below] are helpful links which will provide background information on this Act as well as the current contact information for your U.S. Representative and Senators. If you are unsure who is currently representing you in the U.S. House, the following link can assist you: http://www.house.gov/writerep/.

GENERAL INFORMATION
Legislation
Background Information
List of Senators
List of Representatives
Current Senate Cosponsors
Current House Cosponsors
Sigma Chi Cosponsors
Honor Roll of Sigma Chi Participants
All-Greek Honor Roll

SENATE LETTERS
Alumni Volunteers
Chapter President
General Alumni
General Student
Parent Letter

HOUSE LETTERS
Alumni Volunteers
Chapter President
General Alumni
General Student
Parent Letter

© 2006, Sigma Chi International Headquarters

edited to add the descriptions of the links

Ditto with Sigma Chi. And it is still ongoing.

see 01.03.06 article two posts above ^^^

All-Greek Honor Roll
 

The Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act (H.R. 1548/S. 713)

As of December 21, 2005, 51 fraternities and sororities have participated in the grassroots writing letters to elected officials in Washington, D.C. in support of the Collegiate Infrastructure Act. To date, this project has resulted in more than 4,880 letters written leaders and volunteers to House and Senate offices. The North-American Interfraternity (NIC) recently released of list of the most active Greek organizations in this effort letters each group has submitted.

ALL-GREEK HONOR ROLL
As of December 21, 2005

01. Delta Delta Delta - 899
02. Pi Kappa Alpha - 320
03. Kappa Kappa Gamma - 263
04. NIC - 217
05. Sigma Chi - 208
06. Alpha Omicron Pi - 208
07. Alpha Delta Pi - 206
08. Pi Beta Phi - 197
09. Alpha Chi Omega - 193
10. Delta Zeta - 173
11. Chi Omega - 170
12. Alpha Tau Omega - 169
13. Delta Chi - 152
14. Alpha Phi - 143
15. Sigma Nu - 117
16. Gamma Phi Beta - 109
17. Delta Gamma - 107
18. Sigma Delta Tau - 96
19. FarmHouse - 95
20. Sigma Pi - 87

Must be introduced and passed by both houses in the same congressional term. Last time the house passed it, but the senate didn't get to it in time before the end of the term. They have to start over in both houses.