TKE Grand Council Launches Long-Term Founders Housing Fund Effort

Indianapolis, IN - In an historic vote last week, the Grand Council took steps to realize a long-standing dream for TKE Nation: to establish a long-term plan to help secure, maintain, improve and reestablish housing at active chapters. The action came in the form of a vote to provide a sustained funding mechanism with which the recently revitalized TKE Founders Housing Fund Committee, chaired by Past Grand Prytanis John Courson, can take and implement steps to assist chapters address and meet their housing problems.

The action by the Grand Council seeks to involve all Teke stakeholders, including active members and alumni. The action also represents a "tribute to immediate Past Grand Prytanis Ed Moy, who made housing a key element of his leadership of TKE during the last biennium," said Grand Prytanis Bob Barr. Frater Barr continued by noting, "it is an honor for all of us on the Grand Council to move this process championed by Frater Moy forward to the next phase, and in so doing help many chapters strengthen their ability to attract and keep undergraduate men, and to thereby help meet our Fraternity's goal of building Better Men For A Better World."

Specifically, the action by the Grand Council incorporates a fee of $10 per semester for all initiated collegiate Fraters, effective November 5, 2014; to be used exclusively for the benefit of chapter housing through the Founders Housing Fund. In addition, TKE alumni will be solicited via direct mail as well as on the TKE website to contribute a minimum of $25 annually to the Founders Housing Fund. The Grand Council further envisions annual allocations of a portion of Life Loyal Teke revenue to the Housing Fund as well as a percentage of any budget surplus, if realized.

TKE Housing Committee Chairman Frater Brian Montgomery stated, "As a single Teke Nation, it is vital we all contribute to this effort, including Alumni and Grand Council members, in order to help our fellow Fraters realize the elusive but vital goal of obtaining and maintaining a chapter house wherever possible."

The Founders Housing Fund Committee, with input from the TKE professional staff and the Grand Council, will be notifying chapters of further details and will provide appropriate assistance to chapters seeking financial housing assistance, as soon as practical.

The Founders Housing Fund Committee has spent many hours developing criteria for assisting chapters through funding mechanisms such as loan guarantees that envision purchase, rehabilitation for safety, or necessary structural modifications.

To help offset the cost of this fee in the future, the Grand Council has also instructed the Risk Committee to begin a sustained and unified effort to bring down Risk Management fees with a goal of doing so by next Conclave.

TKE CEO Donnie Aldrich expressed strong support for the housing initiative. Frater Aldrich stated: "While this action by the Grand Council will not solve all of the housing problems in all of our chapters, it does represent a significant step in the direction of helping chapters meet their housing needs well into the future. The Grand Council's action reflects a response to one of the primary concerns we have been hearing from our members and groups over many years."