The Foundation
The Foundation is chartered to provide opportunities for the men of ΣAE to grow and develop throughout their lives through grants, scholarships, personal and professional connections and access to the history and traditions of our great Fraternity maintained in our archives and, of course, the Levere Memorial Temple. To accomplish these important tasks, the Foundation relies on the generous support of the brothers, families and friends of the Realm — their donation of time, talents, energy, ideas and funds. Our results, while impressive, are just the tip of our potential. We can do more, and as we align with the long-term development goals of the True Gentleman Experience, your Foundation is committed to supporting the aim of an increasingly rewarding fraternity life for all of us from initiation to Chapter Eternal.
Leadership & Scholarship
To assist our collegiate members in their academic pursuits, the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Foundation awarded more than $88,000 through its National academic scholarship programs to more than 50 brothers. National scholarships may be awarded to any qualified brother from any chapter who applies for any of the named or general scholarships, each of which was made possible through the generosity of brothers and their families to the Foundation. The Foundation also assists local chapters by administering Chapter Education Fund scholarships, which are available to qualified brothers from the fund’s designated chapter(s). These programs are a significant benefit to the Realm in advancing scholarship and the long-term development of everyone. In that spirit, the Foundation is exploring ways to expand this important sector in the coming years.
On the leadership front, more than 605 undergraduate brothers graduated from the 79thJohn O. Moseley Leadership School, many of whom received a Leadership School tuition scholarship from the Foundation. Without those funds, the delegates might not have been able to attend. Beginning next year, the Foundation has expanded opportunities for gaining scholarships to support attendance at the Eminent Archon Institute as well, which further enhances leadership-development opportunities for collegiate brothers.
Alumni Relations
In coordination with the Fraternity and in support of the alumni programs of the True Gentleman Experience, the Foundation is increasing its outreach to chapter and area alumni associations. The intent is to provide more opportunities for extending the Fraternity experience and camaraderie as brothers move into their professional lives by developing social, networking and mentoring connections. Many groups are already doing so successfully, and the Foundation’s goal is to take the lessons from those groups and support proliferation throughout the Realm. This effort began with expanding alumni social events at every Foundation Board meeting location but is capable of doing more with the deep experience and geographical dispersion of our Trustees and the Foundation staff as well.
Archives
The Sigma Alpha Epsilon Foundation relies on the annual support of our friends and alumni to maintain and continue to catalog and research the relics of the Fraternity. One of the most popular items last year was the image-use requests from staff, alumni and their families and researchers. Information from the archives was used to more completely describe the history of individual chapters, help family members learn more about their SAE relations and see how some of their former family homes have become vibrant fraternity houses. They have also answered brother’s questions about Fraternity history and traditions. We continue to receive archive materials from brothers and families , and this coming year will begin to rotate some of the displays in the Temple library.
The Levere Memorial Temple
Though many of the Greek-letter organizations have beautiful headquarters, none of them has the gem Sigma Alpha Epsilon enjoys in the Levere Memorial Temple. William C. Levere, for whom the building is named, dreamed of a centrally located headquarters in the early part of the last century. Though he never lived to see it completed, the building stands as a testament to the brothers who saw the project through to fruition — with much hard work and funding. Not only does the Temple sit just blocks from Lake Michigan on the edge of Northwestern University’s campus, it houses incredible collegiate-gothic architecture, rare artifacts and archives for the organization and priceless Tiffany stained glass. Hundreds of visitors pass through its doors each year, and the Fraternity Service Center staff calls it home, working to serve 200,000 constituents on a daily basis. Many groups conduct Ritual ceremonies, tours or retreats in the building. In fact, several members and non-members host their wedding here each year. And the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Foundation, through the generosity of donors, maintains its place in the Greek-letter world as the pre-eminent headquarters and shrine to our Beloved Order.
