The easy way to generate a letter/email to your representative is at this website:www.fraternalcaucus.org Then click on the “register” button on the left side.

Chapter houses seem to have an insatiable need for renovation. As the houses age and are subjected to “accelerated depreciation” by the residents, house corporations are challenged to keep the housing safe and competitive with other forms of university housing. Universities have long had the advantage of being able to use tax deductible contributions to maintain their property.

The Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act (HR 1547/S 781) would level the playing field by allowing non-university owned not-for- profit student housing, like fraternities and sororities, to enjoy the benefit of tax deductible donations. The effects of this bill will improve the housing capacity and life-safety challenges that currently face much of the college student housing market nationally.

This bill would permit house corporations to receive grants of tax- deductible contributions made to recognized foundations to use for fire and life safety renovations as well as structural and cosmetic reconstruction plus maintenance and operations without being subject to the “educational purpose test” as required under current law.

Sigma Chi has joined in a cooperative effort to lobby passage of this badly needed legislation. For more on this coalition and the good work it does, see Capital Fraternal Caucus www.fraternalcaucus.org. Please consider registering on the site (Sigma Chi will get recognition for this).

To help promote passage of this bill, the Grand Trustees strongly urge every Sigma Chi house corporation member as well as their family and friends to send messages of support to your elected federal representatives: The Capital Fraternal Caucus website makes this easy. Sigma Chi will get points for each message sent. Grand Trustee Chairman Bruce Morgan Casner is the Chairman of Sigma Chi’s Governmental Affairs Committee and sits on the Capital Fraternal Caucus Executive Committee as well. He assures us that these kinds of communications do make a difference.

Do it now!!

The easy way to generate a letter/email to your representative is at this website:www.fraternalcaucus.org Then click on the “register” button on the left side.