To Our Incredible Alpha Phi Sisters,
This isn’t just a look back on another year of Alpha Phi Foundation impact; it’s a celebration and reflection of our shared achievements, marked by progress and exciting possibilities! We’re thrilled to share how our collective vision is transforming the Alpha Phi experience, empowering every member to thrive.
Alpha Phi Foundation isn’t just strong; we’re strategically advancing on a clear path outlined by our leadership team. Our 2024-2027 strategic plan isn’t just a document; it’s a bold roadmap for innovation, designed to amplify our impact and secure a vibrant future. This plan is a testament to the strength of our leadership, a collaborative effort ensuring we remain agile, forward-thinking, and responsive to the evolving needs of our sisters.
Our mission to advance women’s lives through philanthropy has never been more vital. Within these pages, you’ll discover countless stories of Alpha Phis who, through your generous support, are not just participating in opportunities, but creating them. They’re breaking barriers, pioneering new paths, and demonstrating the limitless potential that emerges when we empower our members with the resources and confidence to lead. Your compassion is a catalyst, transforming challenges into triumphs and aspirations into realities.
Your gifts to Alpha Phi Foundation are more than just a donation; they’re a thoughtful investment in cultivating the next generation of leaders, innovators, and changemakers. It’s about giving every Alpha Phi the tools to give back and to become the most impactful version of herself.
We invite you to join us in shaping a dynamic future. Our shared values, combined with the vibrant spirit of our Fraternity, are not just enduring – they’re reinvigorated by the incredible women and the impact highlighted throughout our journey. Together, let’s continue to illuminate the path forward for every Alpha Phi.
With deepest gratitude and loyalty,
impact in action
Leadership
In FY25, Alpha Phi Foundation granted $1.6M to Alpha Phi Fraternity in support of continuing leadership education for collegians and alumnae.
From mental health and wellness to discovering and developing individual leadership styles, more than 20 different enrichment programs were available to Alpha Phis this year.
This year marks a momentous occasion for Alpha Phi as we celebrate five years of the Alpha Phi Disney Leadership Institute. Read “Vision & Values: Celebrating Five Years of Disney” to learn more about this incredible program.
The Alpha Phi Disney Leadership Institute was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that allowed me to further explore my leadership skills and deepen my passion and gratitude for Alpha Phi. It opened my eyes to the work our volunteers do behind the scenes to help shape the lives of collegiate women and I have since become the Chapter Advisor for Eta (Boston.
Lily Buhler
(Eta-Boston)
Leadership
Alpha Phi Foundation proudly funds programming offered at the individual and chapter level, to both collegians and alumnae.
In 2025, the Susan Weiskittle Barrick Endowment for Leadership Enrichment funded two engaging sessions with Dr. Lori Hart during both weekends of the Alpha Phi Leadership Conference. “An Hour of Power” is an interactive discussion-based program that delves into the concept of power within relationships, communities, and organizations, encouraging participants to understand and embrace their own power to influence change. Read more about this transformative and inspiring session in “An Hour of Power” – Empowerment through Endowment, Leadership through Legacy.”
Alpha Phi utilizes an innovative series of powerful programs for our members: Stand Together, Live Courageously, Legacy of Leaders, Generous Hearts, and League of Coaches.
If we provide leadership training for our collegiate members, the long term leadership needs of the Fraternity will be met..
Kathleen Feeney Hiemstra
(Delta Theta-Western Michigan)
Heart Health
Stanford University is the proud recipient of the 2025 Heart to Heart Grant for the project “Evidence Based Online Peer Support after Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection.”
SCAD occurs when the wall of a coronary artery randomly tears. This is an extremely emergent diagnosis that often has no warning and is more highly prevalent in women than men.
Working in partnership with the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. this is the first Alpha Phi Foundation-funded project that offers cross-country collaboration in the Heart to Heart Grant’s 32-year history.
Both Stanford and UOHI have established relationships with their local Alpha Phi chapters (Kappa-Stanford and Iota Upsilon-Ottawa), and the team is confident that collegiate and alumnae members alike can get involved with them and their project.
We believe that members of Alpha Phi will connect with our goals of empowering women to educate themselves, advocate for themselves, and be active participants in their own health.
Dr. katharine sears-edwards
Stanford University
2025 Heart to Heart Grant Recipient
Learn more about our 2025 recipient.
Heart Health
Updates from our 2024 Recipients:
“Alpha Phi Foundation’s investment in our research is driving discovery at the intersection of innovation and equity. Their support is allowing us to evaluate circulating Fatty Acid Synthase, a promising biomarker that could revolutionize how we detect peripheral arterial disease in women – well before symptoms appear. This work has the potential to change clinical practice and improve outcomes for countless women at risk for cardiovascular disease.”
Dr. Mohamed Zayed
Barnes-Jewish Hospital
2024 Heart to Heart Clinical Grant Recipient
“With the generous support of the Alpha Phi Foundation and its donors, hundreds of Missourians have received lifesaving bystander CPR training; leading education that centers on saving women’s lives. Just as inspiring, nearly 100 students, most of them women, and many proud Alpha Phi members, have been trained to lead, educate, and empower their communities in this vital work. The Heart Squad will sustain its hands-only CPR curriculum at the University of Missouri, community efforts, and advocacy for women’s heart health long after the grant period.”
Dr. Julie Stilley and Kayla Riel
Missouri CARES Heart Squad
2024 Heart to Heart Community Grant Recipient
Since its inception in 1993, the Heart to Heart Grant has provided over $1.5M to fund more than 30 cutting-edge projects focused on the improvement of women’s cardiovascular care. In its thirty-first year, the Foundation created a new arm of eligibility for the Heart to Heart Grant to better serve funding in the cardiac space, ensuring our impact extends to include educational resources, specifically in underserved communities.
Scholarship
In 2025, Alpha Phi Foundation proudly awarded scholarships to 89 outstanding Alpha Phis whose academic excellence and achievements make us proud to count them as members of our sisterhood.
- $358,900 awarded
- 28 Graduate
- 61 Undergraduate
Alpha Phi shaped my undergraduate experience by showing me the power of community, and this scholarship reminds me how essential that support is in pursuing my professional goals.
Alessia Ruggiero
(Theta-Michigan)
“Live Like Eileen” Eileen Sheahan Memorial Scholarship Recipient
Scholarship
Checking in with our 2024-2025 scholarship recipients:
I am very blessed and honored to receive the Marilyn Bracken Ruckman Scholarship which will go towards furthering my academic studies as I am currently attending Physician Assistant School at LSU Health Shreveport. This scholarship will afford me the opportunity to achieve my professional goals with significantly less financial strain. Thank you for your support and confidence in me and my aspirations. Alpha Phi has and will continue to impact my life through the various friendships, connections, and memories I have made in my collegiate years and beyond and I am so thankful for the wonderful donors, as well as the Alpha Phi Foundation for providing me with such amazing opportunities.
Ella Jane Otken
(Delta Tau-LSU)
Marilyn Bracken Ruckman Scholarship Recipient
The Ivy Fund
The Ivy Fund supports Alpha Phi’s areas of greatest need. Unrestricted gifts allow the Foundation to bridge the gap between our pursuit of limitless excellence and the realities of the associated expenses not fully covered by designated funds alone.
I am passionate about supporting the Foundation’s Area of Greatest Need because it allows my gift to be used where it can have the most immediate and transformative impact. I’m empowering the Foundation to thrive and fulfill its mission at the highest level.
Janelle del Carlo
(Beta Delta-UCLA)
Foundation Board Vice Chair of Development
What is The Ivy Fund?
The symbolism of our ivy leaf is just as significant today as when our Founders selected it more than 150 years ago. A gift to The Ivy Fund supports Alpha Phi’s areas of greatest need. By making this vital gift, you are recommitting your fidelity and friendship to our sisterhood.
Just as its namesake vines intertwine and strengthen each other, The Ivy Fund offers a new way to give and grow together.
Your generosity and support of the Ivy Fund help fulfill our mission to advance women’s lives through the power of philanthropy by ensuring the Alpha Phi experience is available to the entirety of our sisterhood – now and for future generations.
Learn more about The Ivy Fund and how it supports our sisterhood by testing your Foundation knowledge with this fun themed crossword puzzle!
Forget Me Not
Alpha Phis are sisters for life, supporting one another through every life stage and helping each other in times of need. Alpha Phi Foundation exemplifies this life-long support through the Forget Me Not Grant Fund.
In FY25, Alpha Phi Foundation granted more than $107,000 to 57 sisters in need – 22 Collegians and 35 Alumnae.
Of these recipients, ten sisters were granted aid following Hurricane Helene and another ten received assistance after the Southern California wildfires.
New in 2025 is the Forget Me Not for Sixty+ Seniors Fund, supporting senior Alpha Phis who may be facing a variety of challenges, including declining health or death of a spouse, and are in need of financial assistance.
Forget Me Not
During a time of complete uncertainty and so much heartache, the Forget Me Not Grant helped relieve financial burden, so that we could focus on helping our community.
Jackie Kilgore
(Theta Nu-Appalachian State)
Forget Me Not Grant Recipient
Read more about the impact of Alpha Phi Foundation in support of our members following Hurricane Helene: “Hand in Hand Through Hurricane Helene.”
Begin a Forget-Me-Not Grant request for yourself or on behalf of a sister.
Canadian Foundation
A Milestone Year and a Powerful Beginning
At Alpha Phi Foundation Canada, we are committed to empowering Canadian members by providing support for their undergraduate and graduate education. Through scholarships and grants, we help women pursue their academic and professional aspirations.
In our inaugural year, Alpha Phi Foundation Canada surpassed expectations, raising over $55,000 through the collective generosity of our Canadian chapters and dedicated donors, including first-time, monthly, and returning supporters.
Together we are building a legacy of leadership, philanthropy, and impact. And this is only the beginning. Thank you for being a part of our story.
Canadian Foundation
The belief in our mission from loyal supporters is already creating real, tangible change. Because of this shared commitment, we are proud to announce that our first round of scholarships will be awarded by the end of 2025. This is an important step in empowering women and strengthening the future of heart health and education in Canada.
Visit alphaphifoundation.ca to learn more!
Donor Listing
Thank you to our sisters who led with their hearts and loyally supported our vision for the future of Alpha Phi Foundation. Your gifts this last fiscal year (July 1, 2024-June 30, 2025) were transformational and are impacting Alpha Phis every day and will continue to for generations.
Meet our Board of Directors
Click here to read more about the professional accomplishments of each of our esteemed Board members.
Rebecca Andrew Zanatta
Chair
Beta Rho
Washington State
Janelle Del Carlo
Vice Chair – Development
Beta Delta
UCLA
Jackee Schools
Vice Chair – Funding Priorities
Eta Lambda
George Mason
Claire Costin
Treasurer
Omega
Texas
Shana Goss Smith
Secretary
Chi
Montana
Barbara Chappell Tingley
Assistant Treasurer
Beta Pi
USC
Janis Coughlin-Piester
Assistant Secretary
Theta Kappa
Rochester
Susan McNeice
Director
Epsilon Nu
Delaware
Sheryl Barden
Director
Delta Tau – LSU
Gamma Rho – Penn State
Dara Goldsmith
Director
Epsilon Upsilon
CSU Northridge
Jennifer Johnston
Director
Zeta Gamma
Santa Clara
Kate Boyle-Halfon
Ex Officio & Alpha Phi Fraternity International President
Eta Delta
CSU East Bay