Celebrating 149 Years of Alpha Phi with Founders’ Day of Giving!

Alpha Phi’s give with heart to kick off one year until Alpha Phi’s 150th celebration

Occasions like Founders’ Day of Giving truly demonstrate the spirit of an organization – and this year did not disappoint. Alpha Phi is proud to share that through the generosity of our sisters, friends, and family, together, we raised over $221,000!

October 7, 2021, was a day full of genuine participation and powerful support as sisters near-and-far came together and united around the single purpose of honoring the Original Ten. As the Manager of Annual Giving for Alpha Phi Foundation, I was honored to be involved in such an exciting day. Gifts to the Area of Greatest Need, Chapter Leadership Funds, and Heritage contributed to the preservation of a premier membership experience and support for groundbreaking research in cardiac care for women.

A Day Full of Leading With Heart

I am most proud of the leadership shown around the world. Volunteers, staff, and sisters a-like all championed our cause and led with heart on Founders’ Day of Giving.

• Alpha Phi Foundation’s Board of Directors rallied to share the Founders’ Day of Giving message with sisters, friends, and family through social media and connecting with generous donors.
• Our Leading With Heart Campaign Ambassadors supported grassroots crowdfunding efforts by creating personalized ‘peer-to-peer’ giving pages to share with their personal network and inspire giving.
• Twelve Phi-nomenal Collegiate Stewardship Volunteers made over 300 calls to donors in the weeks leading up to Founders’ Day of Giving to raise awareness and inspire alumnae members to make a gift. On the day of, these budding philanthropists spread the word through their social media channels, piloted peer-to-peer pages, and sent “thank you” messages to donors.
• Alpha Phi Foundation staff created their Founders’ Day Headquarters at the Executive Office in Evanston. The team handled donor calls and questions, shared our key messages, monitored incoming gifts, and encouraged volunteer groups.
• Alpha Phi sisters far and wide volunteered their time, resources, and passion to enhance the day.

There was no shortage of camaraderie as memories were shared, songs were sung, and passion expressed. Not to mention a little bit of competition peppered throughout as sisters competed in various challenges.

• Congratulations to the Beta Tau Chapter at Indiana University for winning the BIG 10 Challenge by raising $7,265.
• Alpha Phi collegians joined in the fun too with the Beta Eta Chapter at The University Manitoba winning the PHI-lanthropist Challenge with 56% of the chapter’s active members making a gift.

This Founders’ Day of Giving emphasized the importance of donating to our area of greatest need – the Leading With Heart campaign. This transformative campaign is a seven-year effort focused on endowing the future of Alpha Phi for generations to come. Gifts made to the Leading With Heart campaign ensure leadership training opportunities (such as Alpha Phi Leadership Institute), annually award over 80 scholarships, and support for women’s heart health initiatives for the Alpha Phis of today and tomorrow.

We could not have done this with you, our sisters. Thank you to all who participated in Alpha Phi Foundation’s 2021 Founders’ Day of Giving. Thank you for leading with heart.