October 26, 2017
Fraternities and sororities are the nation’s second largest provider of college student housing. Fraternal organizations like Kappa Delta provide housing – a one-of-a-kind experience – for more than 370,000 of the most active students on campuses. Yet, donations toward building and maintaining our houses are restricted from receiving full tax deductions. Join your KD sisters to support the Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act (CHIA) to provide our houses with equal access to facility upgrades under the law.
As Kappa Delta’s former director of chapter housing and current housing volunteer, I have seen interest in sorority life explode in the past 15 years, resulting in huge chapter sizes. Along with this increased interest comes requests for new housing, as well as the need to maintain and expand current housing to remain safe, competitive and capable of supporting our growing chapters. The current restrictions limiting tax-deductible donations to fraternal housing have severely impacted some chapters’ ability to function, forcing some chapters to hold weekly chapter meetings out of the house, as their currents spaces are simply not large enough.
By simplifying the tax code, all non-for-profit housing (including fraternities and sororities) will be able to gain incentives to increase funding for capacity upgrades and life-safety requirements like fire sprinklers and alarm systems. If integrated into tax reform, CHIA – which has always enjoyed bipartisan support – will also make a meaningful difference in the student debt crisis, by expanding the offering of affordable collegiate housing options.
We need your help. Click here to tell Congress to include CHIA in the upcoming tax reform package. The more voices Congress hears, the more likely students across the country will gain the benefits of safe and affordable student housing. Thank you for your support.
Cindy Deiters Mize
Chapter Housing Specialist