Announcing “Drive to 125” for the New Leo P. Larkin Scholarship
The Cornell Delta Phi Educational Fund’s trustees enthusiastically announce the first fundraising drive to endow a new scholarship that will honor the fund’s primary founder, Leo P. Larkin Jr. ’48. The Ed Fund trustees have set a goal of $250,000 for endowing the new Larkin scholarship that provides room and board at Llenroc to a worthy Cornell upperclassman or graduate student.
A fraternity-wide fundraising effort, designated “Drive to 125” in honor of The Delta Phi’s 125th anniversary in 2016, has been launched to raise $125,000 in founding pledges this year. To provide a solid kick-off to the Ed Fund’s effort, the Llenroc Foundation has become the first founding donor, with a contribution of $25,000. “The trustees of the Ed Fund express their deep gratitude to the Llenroc Foundation trustees for this very generous donation,” said trustee Fred Barre ’66.
The Cornell Delta Phi Educational Fund was the brainchild of Leo Larkin, who also did much of the heavy lifting in establishing the Ed Fund and in obtaining its tax exempt status. Larkin’s goal was to establish a vehicle that would allow tax-exempt contributions to be used to support scholarships at Llenroc and, thereby, would directly or indirectly benefit the undergraduate brotherhood in the form of scholarship awards, including room and board scholarships granted to worthy brothers or to live-in academic advisors. The current endowment fund grants over $12,000 in scholarships each year.
“How many of us did not directly benefit from such a scholarship or cannot recall a worthy brother who earned support and recognition from the Ed Fund,” explained trustee Ian Wright ’94. “Hundreds of Pi Chapter brothers have received scholarships and other indirect benefits from the Ed Fund over the last six decades. If each of these brothers were to pay forward the benefits he received to those who will follow with a contribution or pledge of just $1,000 or $500, we would quickly endow a meaningful benefit for worthy brothers far into the future.”
The Larkin scholarship is designated for an upperclassman or graduate student, to provide residents of Llenroc with a mature role model, mentor, and/ or academic advisor, pointing to the fraternity’s commitment to supporting scholarship and leadership.
The Cornell Delta Phi Educational Fund enjoys a status as a tax-exempt private foundation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions are tax deductible under section 170 of the code. You may choose to make a one-time donation or to make an annual pledge amount over up to five years. And you may designate your gift to the new Larkin scholarship or to the current cash scholarship program. Undesignated gifts in 2016 will be allocated by the trustees to the Larkin scholarship.
If you would like to discuss becoming a donor, have questions, or wish to volunteer to help in any other way, please contact any of the five trustees: Fred D. Barre ’66 ([email protected]), Craig Fanning ’57 ([email protected]), H. Stewart Wheller ’71 ([email protected]), Ian Wright ’94 (ian[email protected]), and Lawrence R. Boyd ’98 ([email protected]).
Educational Fund Giving
Many donors prefer to make contributions over a three-year period. Gifts of stocks, bonds, and other securities are welcomed. Gifts to the Cornell Delta Phi Educational Fund might save on taxes of appreciated property. There might be tax advantages to giving real estate through the Foundation.
While this method might not help immediately, remembering the Cornell Delta Phi Educational Fund in your will is one way to increase the endowment of the fund, which will benefit future generations of Cornell Delta Phi. Please be sure to include your bequest as part of your pledge total and to advise us of the bequest.
Naming Cornell Delta Phi Educational Fund as beneficiary of life insurance is another method of deferred giving. If you wish to make a gift of equipment or some other asset, please contact a campaign leader.