Amid the parties, date functions and formals, philanthropy plays a significant role in the University's Greek community. Sigma Nu has taken philanthropy to the next level and founded its own charity: the Sigma Nu Breast Cancer Research Fund.
Like other fraternities and sororities, Sigma Nu hosts a philanthropic event, but instead of directly benefiting a national organization, the money they raise goes into the Sigma Nu Breast Cancer Research Fund. This organization in turn donates money to its national parent organization, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
Paul Emery, third-year Commerce student and the charity's chairman of the board of directors, said the Sigma Nu Breast Cancer Research Fund is a public charity as defined under section 501c3 of the Internal Revenue Code, which specifically states that organizations are tax-exempt. The Sigma Nu fraternity, Beta Chapter is a separate entity with separate leadership.
"Having two separate entities [the fraternity and the charity], helps me as president to rally our troops, to get our brothers behind the cause," said Sigma Nu president Kevin Buenvenida, a fourth-year College student.
Sigma Nu has been hosting the annual Xanadu beach party for 11 years, but Emery said last year the brothers decided to add a philanthropic element to the party -- a charity concert.
"Xanadu has always been a party, and it's always been popular," Emery said. "We decided to take the popularity and turn it into a positive change in the community."
Third-year College student Anthony Simasek, Sigma Nu's director of fundraising, said securing tax-exempt status for the Sigma Nu Breast Cancer Research Fund was imperative in covering the high overhead costs of a concert and still being able to raise a significant amount of money.
"It's a million times easier to raise money once you get that status because you are able to offer tax-exempt receipts to donors," Simasek said.
Emery noted that fundraising in the name of a charity also opens up opportunities for new donors.
"A lot of other philanthropic events rely heavily on student and parent donations," Emery said. "We saw that as an over-tapped market. Our numbers as far as what we want to raise is much higher than a lot of other Greek philanthropies, so we decided to raise the money ourselves to our own charity."
Despite the rainy weather for the Xanadu concert held last April, the Sigma Nu Breast Cancer Research Fund was able to make a $4,500 donation to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
The national Sigma Nu philanthropy benefits the Christopher Reeve Foundation for treatments and cures of paralysis caused by spinal cord injuries, but the University's Beta Chapter chose the Breast Cancer Research Fund because of personal links with breast cancer.
"We chose this organization because a lot of the brothers have particular and intimate ties to breast cancer," said Buenvenida, whose mother is a two-time breast cancer survivor. "Our chapter decided to distinguish ourselves and deviate from the norm to do our own thing that is a more viable option at this particular university."
The Breast Cancer Research Foundation also guarantees that 85 cents of every dollar donated goes directly into the hands of a researcher studying potential cures, Emery said.
"We use [the Breast Cancer Research Foundation] as an intermediary to get money in the hands of researchers," Emery said. "It'd be too hard for us to do it ourselves."
The Sigma Nu Breast Cancer Research Fund uses the money raised to increase awareness as well as go toward research for cures.
"We plan to use the money to do public awareness events, put up flyers and alert people to the need for breast cancer research," Emery said. "Our own charity can do a lot of things that other organizations can't."
Buenvenida said many students are not surprised when they hear about the Sigma Nu Breast Cancer Research Fund.
"The Greek system here has long-standing philanthropic events, some of which have been happening for 15 to 20 years," Buenvenida said. "I'm glad to say that people here associate fraternities and sororities with philanthropy in general."
On the other hand, Emery said corporations and other businesses not affiliated with the University often need some explanation.
"Until we can explain the charity to [potential donors], they believe they're giving money to Sigma Nu the frat house, and we'll turn around and spend it on beer and parties," Emery said. "It takes explaining to let people know they're donating money to an independent, federally designated charity organization."
Emery said he has also run into similar problems with bands.
"The bands get here expecting to play at a frat party, and they say, 'Wow, it's a dry benefit concert,'" Emery said. "You hear fraternity philanthropy, and you think six-hour booze fest, but this is completely the opposite."
Simasek, whose mother and grandmother are breast cancer survivors, said he felt privileged to be one of the founders of the charity.
"It's an honor to have founded it with the guys and to have raised as much money in our first year in existence," Simasek said.
In addition to the monetary success the Sigma Nu Breast Cancer Research Fund has enjoyed so far, the brothers feel a sense of accomplishment as well, Emery said.
"Personally, with my intimate ties to breast cancer, you feel like you're doing a great thing for a great cause," Buenvenida said.
Emery said he believes that, in taking the extra initiative in forming the Sigma Nu Breast Cancer Research Fund, Sigma Nu has distinguished itself from other organizations.
"If we could create our own thing different from [the Sigma Nu national charity] and it had potential, people would get behind it and make it into something impressive," Emery said. "It pushed us to break away from the normal, national philanthropy everyone has to do and create something above and beyond"
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