Every Generation Inherits the Responsibility to Care for the House

California Epsilon’s Living Legacy

“Every generation of Phi Psis benefits from the chapter house. Every generation also inherits the responsibility to care for it.” For Robert Wallan UCLA ’81, that responsibility is deeply personal. As a member of the Cal Epsilon House Corporation Board, he helps oversee fundraising, insurance, and relations with UCLA. He has witnessed firsthand the realities of maintaining a facility valued at more than $12 million and home to hundreds of young men over its lifetime. “Although the chapter house was rebuilt less than 20 years ago, it has expensive building code-required features, including elevators and climate control, that require significant resources,” he explained.

While chapter houses have always served as places where friendships are forged and future brothers are recruited, their role today extends far beyond providing a roof overhead. They are living-learning environments where students study, collaborate, develop leadership skills, and build habits that shape their futures. To fulfill that mission, chapter houses must provide modern technology, reliable infrastructure, safe living conditions, and spaces that support both academic achievement and personal well-being.

Preserving these environments requires a sustained investment, which is why the Phi Psi Foundation’s educational housing grant program is so critical.

Through Chapter Housing and Operating Funds, held by the Foundation and designated for specific chapters, alumni have a meaningful way to protect and strengthen the places that have shaped generations of Phi Psis. Tax-deductible gifts to these funds help ensure chapter facilities remain safe, healthy, and educationally focused, while Foundation grant support assists with the maintenance, improvements, and upkeep necessary to keep these spaces thriving.

By supporting a Chapter Housing or Operating Fund, alumni are doing more than maintaining a building. They are investing in the experiences, opportunities, and lifelong impact that occur within its walls, ensuring future brothers have the same foundation for success that once benefited them.

“We maintain a large balance of funds with the Foundation, largely the result of major fundraising efforts surrounding the rebuild of the house, plus endowments created by individual alums,” Robert shared.

That long-term planning has positioned the house corporation well, but the responsibility of caring for a premier facility never ends.

“The chapter has been very successful since its reinstatement in 2015, and the alumni support has provided financial stability for the chapter to continue to thrive,” added Lloyd Talbert UCLA ’78, chairman and treasurer of the Cal Epsilon House Corporation. “However, we have a large mortgage with 20 years remaining and, as the chapter house ages, we will start to incur significant maintenance costs to replace items like HVAC and kitchen equipment.”

Like any major facility, a chapter house requires continual reinvestment. Systems wear out. Equipment must be replaced. The building needs updates to remain safe, functional, and relevant for future generations of students. While undergraduate members play an important role through responsible stewardship, alumni support remains essential to preserving the house corporation’s long-term strength.

“The chapter is doing its part in maintaining membership levels and financial stewardship over dues and expenses,” Lloyd explained. “Alumni can continue to do their part in financially supporting the chapter and house corporation by ensuring the funds required for house operations and upkeep are available as required.”

Grants from the Foundation come in two forms. Construction grants pay for building or renovating the designated education areas of a chapter house or for acquiring furniture or equipment for the area. Operating grants pay for the direct and indirect costs of maintaining a designated education area, meaning that money can be used to pay a certain percentage of the real estate taxes, insurance, utilities, and other facility expenses.

Together, these grants help preserve more than bricks and mortar. They sustain the environments where academic success is encouraged, leadership is developed, friendships are forged, and the values of Phi Kappa Psi are lived every day. 

Minnesota Beta’s Winning Formula

For Minnesota Beta, educational housing grants have become a tangible example of alumni investing in the future of the chapter and the young men who call it home.

The house corporation received its first Foundation housing grant in 2024 and a second grant the following year, bringing total support to approximately $11,500.

“These grants are made possible through the generosity of alumni donors who believe in the long-term success of Minnesota Beta,” said Chapter Advisor Andrew Zobel UMN Twin Cities ’14. “Those donors include both historical supporters who have supported the chapter through significant gifts and members of the 1609 Club, our recurring giving society that provides ongoing support year after year.”

Behind every grant is a community of brothers who recognize that a thriving chapter house requires more than annual dues and undergraduate effort. It requires alumni who are willing to invest in the educational environment that helps shape future leaders.

That philosophy inspired Mason Thimjon UMN Twin Cities ’18, to establish the 1609 Club in 2021. What began as a way for alumni to make consistent, accessible contributions has become an important source of ongoing support for the chapter’s future.

“These grants exist specifically to support the educational portion of our chapter house,” Mason explained. “It’s one of the best win-wins out there. When you free up resources on the educational side, it gives the chapter room to operate and invest in other areas that keep the house and chapter running well. Our alumni donors are supporting something meaningful, and the chapter gets the breathing room to put its resources where they’re needed most.”

The impact extends well beyond the dollars received. Every grant helps strengthen the spaces where members study, collaborate, prepare for careers, and develop the skills that will serve them long after graduation. At the same time, it eases financial pressure on the chapter, allowing undergraduate leaders to focus on creating a stronger brotherhood and a healthier chapter experience.

For Minnesota Beta, the program demonstrates what is possible when alumni and undergraduates work together toward a common goal: ensuring the chapter house remains not just a place to live, but a place to learn, grow, and prepare for a purposeful life.