Once again it is an honor and a privilege to bring to you the state of your Kappa Alpha Psi National Foundation. Our theme under this administration continues to be “A New Way Forward “started back in 2018.

Your Foundation continues to grow and to be of service to our largest donor and benefactor, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc.  In 2022, as we came out of the single largest natural disaster in our life time, the Covid -19 Pandemic, we still continued to grow as a philanthropic organization. We found even more creative ways to serve our young people and communities around the country.

From hurricanes, to fires, to surges of both the Delta and Omicron Covid – 19 viruses, we supported our brotherhood as we tried to move back to some normal life style as citizens here in the US. With over 1 million plus citizens in these United States and over 6 million around the world to have lost their lives, our foundation stood tall in our service to our members and their communities. We found ways to continue to support our young people with scholarships, grants, and endowments to ensure that they stayed on course with their studies and finished school.  We gave over $383,000 plus through various programs which was a record high for this institution. 

Our support of the Fraternity’s national youth programs under the Guide Right umbrella rose to an all-time level throughout the country with grants from partnership such as the Kellogg Foundation and the Kenan Foundation, thus helping to ensure that college bound students could begin and complete their educational journey.

Our funding also supported programs such as Kappa Kamp at Paul Quinn College in Dallas, TX. and Kamp Kappa in Alexandria/Fairfax, VA. Through the efforts of our 2nd virtual “Celebration of Achievement” National Fund-Raising Events, led by Director Donald Bland and his team, we generated over $230k to help give over $100,000 in scholarships to both high school and collegiate students in 2022. This was the second year in a row that this event was held virtually and we generated over $ 450k during the height of the Covid Pandemic. We again with this board, the Fraternity, and our corporate partners, were able to touch students around the country with encouragement and funding to lift their spirits, relieve their financial burden, and keep them in the game of life in pursuit of their education during these most difficult times.

I am also proud to say that additional efforts such as the J5 Kappathon Celebration led by Grand Board Member Cliff Franklin now in its second year, generated $116k in 2022 to help with additional philanthropic efforts in support of Beneficiaries such as St. Jude, NAACP and disaster relief efforts. This yearly program has generated over $300k plus in the last 2 years during the Covid -19 Pandemic. Thank you, Brother Franklin and the brothers of St. Louis Alumni and from across the country for initiating and leading this initiative.

Our work to expand our partnerships in 2022 brought new relationships with the both the NBA & Kaiser Permanente who helped fund additional Guide Right projects with our young people across the country. These new partners saw our work and wanted to be a part of what we are doing for our young people in a meaningful way. Thanks to Brother Executive Director Anthony Stepney for your leadership here with these new relationships.

Members of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc and members of this board also stepped up to help by establishing significant endowments to support our youth.

Over 11 new endowments were established generating over $2.5 million in committed scholarship programs through our Foundation. Along with the existing 4 endowments we now have a total of 15 valued at over $2.7 million to date. This is an historic accomplishment as it speaks to the work we have been doing and how we manage this organization and support our young people.

These gifts are meaningful and significant and show that our work speaks to what our donors want to see. They are life changing and material in the lives of our young people across the country, and have inspired others to give at whatever level they can. My Thanks to these endowment givers for helping us to make a difference in the lives of others for many years to come.

I also want to acknowledge the significant work that the Capital Campaign in its 3rd year did to drive long term financial stability. This has also driven an atmosphere of giving from all members of our Grand Fraternity. Since the launch in 2020 we are moving very close to our $5 million dollar target through endowments, planned giving, annual giving and corporate partnerships toward our goal. This initiative has been co-led by Director Ronald Berryman and Director Michael Adkinson, and has been a game changer for the Foundation.

As we move into our final year of this campaign, we will launch our plan giving program so that members legacy can be forever memorialized through their estates and wills to help our young people realize their educational dreams. This overall program has been a huge success for the foundation and will enable us to be a stronger entity for years to come.

In the fall of last year, this Board of Directors, with the leadership of the Grand Chapter, and Past Grand Polemarches as well as key leaders of the Fraternity, came together in West Palm Beach, FL. at the PGA National Golf Resort for an historic retreat. We utilized the brain power of this group to discuss the future of our Foundation to better serve our members going forward. After pre-work, collaborative discussions and working with our consultant, we landed on 5 major outcomes of change:

1. Invest in our infrastructure with full time FTE’s to manage our Foundation
2. Have the Fraternity invest financially to help with this Infrastructure build-out
3. Incorporate the understanding of our Foundation in MTA Training and C. Roger Wilson Training
4. Create partnerships that align to our mission and objectives of philanthropic giving 
5. Align our Strategic Plan to the Strategic Plan of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. to ensure alignment of our program support 

We became better aligned, after this event, than ever before as we move this Foundation forward.  From our financial performance year over year elevating us to a $5 million dollar plus foundation, to our stewardship of managing our assets, to our clean audit reviews over the last several years, to our platinum status as a national foundation, we are moving in the right direction.

To our board members, Members Emeriti, fraternity leadership, corporate partners, foundation partners, we have expanded our brand and relationships beyond where many did not think we could go. 

I also want to thank two board members, who will be stepping down at this meeting, for their service and support. Director Robert Greene and Director Emeritus William Croom. Both have been steadfast and engaging for several years, and I have appreciated their guidance and support as we navigated uncertain times in the history of this foundation. Thank you for all that you have done for this organization and the people that we serve.

Finally, to our partners and staff. The day- to-day face of our Foundation is Cheryl Davis. She represents us well and gives our donors and benefactors the service they should have on behalf of this organization. We appreciate you and value your service! To Mona Hudson with AMS. our meeting planner, thanks for all that you do to ensure we have professional events and for facilitating our meetings as a Foundation. Your professionalism is very much appreciated. And to our Marketing team led by Mrs. Latricia Woods, owner of MX Communications, you continue to help us build our brand in a meaningful way, and tell our story to the marketplace in a professional way. Thanks for all that you and your team do for this Foundation. And finally, to our Executive Director Anthony Stepney, thanks for your leadership with our scholarship programs and being our voice to our Grant Partners externally, your work is very much appreciated as well. Mona, Cheryl, LaTricia and Anthony, we could not do this without your engagement and involvement. You are a great team!

I want to personally thank all of you for your confidence, support, networks, and hard work to help to do this most important work of giving and supporting our young people.

I am humbled to serve and appreciate the opportunity to lead this great organization!

Sincerely,

Michael J.Dubose 

President 

Kappa Alpha Psi Foundation