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State of the Foundation

2022 State of the Kappa Alpha Psi Foundation

(An open letter to Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated)

Michael J. Dubose Kappa Alpha Psi Foundation President

It is an honor and 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 2016.

Your Foundation continues to grow and be of service to our largest donor and benefactor, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. In 2021 the greatest threat to mankind, COVID -19, continued to affect our nation and our brothers along with their families in many, many ways. Natural disasters continued as well, and the need to support our young brothers navigating through these difficult times also continued.

From hurricanes in Louisiana to fires in California, to the surges of both the Delta and Omicron COVID-19 viruses, where we could, we supported this brotherhood on behalf of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. As of this writing more than 960,000 citizens in these United States have lost their lives, and over 5.9 million lost their lives around the world. We must continue to be diligent and mindful that we are not beyond this pandemic yet, but science and medicine are developing treatments to help bring us back to a healthy state, and back to a more normal way of life.

During all of this, your Foundation stood with our brothers in many ways to ensure that they and their families knew that they were not alone. While we could not help everyone, we asked you to donate to help us to serve more members in their time of need, and you did!

At no time in our history of 40 years has the need for our philanthropic efforts been greater than over the last 2 years. We sincerely hope that our service to our fraternity, our young people across the country, and to the communities where we live, felt our impact in a meaningful way. If so, this would confirm the vision of the 23rd Grand Polemarch, Dr. Oliver S. Gumbs, as to why an entity such as this Foundation needed to exist to serve the members of this Grand Fraternity, and the communities where we live.

If you remember back in 2020 at the National Founders Day event held in Las Vegas, the Foundation with the support of the 34th Grand Polemarch Reuben Shelton Esq, and the Grand Board of Directors, launched our four year, $5 million capital campaign program. This was to ensure we could support our brothers in meaningful ways in the years to come. Through 2021 we have raised over $1.6 million through various channels as a result of this initiative. Your giving helped us in 2020 to give over $ 500k to our Undergraduates in the form of $500 grants to help them during COVID-19. With the help of our partners: the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, National Silhouettes, Senior Kappa Endowment, and the Kappa Alpha Psi Foundation, over 800 young brothers felt our support directly. This was truly a historical effort done as “One Kappa.”

This capital campaign, co-led by Foundation Directors Ron Berryman and Michael Adkinson, has been meaningful and has set us on the right path to securing our future to serve our members. The Oral History project generated over 12 thousand stories and inspired over 3400 contributors.

In 2021 your Foundation disbursed over $225,000 from 12 endowments and grant programs to the following recipients:

  1. Kappa Kamp at Paul Quinn College
  2. Kamp Kappa with Alexandra / Fairfax Alumni
  3. The Naviance College prep for our Guide Right Program
  4. STEM scholarships across the country
  5. Senior Kappa Endowment Grants to chapters
  6. Disaster Relief to Louisiana
  7. Community Grants
  8. Endowment Scholarship from the following Endowments: HH Holloway, Michael Dubose Family, Rod Adkins Family, Randy Partee Family, Celebration of Achievement Program Scholarships

Also, in 2021, six new endowments for over $230,000 were established through the generosity of Director Sean Battle, Director Ron Berryman, Director Emeriti Robert Harris, Director Martin Hubbard, Brother George Hamilton, and the late Laurel Wreath and Elder Watson Diggs Awardee, Dr. Ralph Bryson. Thanks for your leadership and kindness on behalf of our brothers.

Through the relationship established with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation by Brother Ron Berryman, we renewed our partnership with the Kellogg Foundation and as such, was awarded a one year, $150,000 grant to support our Guide Right Program. Also, because of the leadership of our Executive Director Anthony Stepney, we received a grant from the NBA & Kaiser Permanente of $10,000 to support our young people across the country. Thanks for leveraging your relationships for the Foundation!

During the Grand Chapter summer conclave, the Foundation’s “Celebration of Achievement event” was held virtually and led by Director Donald Bland and his committee. This was the first time we held this event virtually and the execution was flawless and generated more dollars than when we held the event live at past Grand Chapter meetings. Over $200,000 was netted to support $60,000 in scholarships given during the event, and the remaining dollars after expenses, contributed to the $5 million dollar capital campaign endowment. Outstanding job and thanks to our marketing partners Mahogany Xan Communications, LaTricia Woods, and all who helped us to pull this event off!

These were meaningful gifts and again show the work and commitment that this Foundation Board does to support our young people and brothers all over the country.

In 2021 the assets of this Foundation also grew 9% to $5.29 million with a 10% year-over-year growth trend. With our Internal Audits completed now for 2019 and soon to be completed for 2020, confidence to give to our cause has increased tremendously due to the generosity of our Brothers and our Board. Each Board member commits to $5,000 per year, but in actuality, the average has been over $15,000 per year. That shows the commitment of this Board personally and through their networks and resources.

In 2022, we expect our assets to approach $7 million due to the efforts of donations from the brothers, corporate giving, planned estate giving, and endowments from scholarships being established.

From a Board perspective, we had a number of members who have also achieved personally in their respective fields, and some have been featured already in the Kappa Alpha Psi Journal. We plan on featuring all of our Directors in each edition to show the achievements of these great leaders and why they are committed to this Foundation.

Congratulations to the following Directors who had professional achievements in 2021:

  1. Ron Berryman
  2. Martin Hubbard
  3. Ron Adkins
  4. Sean Battle
  5. Don Bland
  6. Don Frieson
  7. Robert Greene
  8. Cain Hayes
  9. Evan Jackson
  10. Gail Johnson
  11. Gregory Thomas

Their accomplishments speak to the caliber of achievers on this Board, and their impact on society and their professions. Well Done!

I also want to acknowledge our Legal Counsel brother, O’ Kelly McWilliams, for all of his help and support this year. He guided us through our MOUs and ensured that our brand was protected in all of our legal engagements. Thanks to his firm, Mintz Law Firm, which supports his pro bono service to us.

In 2021, we also added thee new members from both the Fraternity and the National Silhouette Organization. Director Jimmy McMikle (Senior Grand Vice Polemarch), Director Myles Miller (Junior Grand Vice Polemarch) and former scholarship recipient of this foundation, and Director Theresa Foster (National Silhouettes President). Welcome to the Board!

I also want to acknowledge the work of our committee chairpersons who have led our national initiatives and executed them flawlessly:

  1. Director Donald Bland, Celebration of Achievement
  2. Director Michael Adkinson, Capital Campaign
  3. Director Ron Berryman, Capital Campaign
  4. Director Bob Greene, Finance Committee
  5. Executive Director Anthony Stepney, Scholarships & Province Directors
  6. Director Michael Adkinson, Scholarships
  7. Director Sherman Kizart, Corporate Relations
  8. Director Emeritus William Croom, By-Laws
  9. Director Gregory Thomas, Capital Campaign
  10. Director Sean Battle, Capital Campaign
  11. Director Martin Hubbard, Capital Campaign

And finally, in 2021, your Foundation achieved Platinum Status as a national foundation under the Guide Start Transparency national rating, the highest level of recognition!

In 2022, we have another ambitious agenda. We will focus on the following areas:

  1. Capital Campaign Continuation with a $500,000 goal
  2. Celebration of Achievement Summer Event with a goal of $200,000 net
  3. Kappa Kamp Paul Quinn College support
  4. Kamp Kappa Alexandra/Fairfax Alumni support
  5. ULI Program Support
  6. Scholarship Disbursements
  7. Senior Kappa Grant Disbursements
  8. Community Grants

In closing, I want to personally thank all of the Directors on this Board as well as our Emeriti Directors, our Executive Director Anthony Stepney, along with Cheryl Davis, our Executive Assistant, for all of their work and support of our mission. I want to also thank our support partners: Mona Hudson with AMS Meeting Planners & Production, LaTricia Woods of Mahogany Xan Communications, Brother James Hardy, our printer and designer, and Brother Ryan Adkins, our videographer, for all of their professional services to us!

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

Sincerely,

Michael J. Dubose
President
Kappa Alpha Psi Foundation

 

To download a copy of the State of the Foundation, please click here.