News

Since our founding in 1981, the Delta Tau Delta Educational Foundation has made a significant effort to recognize those donors who have paved the way for future generations. Below is a summary of how our most visible recognition societies came to be and how their names were derived.

Delta Alpha Kappa Society

Our newest giving society launched in 2014, the Delta Alpha Kappa Society seeks to recognize those donors that choose to support the Delta Tau Delta Educational Foundation via recurring gifts. The initials were first added to Fraternity images in 1870 and stood for a secret motto within Delta Tau Delta, which later became one of the first public motto’s in the Greek world. It translates to: “Labor for the beautiful and the good.” Donations made via a regular payment plan (monthly, quarterly or yearly) are a convenient and easy way to support the Foundation. Credit or debit cards can be set up to run on the first or the 15th of every month. Making a recurring gift allows you to build a significant contribution through smaller installments.

Order of the C---

From the early days of the Fraternity, the goal of every Delt has been to lead a life of “practical, everyday service.” The Order of the C--- was started in 1996 as an exclusive insider’s club to help grow the major and planned gift programs of the Foundation. As a result of the initial success, members asked that it become a permanent giving club within the Annual DeltFund and be opened to all Delts to promote gifts of $1,000 or more each year. “The C---” is derived from the original private proceedings of the Fraternity dating back to 1877 and stood for The Crescent. Today, more than 70 percent of the Annual DeltFund revenue comes from this loyal group.

Heritage Society

The Heritage Society is a giving club of very special Delts and friends of the Foundation who have made special gifts to support the future of Delta Tau Delta through their estate plans. While most planned gifts are of an unrestricted nature, some are also made on behalf of individual chapters or for restricted scholarship funds.

These special people understand that the future will always bring new challenges that may be unforeseen, but will require additional resources to overcome. Heritage Society members seek to recognize the historical importance of those who have preceded them while ensuring that the value of Fraternity membership descends to our newest brothers.

Bethany Society

The Bethany Society, the most recognizable of all Delt giving societies, was launched at the 1998 Karnea in Kansas City, specifically for the “Building On Excellence” campaign. It recognizes a donor's lifetime giving and encourages major cash gifts of more than $25,000. To be a member of the Bethany Society, one must have pledged or given more than $25,000 or made an estate gift in excess of $100,000.

Bethany Blazer

Recipients receive a Bethany Blazer with the Fraternity’s coat of arms. The blazer is green in recognition to the special relationship between the Fraternity and Bethany College. Blazers are purchased by Former Foundation Chairman Norval Stephens (DePauw, 1951) and his wife, Diane. It is their way of saying thank you to the many alumni who have brought the Foundation to its current status as well as those who are helping write the next chapter in the Foundation's story of support for Delta Tau Delta.