Sons of the Dragon Club

The Sons of the Dragon Club is the Beta Foundation’s annual giving program exclusively for all collegians, new members and members alike. The Club is a special way for collegians to learn about the Foundation and join other brothers and friends providing charitable gifts to the Beta Leadership Fund (BLF). Today’s collegians directly benefit from the award-winning leadership programs and resources funded by the Foundation each year, and the Sons of the Dragon Club is a unique way for young members to begin their lifelong journey of building a bridge for those who follow.

The Beta Leadership Fund is the Beta Foundation’s annual fund, responsible for funding the Fraternity’s educational activities. Annual gifts to the BLF help fund programs and services such as the Miller Nichols Chapter Presidents Leadership Academy, Keystone Leadership Conference, Peter F. Greiner Leadership College, John and Nellie Wooden Institute for Men of Principle, Men of Principle Scholarship Grants, Merit Scholarship Program, need-based relief scholarships, travel reimbursements and onsite and virtual support for all chapters and advisors.

The Fraternity’s budget, passed annually by Convention delegates, dictates the use of chapter dues and fees for non-educational expenses such as risk management, insurance, recruitment and The Beta Theta Pi Magazine. This is distinct from the financials of the Beta Foundation, which aim to subsidize as much educational activity allowable by law each year. This helps keep chapter dues low, while also providing important leadership programs and services to all Beta chapters. Last year, the Foundation granted roughly $35,548 per chapter for leadership, tuition and educational needs. This again ranked among the highest of all fraternities for dollars granted per chapter and collegiate member. Charitable giving through the Sons of the Dragon Club must remain an individual’s choice, and the spirit of the Club can be lost if a chapter simply charges each member an extra $10 or $25 dollars. A gift to the Beta Foundation is not “extra dues,” but rather one’s conscious decision to support our mission of developing men of principle for a principled life.

Members that join by March 13 will have their gifts counted toward Beta’s annual Giving Day Challenge and receive their 2025 Sons of the Dragon Club incentive(s) as a “thank you”.

The Beta Foundation monitors its fundraising and spending performance relative to nonprofit benchmarks, consistently ranking in the top three among all fraternity foundations. Over a ten-year average, $0.89 of every dollar spent went directly to programs benefiting collegians, well above the nonprofit benchmark of $0.65 per dollar. In simple terms, the $28,494 raised by the 2024 Sons of the Dragon Club equaled the funding needed for 28 chapters to receive Men of Principle Scholarship Grants for use in recruitment ($1,000 each), to sponsor 43 rising leaders to attend the Wooden Institute ($650), assist 57 members with need-based scholarships ($500) to increase the affordability of school for brothers in need, ease attendance costs of 190 members to attend Convention through travel reimbursements ($100+) or sponsor 71 chapter presidents to attend Presidents Academy ($400). Although your gift of $10+ may seem small, you are joining thousands of your peers in directly impacting your chapter experiences each year.

The next step for Sons of the Dragon Club members who graduate is to join the Foundation’s Auto-Kai Club, which recognizes Betas and friends who establish recurring electronic gifts to the BLF in monthly, quarterly or yearly installments. To encourage Sons of the Dragon Club members to join the Auto-Kai Club after graduating, a special incentive is offered each spring to graduating seniors who agree to join the Auto-Kai Club beginning with $10 per month on Beta’s Founders’ Day (August 8). The Auto-Kai Club breaks up your annual giving into smaller amounts, limits solicitations and ensures your giving makes a year-round impact on the next generation of Betas. Click here to learn more about the Auto-Kai Club.

Remember, the Club’s two objectives are to educate members about the Beta Foundation and start them on the path of giving back annually. To take an active role in advancing the Club, consider these questions:

• Are you a member of the Sons of the Dragon Club? Do you encourage others to join?
• Can you confidently articulate the purposes of the Beta Foundation and the BLF?
• Does your chapter provide annual education to each new member class on the Beta Foundation, the Sons of the Dragon Club and the programs/scholarships available to your chapter?
• Does your chapter set a goal for membership of the Club? Do you strive to surpass the membership results from the previous year?

These are just a few things to consider when promoting the Sons of the Dragon Club. If you are interested in serving as a Collegiate Foundation Ambassador or having your chapter volunteer for Giving Day Challenge support on March 12-13, 2025, please contact the Beta Foundation staff at 800.800.BETA (2382).