PLP Alumnae Step Up as Mentors and Advisors while Active Sisters Work Hard to Keep Phi Lamb Strong

PLP Alumnae Step Up as Mentors and Advisors while Active Sisters Work Hard to Keep Phi Lamb Strong

Posted on by Michelle Klinger-Wellner

First the challenge… 
Early in 2013, PLPAA learned that the sorority was two years behind in their property taxes, $5,500 behind in their power bill, several payments behind in their mortgage (held by an alumna), and behind in their water and garbage bills.  As if that weren’t bad enough news, we found that after graduation in May ’13 the sorority would be left with only seven active sisters.
Next the good news…
For several months, PLPAA spent time and effort to get Phi Lamb back on track. We successfully worked with the county of Oswego, creating a repayment plan of back taxes allowing the tax burden to be split into 5 individual payments. A tax escrow account was created at a local Oswego bank to collect alumnae donations, which to date have totaled almost $6,000. That was enough to make the down payment and the first installment payment due at the end of December 2013.  PLPAA also negotiated with the sorority’s liability insurance company, effectively lowering the annual liability insurance (required by the College) cost from $8,500 to $6,246.  In addition to PLPAA’s efforts, another group of alumnae began a fundraising committee, generating almost $5,000 for the sorority—primarily through online auctions.  PLPAA also worked to create a financial plan for the sorority that would assure future success, including recommendations for increasing rents and hiring a property management company to manage the House.
Ultimately, the active sisters decided to proceed with their own plan, foregoing the expense of a property management company, and managing their own finances.  A dedicated, responsible active sister took the reins and became President and Treasurer. Seven people lived in the house this fall; 5 sisters and 2 independents. Rent is being collected, sisters are stepping up to pay back rent, Greek events are being sponsored, and fundraising efforts are underway.  Since the active sisters came back to school in September, they have paid $2800 in back taxes, almost $5,000 toward the power bill, four payments to the mortgage on the house (held by an alumna sister), and half ($2,600) of their liability insurance.
In addition, they have successfully recruited and initiated three new sisters during Fall Rush 2013, and have made many repairs to the house, including fixing plumbing leaks and repairing a buckled area in the hardwood floor.
Unfortunately, the 2012 school tax bill of $3,350 was not included in the County payment plan and remains outstanding, in addition to the 2013-14 taxes that they still have to pay (about $7,500.)
Now the plea…
Showing the ultimate Phi Lamb spirit and determination that we all know so well, the active sisters are trying very hard to turn things around – both by paying off their debt and increasing their numbers. PLPAA will continue to provide advice and guidance as requested. But to successfully turn things around, the actives need some financial support from PLP alumnae. They are hoping that each alumna who is able will consider making a donation of any amount this winter to the PLP Tax Escrow Fund. Your contributions to this account are paid directly to Oswego County to offset back taxes and to help avoid losing the Phi Lamb House to tax foreclosure. This sisterhood effort keeps us all involved in preventing the loss of a valuable monetary asset. The active sisters are determined to bring in a large pledge class this spring so that our sorority will continue for years to come. For information on how to contribute, click here.

Actives & Alumnae at the house
Actives & Alumnae at the House
Phi Lamb Needs You Now

Phi Lamb Needs You Now

Posted on by MAO
Dear Phi Lamb Alumnae Sisters:
The NUMBER-ONE goal of the PLPAA is to stay connected with you and to keep the memories and fun that Phi Lamb brought us in college, and over the years, alive and well. With that in mind, we are building a contact database of 700+ Lambs — a handy way to keep old friends close and make new ones! We’re also collecting artifacts, composites, and memories to create a digital Phi Lamb archive. AND…we’re planning Phi Lambda Phi’s 55th Birthday Bash, June 5-8, 2014, in Oswego. Please mark your calendars right now!! More news will be forthcoming soon.BEYOND ALUMNAE PROJECTS
In addition to our alumnae projects and interests, PLPAA is also committed to mentoring the active sisters. That work is progressing, with a number of sisters from the 1990s and 2000s leading the way with good advice and guidance. The actives inducted three new sisters this fall and are working hard to keep our beloved Phi Lamb vibrant. The actives are also working to pay their hefty liability insurance premium, some old debts, and the current year’s property taxes.PHI LAMB HOUSE TAX ESCROW ACCOUNT
You may remember that the actives reached out for our help last spring to help pay back taxes and avoid losing the House to foreclosure. PLPAA feels committed to supporting this ongoing effort, since a few years back, one of our late-1970s alums was kind enough to front money for very necessary house repairs and now holds a mortgage on the property. We feel that it’s important to protect this kind sister’s investment until we can determine the fate of the Phi Lamb House. (Both restoration and sale are options, but first-things-first…we have to protect our investment in order for the choice to remain ours and not Oswego County’s!)
Your generosity last spring and summer raised $5,000 —enough to set up a tax payment plan with the County, pay the down payment and make the first   scheduled payment later this month.PHI LAMB NEEDS YOU NOW AGAIN
Major back-tax payments loom between now and June ($8,000). If we do not meet them on schedule, the payment plan will be voided, and a new plan cannot be established for two years. Plus, an immediate LUMP-SUM payment will be required to avoid foreclosure. This payment would exceed $15,000.
We ask the sisters of Phi Lambda Phi, if you can afford it, to please send a contribution today. Your donation will filter directly to the Tax-Escrow Account. This money is handled by the alumnae and is paid directly to Oswego County.
We mentioned previously that if 200 sisters could afford $200 each, the actives would be out from under their tax debts, and we’d even be able to contribute to some necessary and sensible repairs, like having a new furnace and windows installed, which would greatly save on heating bills (and creating new debt).
We’ve come this far. Can you pitch in? Without our help with the back taxes, the house will be lost (an investment worth $50,000 after all debts are settled.)
WHERE TO SEND YOUR DONATION
Please DO NOT send your tax donation to any individual sister (alum or active.)

You may now make your donation to the Tax-Escrow Fund directly through PayPal! Click below to donate:




 

You may also send a check or money order payable to: Phi Lambda Phi Tax-Escrow Fund

Phi Lambda Phi Tax-Escrow Fund
C/o Community Bank
100 East First Street
Oswego, NY 13126
All donations (which we believe are tax deductible, since Phi Lambda Phi Sorority is a registered New York State not-for-profit organization) will be acknowledged by the active sisters.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact PLPAA President Bonnie Love, (585) 704-4557, Email: blove52@aol.com.
I have personally made my contribution to the Phi Lamb Tax-Escrow Fund. I’m hoping that you are able to do the same. Thank you for considering this.

Love in Phi Lamb,
Mary Anne Oriente Mather ‘71
First Vice-President, PLPAA

PLPAA’s Response to PLP’s May 2013 Fundraising Letter

PLPAA’s Response to PLP’s May 2013 Fundraising Letter

Posted on by Bonnie Love

There are mixed feelings among PLP Alums as to whether or not the Phi Lamb House is worth saving. The irony of the matter is that right now, without the house, the Sorority, at its present size, cannot raise enough revenue to pay the annual $8,000 liability insurance premium, which the college requires in order for the sorority to maintain its charter. Additionally, even if the house is eventually sold, back taxes need to be addressed with Oswego County before mid-June 2013 or the house will be taken for back taxes. To completely lose the financial equity in the house is not sensible.
Therefore, the PLPAA is inclined to encourage all sisters to consider donating to the Tax-Escrow Account that has been set up at Community Bank in Oswego. This contribution makes it possible to buy some time to make an informed decision about the House, build active PLP membership, and set up systems that will keep the organization financially solvent in the future.
Think about this…
If 200 sisters (and there are more than 650 Phi Lamb alumnae) each sent $100, the back taxes could be fully repaid and the house would get a much-needed furnace. If 200 of us each donated $200, we could pay taxes, buy a furnace, and contribute toward this year’s liability insurance premium while we help the actives build membership—a move toward their future solvency. We believe that the generosity of our sisterhood at this time is key to building a strong PLP that does not depend on future bail-outs.

As per the letter from the actives, we encourage you to send donations to:
Phi Lambda Phi Tax-Escrow Fund
C/O Community Bank
100 East First Street
Oswego, NY 13126

DO NOT send checks to the sorority house or to individual active sisters! A third party will directly pay the bills from the escrow account, and there is no chance of mismanagement of the funds.
Since the taxes will be paid down in intervals, donations can be made half now and half at the end of the summer, if that aligns better with your finances. We also encourage graduated sisters who still owe back rent and/or dues to send that to the escrow account now.

The letter that follows from PLPAA President Bonnie Love ’70 explains more of the details and attempts to answer the questions we have received from PLP alums about the solicitation letter from the active sisters.
****************************************************************************************************
May 10, 2013
Dear Phi Lamb Alumnae,
Many of you have contacted PLPAA to ask about the letter we all recently received from Paula Longway, PLP’s president. Many questions and concerns are swirling around, and I will try to address them as best and succinctly as I can.

To start with a bit of PLPAA history…
The Alumni Association was founded in 2004 at a point when the sorority was really struggling. Phi Lamb’s membership was low, and the house needed considerable work. Then to make things worse, in 2005 they had a pledge who overdrank during a pledging event and landed in the hospital. The college took away PLP’s charter and forbid them from rushing for three semesters; that almost did PLP in!!  But a small group of sisters, and the newly organized PLPAA, worked hard to get the sorority reinstated and to start rebuilding the sisterhood. One big reason PLP did not die during this period is that the PLPAA, and in particular one very generous sister, provided thousands of dollars in support. Much of this money paid a liability insurance policy the college required the sisters to carry in order to become reinstated. This requirement is still in effect, and the current annual premium is now $8,000 annually!
And to add a quick PLPAA update…
After eight years of hard work, the board turned over last summer to a new PLPAA Board, representing alums from the 1960s through the 2000s. We are shifting focus away from only being involved with the active sisters to building a strong alumnae that supports preserving the traditions and history of the sorority, digitally archiving sorority artifacts, and providing various types of opportunities for sisters to remain in contact. We have gotten off to a strong start and hope to have 100+ paid members by the June Reunion. Several initiatives we think you’ll all like are underway, and ongoing updates will be shared frequently.
We continue to serve as advisors to the active sisters, who need, seek, and appreciate the guidance. Our ideal connection with them is to ensure that they have access to and understand the Phi Lamb traditions and that they become active members of PLPAA after graduation.
PLPAA’s current involvement with the active sorority…
As an organization, PLPAA no longer formally supports the active sisters financially. However, a number of circumstances have been brought to our attention regarding the actives. The reality is that without help soon from willing alumnae (whether you are members of PLPAA or not), Phi Lambda Phi Sorority and our House at 54 W. Fifth St., will be only memories.
For decades, the active sisters have under-charged for rent and consequently let the maintenance of the house decline. Fortunately, in the past they had enough sisters to pay dues and pay rent to live in the house. This allowed them to meet their awesome $8,000 insurance burden, but left little to build the organization. Additionally, in more recent years as membership declined, they have been unable to remain current with real estate taxes and other bills.
The membership of PLP next year will be 10, and they are struggling to find enough people to live in the house (the college does not allow freshmen and sophomores to live off-campus) and keep the rent even reasonable.
For the past 10 months, PLPAA has been very active as advisors — helping PLP take a real look at their finances and plan for the future. Our no-nonsense approach with the active sisters and our inability to give them money from the PLPAA coffers have resulted in their finally admitting they cannot effectively handle their own finances.
Here are the successes we’ve had:

1. PLPAA researched and located a local professional management company to run the house – collecting rents, paying the bills, overseeing maintenance. PLP has agreed to this service, knowing that they will not have access to the rent money.

2. PLPAA has educated PLP to the real cost of running the house and to how rents must add up to meeting this amount. As a result, they have accepted increased rents for the fall and to charging for summer storage at the house. They have also made plans to accept donations from alums who wish to stay in the house during reunion or Harborfest.

3. PLP has asked alumnae for donations to help with back taxes, but they cannot/do not have access to the funds; moneys donated go directly into an escrow account that will disperse back taxes directly to the County. PLPAA helped to set up this account and to meet with the County to establish a payment plan. We are also working to get the house reassessed in hopes of lowering the assessment and thereby lowering taxes in the future.

4. PLP’s rent will include a modest amount each month to go into a maintenance fund to cover day-to-day house repairs and maintenance. But the hard reality is that fundraising will be needed in the future to truly address the house’s needs, if the sorority feels preserving the house is in their best interest. We have encouraged them to seek professional guidance before proceeding in that direction, and PLPAA has arranged for a contractor to tour the house in June to complete an estimate of costs to repair and/or renovate the house.
5. We are assisting the actives with collecting outstanding rents from people who have graduated. It has been difficult for them to pursue this with successfully with peers while living together (another plus for agreeing to the management company.)

6. Perhaps most importantly, PLPAA will become active with PLP in redesigning Rush and Pledging in an attempt to increase membership in the future and return some of the traditional activities we all remember.

In the past, the active PLP sisters have been alternately treated like experienced adults (given a $40,000/year budget and a house to manage with no guidance) and like children (bailed out whenever they failed.)  PLPAA is now determined to firmly provide advice and direction, sharing the mutual goal of preserving our heritage and keeping Phi Lambda Phi alive and vibrant. The reason that you did not find much information about Paula Longway’s letter on Facebook or philamb.org is that PLPAA’s mission statement now clearly states that we do not provide money to the sorority; we provide advice. The fundraising effort is theirs.
I don’t know if all this will succeed in saving the sorority and/or the house, but I do know that Phi Lamb sisters have always been a special breed. We have determination, resilience, and opinions! I have hopes that the sisterhood will continue and thrive because of people like you and me who care about an organization that contributed to the people we grew to become.
As an alumna, I am sending a contribution to the sisters because I believe in the PLP spirit and hope we can pull this off!! Give what you can and don’t give up. We can do this; we can revitalize our beloved sorority so that generations of young women can experience the wonders of sisterhood (and the fun) – just as we did.
Please feel free to email me at blove52@aol.com or call me 585-227-4557. I love connecting with my sisters. Better yet: come to the June Reunion and PLPAA’s annual meeting and chat with me personally.

Love in Phi Lamb,

Bonnie