Tri Delta beats goal, raises $15 million in less than five years

Members of Delta Delta Delta Fraternity (Tri Delta) surpassed their goal of raising $15 million for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in five years — announcing on February 1 that they had raised that amount in just three-and-a-half years.

“This achievement is a testament to the purpose of our organization,” said Phyllis Grissom, Tri Delta National Fraternity President. “We want to build the leadership and moral capacity of our members and we want to help others. When I see what Tri Delta has been able to do for St. Jude, I know we are doing what we were meant to do and that is so gratifying.”

The announcement came during the annual St. Jude-Tri Delta Leadership Weekend January 31 – February 2 in Memphis, Tennessee. A national women's fraternity with 138 collegiate chapters and 261 alumnae chapters, Tri Delta officially adopted St. Jude as its national philanthropic partner in 1999.

Since then, members have raised more than $27 million for St. Jude — consistently exceeding their own ambitious fundraising goals:

• In 2005, one year early, Tri Delta raised $1 million that endowed the hospital's Teen Room.
• In 2006, Tri Delta took on a commitment to raise $10 million in 10 years and name the Patient Care Floor in the Chili’s Care Center but met their $10 million goal in just four years — by May 2010.
• In July 2010, Tri Delta announced its third naming commitment, an aggressive challenge to raise $15 million in five years to name the Specialty Clinic located in the Patient Care Center. They achieved that goal one-and-a-half years early. In fact, the group raised $5.6 million in the 2012 – 2013 academic year alone.

“As usual, Tri Deltas shot for the crescent moon and we hit our mark,” Grissom said. “What’s next? I can't wait to find out and watch our members and our fraternity shatter new challenges.”

Tri Delta's partnership with St. Jude is a perfect fit, she said. “Our members are seeking ways to be better Tri Deltas and better women, and St. Jude provides so many ways for them to do that.”

St. Jude-Tri Delta Leadership Weekend is valuable because it gives meaning to the group's fundraising efforts and helps them improve every year, Grissom said. “Our members get to see how their hard work brings the mission of St. Jude to life.”