Band of Brothers: The Phi Gamma Pi fraternity doubles down on supporting veterans

When Bill Fontaine, E’89, studied at Northeastern in the late 1980s, one of his seminal experiences was joining the Phi Gamma Pi fraternity. There he found a true brotherhood. “Joining this fraternity was very developmental for me,” says Fontaine. “I got through engineering school because my brothers helped me.”

A few decades later, when the fraternity was no longer active at Northeastern, the brothers came together to determine what to do with the large Victorian residence that had once housed them all. Because of the home’s proximity to Boston Children’s Hospital, they thought it would prove a perfect safe haven for parents bringing children from out of town for treatment at Children’s.

The brothers sold the house, valued at $2 million, to the hospital for $1 million—making a philanthropic gift of half its value so Children’s would benefit. Since then, the renowned hospital has expanded the property, enabling even more children and families to have an inexpensive place to stay in a costly city.

For the fraternity’s next charitable act, the brothers turned their sights to the military. Since 1924, many of Phi Gamma Pi’s 1,000 members have served the country honorably, and some are listed on the Northeastern Veterans Memorial, located on the university’s Boston campus. Helping servicemembers and veterans seemed a fitting tribute to those fraternity members and a desirable legacy for Phi Gamma Pi.

“We quickly connected to the Dolce Center for the Advancement of Veterans and Servicemembers to make gifts to benefit student veterans,” says Fontaine. So far, the fraternity has donated $1 million, establishing a Phi Gamma Pi Scholarship for active and veteran servicemembers at Northeastern.

This endowment helps those who serve in other ways, too. The Ruby W. and LaVon P. Linn Foundation had created its own endowed scholarship for veterans at Northeastern. “The Linn Foundation made a challenge matching grant, and Phi Gamma Pi gave the last of our funds to our scholarship to endow it,” explains Fontaine. The endowment unlocked the challenge funds from the Linn Foundation that also went to supporting veterans. And endowing the fraternity’s own scholarship means that the award will exist in perpetuity and support generations of military to come.

Philanthropic giving has been a gratifying experience for the members of Phi Gamma Pi. The brothers have met several of the recipients of their scholarship at events put on through the Dolce Center. Says Fontaine, “One of the little-known facts about Northeastern is that it’s one of the biggest Yellow Ribbon scholarship providers in the country. Our scholarship works as a supplement when Yellow Ribbon or VA benefits leave off.”

This is because Yellow Ribbon and other military benefits don’t necessarily cover all the expenses of attaining a higher education degree. The funding also extends to family members of those who serve, so a spouse or a child might benefit as well.

As well as being an admirer of Northeastern as a landing pad for many servicemembers, Fontaine is a true believer in the cooperative education model that is Northeastern’s signature program. “I had a successful co-op, and got a job before graduating,” he says of his own time at the university. “It was a great experience.”

Fontaine has since put two of his own children through Northeastern with similarly positive results. And now, the legacy of Phi Gamma Pi is that it will help countless students achieve their own goals with its endowed scholarship. The effect is notable. In this centennial year of the fraternity, Phi Gamma Pi has been recognized for making a significant commitment to student veterans—and will receive the Joseph Hefflon Yellow Ribbon Award from the Dolce Center at the annual Veterans Day ceremony on the Boston campus.

“Our veterans, especially fellow Huskies, deserve every bit of support that Phi Gamma Pi and Northeastern are able to provide. It’s the least we can do,” Fontaine says.