Abbey Gift Complete: Over $8.5 Million to Beta Theta Pi

Donald G. Abbey, Penn State ’70 recently completed a record-setting gift to the Alpha Upsilon chapter of Beta Theta Pi at the Pennsylvania State University. The gift of over $8.5 million, which is the largest donation to an individual fraternity chapter in North America to date, was used to fully restore the historic chapter house at 220 North Burrowes Street and to fund the reestablishment of the chapter from 2009 to 2011. What began as an original donation of $50,000 to fix an aging patio in 2004, turned into the most generous donation of its kind over the course of the next seven years as the chapter house was restored to the condition it was in when it was originally built in 1929. The house, which is listed as a part of the National Historic Registry, now features new hardwood floors, antique fixtures, handsome leather furniture, and ornate plaster molding in the common areas as well as heated bathroom floors and imported Argentinean hardwood bed frames in the living quarters.  

In addition to the transformation of the chapter house, Mr. Abbey’s gift funded the reestablishment of the undergraduate chapter from a suspended group in 2009 with no members to a vibrant colony with over 80 members in 2011. The colony has remained the top academic fraternity on campus each semester since it began and has blazed a new path under the Men of Principle banner. Scholarship, community service, intramural excellence, and a brotherhood based on shared principles create the fabric of the new fraternity experience at the Alpha Upsilon chapter.

Mr. Abbey was able to make the large contribution because of his professional success in the California real estate market.  Abbey is the founder and CEO of the Abbey Company, a privately held real estate business he began in 1990. To date, the Abbey Company owns and manages over six million square feet of office and industrial space, has expanded to eighteen branch offices, and has amassed a portfolio of more than one billion dollars in assets. The Abbey Company has grown to 80 employees, many of whom are Penn State graduates and alumni of the Alpha Upsilon chapter of Beta Theta Pi.  Abbey has already been honored by Penn State University as the recipient of a Distinguished Alumnus award in 2003 in recognition for his entrepreneurial achievements and service to PSU.

In addition to his professional success, Abbey has given generously to the Fraternity in gifts of time, talent, and treasure. His $8.5 million gift to restore the Alpha Upsilon chapter house at 220 North Burrowes Street in State College, Penn., is the single largest gift to an individual chapter house in North American Fraternity history. Beyond his financial gifts, Abbey has also dedicated hundreds of hours of service as a house corporation board officer for the chapter, serves as their leadership development advisor, and has attended multiple Beta sponsored leadership events including the John and Nellie Wooden Institute for Men of Principle and the General Convention.

Beyond his professional success and contributions to the Fraternity, Abbey is also known for his extreme generosity as a philanthropist. His philanthropic efforts have advanced causes such as the Wounded Warriors Project, which supports injured Navy SEAL team members upon their return home, as well as youth sports initiatives and law enforcement efforts in California and Montana.  For a complete bio on Donald G. Abbey, please follow this link: www.betapsu.com/Don_Abbey_Penn_State_70