IRDF ... Because Everybody Can Use Some Help Around the House.

Fraternities, Sororities, and Independent Livings Groups (FSILGs) are part of the heart of MIT – and the Independent Residence Development Fund, the IRDF, is one way MIT and its alumni help keep this community going strong. From the start, FSILG alumni have supported the IRDF with great generosity – and with the added benefit that, unlike gifts to individual FSILGs, gifts to this common pool are tax-deductible and are often matched by employers.

For over fifty years, this fund has been a major resource. And, especially of late, this special fund has added new offerings and programs to meet the evolving needs and challenges of the the FSILG community. In 2019, the IRDF will significantly expanded its Project Grant Program, to include not only historical preservation and restoration but also a broader array of 21st century accesibility and safety improvements.

To accomplish this mission, the IRDF currently offers four kinds of funding assistance to FSILGs:

• IRDF Project Grants. In 1997, MIT launched the IRDF Educational Project Grants program to reimburse FSILGs for efforts to improve and maintain educational areas, to make facilities accessible to students with disabilities, and now in 2019 the program is being expanded to include preservation of historic elements of FSILG residences. The vast majority of FSILGs are located in historic districts, making this last feature especially significant. Work items eligible for reimbursement are called “Permitted Purposes” for IRDF Grants. Major Project Grants (i. e. >$100K) can be applied for at any time. For Minor Project Grants, funds are allocated annually and FSILG may apply per a set schedule, typically by November 1 of each calendar year.
  
  
• IRDF Construction/Renovation Loans. In place since the 1960s, the IRDF Construction Loan program offers long-term low-interest loans that FSILGs can use to make major capital improvements and renovations.


• IRDF Annual Educational Operating Grants. In 2004, as part of an effort to help FSILGs maintain great facilities, MIT and its alumni developed this annual grant program for FSILGs in supporting educational, operating, and safety expenses.


• IRDF Community-Wide Grants. These are initiatives that benefit the entire community, such as the extension of high-speed computer networks throughout the FSILG community and the alumni-run Safety, Licensing, and Inspection (SLI) program.

Learn more about how your gift can help FSILGs. Every IRDF donor is now recognized on a IRDF Donor Recognition web site, updated annually with the help of the MIT Alumni Association.

Please also know that MIT FSILG alumni and alumnae are very involved in advising the MIT Treasurer's Office in the operation of this important fund. The MIT Annual Fund also produced this brochure, which summarizes the work of the IRDF. A new brochure for 2019 in now being developed.