The Foundation for Fraternal Excellence is sad to hear about the passing of William D. Jenkins, known to many as Mr. Bill, on September 24, 2024. Bill was a staple of the fraternal industry, elevating the profession and helping underscore the importance of fraternal fundraising; he will be missed greatly.
The notion of interfraternalism was extremely important to Bill, evidenced by his storied career, which was comprised of professional and volunteer roles, including Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity CEO, Phi Kappa Tau Foundation Executive Director, North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) President, Delta Zeta Foundation staff and more.
Even when not working as a fraternity or sorority professional staff member, Bill was always seeking to enhance the industry. One way he did this was through co-founding Development Dynamics Group (DDG). In the early days of word processing and computer-assisted communications, DDG provided creative writing services, prepared and mailed letters with customization, and exhibited at Seminar to help fraternal foundations enhance donor relations.
In 2010, FFE – then known as the NIC Foundation (NICF) – honored Bill’s lifelong dedication to the fraternal industry with an award in his name, the William D. Jenkins Outstanding Foundation Professional Award. The award’s first recipient, Jonathan Brant, recently shared fond memories of Bill with the FFE team.
In reflecting on their relationship, Jonathan shared that he met Bill in 1976, by way of Jack Anson, when he was a young Beta Theta Pi Fraternity staffer. “He showed exemplary skills of a professional in so many different areas of our fraternal community,” said Jonathan.
Over time, the two developed a sincere friendship; Jonathan noted that Bill was a jack of all trades with an “amazing variety of talents” including art and painting, some of which were auctioned off at Seminar as a means of fundraising for the NICF.
An entertainer – with a full clown costume, Santa Clause appearances and more – Bill had a fantastic sense of humor and was a fun person to be around, always wanting to know more about others than talk about himself.
As so many fraternal professionals have been personally impacted by Bill, FFE is offering a space to provide comments, quotes or personal anecdotes about their relationship and his influence.
Memorial Service Details
Saturday, October 26 at 1:00 PM
Oxford Presbyterian Church
101 N Main St, Oxford, OH 45056
When additional details are confirmed, FFE will make a contribution to a cause of the Jenkins family preference. View Phi Kappa Tau announcement on Facebook.
