Being a member of a collegiate Greek letter society may literally pay off if you run for political office.

Of late, the Fraternity and Sorority Political Action Committee has become a financial force for candidates who “champion Greek issues.” During the past three election cycles, the Fraternity and Sorority PAC has raised more than $1 million and donated $611,000 to candidates running for federal political offices, according to research by the Center for Responsive Politics.

The vast majority of recipients of this money were members of Greek letter organizations during their collegiate years. But their experiences in fraternity houses and sororities have not turned them into to ideological clones. These beneficiaries display political views that vary from Alpha to Omega.

During the 2010 cycle, for example, Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), a member of the Tea Party Caucus, received a $5,000 contribution from the Fraternity and Sorority PAC. Meanwhile, the group also gave $1,500 to Rep. Lynne Woolsey (D-Calif.), former co-chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Overall, about 59 percent — or $362,000 — of the PAC’s total contributions since the 2006 election cycle have gone to Republican candidates for federal political office.

But the actual split between Republican and Democratic beneficiaries can swing from cycle-to-cycle:

During the 2006 election cycle, for instance, 74 percent of the money the PAC doled out aided Republicans. That figure was split 51-49 during the 2008 election cycle, with Democrats holding the slight advantage. And during the 2010 election cycle, 55 percent of contributions went to Republican political candidates.

HELPING GREEKS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE POLITICAL AISLE

According to its website, the Fraternity and Sorority PAC’s primary objective is to “support the election of fraternity/sorority members to federal office so long as those members are supportive of the fraternal experience.”

And that mission runs across both sides of the political aisle.

“The PAC takes its bipartisan mission very seriously and uses a number of criteria in making decisions about which candidates to fund,” Kevin O’Neill, the PAC’s executive director, told OpenSecrets Blog in an email.

“Our spending each cycle has been fairly balanced given the needs of candidates up for election at that time,” O’Neill continued. “Most of the PAC’s donations to incumbent candidates go to alumnae/alumni of fraternities and sororities. Right now, about 60 percent of the fraternity and sorority members in Congress are Republicans.”

Many donors to the Fraternity and Sorority PAC are in leadership positions of various national fraternities and sororities. And people associated with the law firm Patton Boggs — where O’Neill works as an attorney — have contributed $50,000 to the group, including $3,500 from the firm’s senior partner, Thomas Boggs.

Despite the impending, high-profile presidential election, the Fraternity and Sorority PAC says it is unlikely to get involved.

“We don’t anticipate being involved in the primary stages of presidential campaigns,” O’Neill told OpenSecrets Blog.

“The PAC would most likely be involved in a presidential race if one of the nominees was an alumnae/alumnus of a fraternity or sorority,” he continued. “But it is less inclined to spend its funds on the race for the White House if there is no such candidate.”

One former fraternity member the PAC is overlooking: Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), who declared his third run the presidency on Friday. Paul was a member of a Greek fraternity — Lambda Chi Alpha — during his undergraduate studies at Gettysburg College.

But the group’s hesitation to join the fray during the Republican presidential primary doesn’t mean the group plans on sitting the election out.

“The PAC certainly expects to spend more on candidate contributions in the 2011-12 election cycle,” O’Neill told OpenSecrets Blog.

LEADER OF THE FRAT PACK

The Fraternity and Sorority PAC is joined by two smaller PACs with fraternity and sorority roots in championing Greek issues.

One is ZETEPAC. This PAC was launched in 2009, and reported raising just $6,120 during the 2010 election cycle.

“ZETEPAC’s primary goal is supporting Zeta Psi brothers who seek to run for local, state and federal office,” the PAC’s website states. “Our mission is brothers helping brothers.”

Its only contribution to a federal candidate, according to the Center’s research, was a $1,375 donation to Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.), who was a member of the Zeta Psi fraternity.

The other federal political action committee focusing on Greek life is the Keeping African-American Political PAC, which is affiliated with the African-American fraternity Kappa Alpha Psi.

Since the 2006 election cycle, the Keeping African-American Political PAC (KAPPAC) has raised about $56,000 and donated $14,750 to federal candidates.

Unlike the Fraternity and Sorority PAC, the KAPPAC, despite its nonpartisan orientation, has exclusively supported Democrats running for political office.

Bruce Rush, the PAC’s director of marketing and communications, attributed this to the organization’s interest in addressing the issues of unemployment and health care, which he said aligned the group more with Democrats.



On its website, the KAPPAC gives a nod to the role of money in politics, saying that “Remember the Golden Rule: He who has the gold rules!”

Rush says the group’s membership isn’t naïve to the truth that money talks, and he says that access is key for political success.

“It’s like contributing to anything,” Rush told OpenSecrets Blog. “Those who are the recipients of that [money] are usually more likely to at least listen to what contributors have to say.”

But so far the group has only donated to seven members of Congress in four years.

During the 2010 elections, it contributed $1,000 to Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) and $750 to unsuccessful U.S. Senate candidate Maurice Sweeney of Kentucky.

And during the 2008 elections, the group’s largest beneficiary was Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), who received $6,000. It also donated to several members of the Congressional Black Caucus: $2,000 to Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.), $2,000 to Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), $2,000 to Rep. Albert Wynn (D-Md.) and $1,000 to Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.).

The Fraternity and Sorority PAC claims to be the largest PAC dedicated solely to higher education.

That assertion is largely accurate, according to Center’s research.

The Fraternity and Sorority PAC has raised significantly more money than either KAPPAC or ZETEPAC. It’s also doled out more money to candidates than the PACs operated by for-profit colleges — groups that are typically big spenders in the education sector. (The fraternal PACs, according to the Center’s methodology are currently classified as single-issue PACs for their fraternity and sorority focus.)

The three most prolific donors among for-profit groups are the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities, the Apollo Group and Corinthian Colleges. All have given money to both Democrats and Republicans. And all gave less than the Fraternity and Sorority PAC during the 2010 election cycle.

And O’Neill is proud of the group’s rapid success.

“The Fraternity and Sorority PAC has done the basics over the past seven years to build awareness of our efforts inside the community of interested parties and to be involved in the political process to help elect the candidates we support,” O’Neill told OpenSecrets Blog.



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