“In July of 1987, I drove my shiny, red Volkswagen GTI to Lexington to begin my job with KA as an educational & leadership consultant,” reflects David Carico. “[I was] thinking that I’d work with KA for a year before heading off to get a J.D. or M.B.A. So much for that idea.”
Now after serving the Order for 15 years, Foundation Executive Director David Carico is moving on to the next chapter in his life. From his first days as an E&L consultant, to his latest achievements with the Kappa Alpha Order Educational Foundation, David has had a brilliant career with an organization that is no doubt, near and dear to his heart.
David has proven to be one of the valued ‘long time’ staffers who like Bill Forrester and Dick Barnes helped to provide stability to the Order. With his numerous accomplishments, David will no doubt be regarded as a pillar to KA for years to come.
“David is the person who really got me involved in the Foundation and over the years we have become really good friends. I think the world of him. He is really a dedicated KA and we’re going to miss him a lot,” says KAOEF Trustee Bill Dreyer.
After serving as an E&L consultant in 1987-1988, David worked as the director of educational programs from 1988-1992 during which time he instituted the first risk management plan and created the Chapter Operations Guide, the Manual for Alumni Advisory Committees, and the manual for membership reviews. He also directed five National Leadership Institutes and Conventions.
In 1992, David became the executive director of the Foundation which had assets near $600,000. Today they are approximately $6.5 million. David attributes a significant portion of this to the Order’s first half-million dollar gift (Col. Buie in 1999) and its first potential million dollar gift this year (pending final arrangements of brother William H. Angle’s generous estate gift).
“Much of the growth and progress attained by KAOEF over the past ten years should be attributed to David’s sterling leadership,” said Frank Asbury, former trustee and president of KAOEF. “His ability to identify and bond with many Kappa Alphas throughout the nation resulted in significant gifts and contributions to our Foundation, and ultimately to the support of Kappa Alpha Order.”
One of the many programs and initiatives that has helped bring tremendous growth to the Foundation is the 1865 Trust, a planned giving program instituted by David that recognizes brothers who have included the Foundation in their estate plans. The Trust started with seven members in 1993 and has grown to about 90 members with anticipated gifts of at least five million. Also crucial to the Order’s present and future growth is the charitable gift annuity program which has helped bring in $417,000 since 1995.
Some of David’s other accomplishments include the creation of the NLI Leadership Lecture Series, The Foundation newsletter, the implementation of the Bid for Brotherhood (created by former Knight Commander Jim Estes), the creation of the LEAP program which builds endowment funds for specific chapters, the educational area grant program which provides assistance to housing corporations to build/renovate educational space in the chapter house, and most recently, the creation of the Robinson Hall Society, the first ever giving club exclusively for undergraduates.
David received the CFRE (Certified Fundraising Executive) designation from the Association of Fundraising Professionals during his tenure with the Foundation (less than 15% of those in development hold this designation). He also assisted in implementing a 401(k) plan for members of the Order’s national staff.
“We are grateful for the contributions David has made to the Order over the past 15 years and we are saddened to see him go,” said Knight Commander David Warren. “I want to thank David from the bottom of my heart for all he has done to advance the mission of the Foundation, and we look forward to building on his successes. We will miss his leadership, but wish him all the best at Georgia Tech.”
“I’m very grateful that I had the opportunity to give something back to an organization that did so much for me as an undergraduate. I’m extraordinarily thankful for the many wonderful people, staff and volunteers alike, from all corners of the country, whose lives have influenced my own over the last 15 years,” David said.
In December 2002, David joined the development staff at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.
