Beta Sigma Phi does have collegiate chapters...here is an example of one at Kettering University in Flint, Michigan.

http://www2.kettering.edu/~betasigb/

I know a lot of these girls and they are awesome! They participate in all Greek functions, they belong to the local Panhel council on their campus, and I believe that they even hold Rush with the NPC sororities on campus.

I e-mailed Alpha Phi regarding that site..
 

And got this response today:

Hi Barbara,

Thank you so much for notifying us! We contacted our lawyer this morning to resolve this.

I appreciate your help,
Christine Spiegel
Program Manager-Marketing & Communications
Alpha Phi International

Would examples of fraternities/sororities for adults include freemasonry and organizations such as the Knights of Columbus?

They are fraternal organizations, as are fraternities are sororites ... it's like they're all rectangles, and squares are a subset of that, squares being fraternities and sororities. OK, bad metaphor.

All fraternal organizations have *most* of the following characteristics, although individual orgs may not have them all:
1) Selective membership (voted on by current membership)
2) Secrets
3) A social purpose
4) A philanthropic cause
5) Local chapters, groups, aeries, etc. within a larger organization
6) Frequently single-sex

From there, you can break fraternal orgs down into other types:

Obviously, college fraternities are those where the vast majority of membership induction takes place in college, and where membership after college is generally only open to those with degrees. (NPHC groups rely less heavily on college induction.) Induction is different for collegiates vs. graduates.

Fraternities, whether collegiate or not, tend to have the following characteristics - and of course there are exceptions here too:
1) Greek-letter names
2) Badge, flower, crest, pin
3) They call themselves a fraternity or sorority
4) Few auxillery groups attached to them
5) Membership generally limited to one of a type. IE, you can join one NPC group, and I *think* it would be looked on funny if you wanted to join, say, Tri-Kappa AND Psi-Ote.

Benevolent orgs are those that in addition to providing social benefits for their members frequently provide pensions, insurance for the family, etc. Many of these started off being for a particular career - the Eagles were founded right here in Seattle by men of the theater. The Foresters, for example, aren't necessarily all foresters today. These groups are generally men-only and have a ladies' auxillery.

Fraternal orgs that claim a long and illustrious history, such as the Masons and KoC. Their origins are disputed, but they developed separately from the fraternity movement, which if anything borrowed from them. These groups have more auxilleries that anything else - if you ever want to confuse yourself, try to memorize all the degrees of Masonry plus all the auxilleries. Your head will spin with the effort.

Then there are groups that don't really fit into any catergory - Junior League is strongly service oriented but is very socially important in certain regions. Rotary is straightforwardly business. Then there are ethnic heritage groups (Sons of Norway) and orgs like DAR where lineage is important. Then there are the various veterans orgs, which are a category of their own.

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Now that I've bored everyone silly, I'm going to shut up and go see the doctor!

Re: I e-mailed Alpha Phi regarding that site..
 

Barb your email must have prompted them to take action b/c i checked the www.phibetapsi.org webpage today and it is UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

I think there is another "adult" sorority out there. There is a chapter in my hometown, and when I go home this weekend, I'll check it out. I believe it has a Lambda in it..... hmmmm...

Just an update for the A Phis out there ... I checked Phi Beta Psi's website and it has been totally redesigned, and under "What's New," it says, "10.01.02 Version 2.0 of PhiBetaPsi.org goes Live!"

Lots of women in P.E.O.

I thought I'd bump this because it seeems we have a lot of PNAMs and non-traditional PNMs here who might be interested.

(I posted this to the "History of Sororities" thread several days ago. It is relevant here.)

To add to this is the P.E.O. Sisterhood, founded in 1869 at Iowa Wesleyan College.

Of its seven founders, some had been asked to join the I.C. Sorosis at IWC but some had not. They wanted to stay together so they founded "a society of [their] own." P.E.O. chose to retain English letters and to become a community, rather than a collegiate, organization in the early 1900's. Chapter Original A at IWC is Alpha Xi Delta; the I.C. chapter (Pi Phi for lo these many years--Iowa Alpha?) is still there.

P.E.O. is larger than any one NPC group in terms of initiated members and chapters. Probably also larger in terms of assets in the charitable foundation which funds P.E.O.'s projects. Many, many NPC members are also P.E.O.s. (www.peointernational.org will tell you more.)

AGDAlum (who is also a P.E.O.)

Just a little hint. You can get some info if you substitute the term "sisterhood" for sorority in your quest.

Remove the "." after org and it will work.

www.phibetapsi.org

P.E.O.
 

How does one find out about joining P.E.O.?
Silver

Here's another one to add to the list.

Sigma Phi Gamma - http://www.sigmaphigamma.org