Help! We are about to lose 73 years of History!!!
 

Please Help! I am in a local sorority on a campus of National soroities. We have 73 years of history and we will lose that if we don't get our numbers up. We are down to 15 girls and many of them are graduating this year. We have done rush for many weeks now but nothing seems to be working. Any ideas you have would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.

If your about to die, take anyone or go co-ed. Thank god my chapter never had to take anyone but I guess its needed for some people. National fraternties and sororities can't go co-ed but I assume possibly maybe a local one could.

tverde: As far as I know there are no minimum numbers...however, next year we will be down to 4 members and we can not possibly afford to keep our house if that happens, our house is a huge part of our history. Also it will be hard for 4 members to take all the offices necessary to run an effective sorority. So numbers are a def necesity here. We are thinking of having parties at our house and inviting greeks. guess you and i were on the same wavelength with that one. Thanks.

TKE: We really don't want to resort to taking anyone. I strongly feel that once you lose your selectivity you lose everything. we realize its do or die so we have become less selective but we don't want to lose it completly. Going coed is not an option, we would lose all that we stand for and our board of directors would never stand for that. That is sort of what nationals have. Thanks for your ideas though.

I am a sister of a local that has been around for 100 years, so I can understand the importance of wanting to keep your sorority going... especially since it is a local!!!

I guess I am confused as to why you have a quota for numbers if you are local???...

Anyway, I understand your fear of having only 15 girls and loosing a lot during graduation... At one time my sorority had 3 girls, two of which were abroad/off campus (it was before my time but I have heard the stories). Anyway, suddenly we started growing and now I believe there are 25 or so girls (I'm an alumni now, so I dont have the exatct number :)) with 11 girls pledging this fall... You can't always understand why or how you can go from being so small and exploding to 20-30 girls or vice versa, it's just the way it works sometimes.

My advice to you: DO NOT JUST TAKE ANYONE!!!
If you do, you will not be upholding the standards and values your sorority has held for 73 years... Instead, have your current sisters talk with their friends classmates that you think would properly reperesent your sorority. Have these "potential ladies" come to an informal information meeting; no pressure, just a chance for girls to learn what the organization can offer them and what they could bring to your sorority. Also, don't just take freshman or sophmore pledges, look at juniors and even senoirs. Just because they are over half way through their college experience does not mean that they can't bring a lot of value to your group (I was a senior when I pledged... It was amazing!!)

Also, make a strong presence on campus! Host social events not just with fellow Greeks, but for the whole campus to attend. Or do something like a clothes drive or blood drive with your college. Or, do an event with another sorority or fraternity on campus, or just another group. Exposure it key!!!

I wish you TONS OF LUCK :D :D :D :D and I hope I have been helpful... Let us know what happens!

With much Greek Love,
Meri

We don't have a quota, we just will lose our house and won't be able to keep going with such a small number. We have tried asking friends, that how most of us that are in now, heard about it. So thanks for ideas - we have basically tried everything at this point and it is seeming pretty hopeless. Believe me I understand what you mean about not just taking anyone. I don't want to do that either. Just seems like we need to make some sacrifices if I don't want to lose everything we have worked so hard for.

Tara-
I'm sorry I could not be of more help...

And I hope that you do not have to loose your house because I know that is sssooo important! None of the greek orgs. at my college (Emerson College in Boston, MA) have houses. Some sisters of a sorority or brothers of a frat will get a handful of people together and share an apartment and that is known as the "house" but not since the 60's or so have greeks had actual enitre houses.

Anyway, my point is that although you may not have a house, it doesn't mean that you have to dis-ban your sorority does it? Sure, I understand it would be really hard to not have a house, but having a sorority and not a house is better then not having either...maybe?

Maybe it is different for you where you go to school (where do you go to school anyway)... I suppose in the city it isnt as vital to have a house. I've seen Greeks at different schools with both options (house or no house) and I guess I feel as long as your actual sorority is strong that's what can keep you going.

Either way, good luck!!!

-Meri

You've gotten lots of great advice - I just wanted to wish you good luck :)

Tara,

Who owns your house? School, independent landlord or alums? If the alums own it, they could possibly rent it out for a year or so until the sorority gets back on its feet. If you have a wonderfully understanding landlord he/she might agree to the same thing, especially if you have been in the house for a long time and have been good tenants. At any rate don't give up 73 years worth of sisterhood just because of your housing situation. It would be terrible if you all disbanded and then had 20 girls come along next year who wanted to pledge!

You may have to take a "sabattical" from the regular ways of doing business but you do not have to close altogether. That is one of the good things about being local - you do not have to worry about getting numbers to suit nationals. I know if you have been in the same house a long time it has a lot of history, and leaving it would be sad, but in the oh so true words of Luther Vandross, a house is not a home. Home and sisterhood are in your hearts, not a physical structure.

what i would do
 

I really don't know what i would do in this situation because my faternity that we just started is a few months old, but i do know one thing u could do, is put on events or have a session where you talk about the subject of "why people don't want to be greek", or you invited students that u don't know to your house if you have one. One thing that the founding members and I did was sit with students that we don't know or if we see someone sitting by there selves in the lunch room we would sit with them and making them feel as important as the next group. Not only would u start to share a bond or find something in common, but u just might create a monster to become apart of your family. I hope that this helps u out any, like I said i'm new at the Frat thing but so far by using this method being new we have 20 guys that want to become apart of the Mu Omega Pi family, and prayer if you exercise that just pray. It works..:)

do what you need to do
 

be smart...
use every option.
public relations like crazy, posters, newspaper, word of mouth...
don't take the world, but be open to different ideas.
and remember you don't have to do anything quickly.
cheers
mmcat
:D :p

Losing our house doesnt mean losing everything. However, with only four girls next year, we cannot fill all the offices that are necessary with running a greek organization.

33 girl we own the house, we burned the morgage years ago. We wont have the money for upkeep however,. and our board of directors will force us to sell. Plus I dont think that four girls can keep the sorority alive. Already the reason why we are not getting new members is because we are so small.

thanks d07 , yes I will pray, I have been believe me, this is my home, my family and I don't want to lose it. My campus would not be the same without it. MMgirl, thanks for ur ideas and support. All of you have been amazing with your help....its nice to see greeks banding together like this. I go to SUNY COrtland in New York, I think someone asked me that earlier. Well I just back from a mixer so its off to bed for me...nightnight everyone

Have you thought about allowing alumni to become active again? Even if it's just for a year or 2, you will have enough actives to fill the officer positions.

BOD??
 

Your board of directors is composed of alumnae, isn't it? Why would they force you to sell a house that means as much to them as it does to you? Like I said, if you own it you can rent it for a year or so until numbers go back up. This is done very frequently at some schools.

As for the offices - you are local. YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT. If you choose to only have President and Treasurer, you can. 4 women in the sorority would be considered an "emergency" and supercedes any bylaws you might have. Plus remember, this is only fall! You have all of next semester to pledge women - and there are people who want to wait until they complete a semester to get involved in anything. Also there may be people transferring into the school. So who knows who will come along in the spring.

I know right now everything looks bleak, but please don't give up!!! Like Meri said, her group went from 3 to 20 - it CAN be done and without compromising your standards.

GOOD LUCK!!!

they all live far...so it wouldn't really work...but thanks for idea. By the way, good quote. :)

Hey,
Just keep trying, don't give up! My chapter had just 4 girls this year, so far they've pinned 7 new members and are planning a second pinning. The women take on only the essential positions and everyone works together on everyone else. and of course some alum(like me) help out once in awhile.
As for the house...I think the idea of renting it is great...even if you rent just some of the rooms out. I know this means you may not be able to have paraphernalia around or have meetings there, but it is a temp solution.

Best of Luck

Tara:

A lot of people have given good advice as to go about gaining new members.
Back in 1982 my local fraternity was down to five members and some how they managed to keep the house and the fraternity going. There are many drawbacks, prior to my time, I've heard stories of not getting any pledges, sometimes a few semesters in a row.

What I would do:
Contact alumni, contact alumni like crazy. There are always those out there that might be out of the loop due to careers or family, but if they hear that their org is in danger of going under, and/or losing their house, they will come, trust me they will come.

Ask the alumni for donations, in a case such as this, I'd be wiling to bet many would be all for it.

Maybe get a few alumni to help out in your rush, get an alumni advisor to supervise everything and help out, so to speak.

Advertise like madness, posters, flyers, have mixers, exchanges, whatever needs to be done.

Losing your house isn't the end of the world, three years after we went local, we lost our house, but a few years later we got it back. I agree that the house is a big part of the organization, but it doesn't make up the organization. The sister/brotherhood that comes from the org is what really counts. GLO's lose houses quite a bit, they get replaced, it's something material, something that can not be compared to the friendships and bonds made by being a part of a glo.

If you would like, I can get you some contact information from a local sorority here on my campus that was down to eight members just a year ago, and now they are thriving to over 40! They did it, and I can refer you to them and they could probably give you a few great ideas. You can pm me or email me here:
bdunday@hotmail.com

Regards,
damasa

don't give up
 

i know it feels scary.
but don't allow yourself to stop. good pr. good vibes no matter where you are can happen. you can be successful.
find yourselves some alums to help so you are not alone.
good luck.
mmcat
:rolleyes: :p :)

Everyone here has given great advice as usual, and you should never give up. Locals are special (I know they are in NY, since if your in the SUNY system thats all you really have). However, as a last resort you might want to see about going National and just look at what sororities come the closest to your sororities convictions. But that's only as a LAST deseparate resort, because I know you want to keep it a local as it is :)

Stay Visible
 

It sounds like you are working really hard to turn things around and your chapter should be very happy to have you as a member, working hard to keep things going. I have a little advice that might help you through this tough time.

1. Stay active: it is very important for smaller or local chapters to stay very active and visible on campus. Make sure that all of your members are at fraternity philanthropy events, social events and campus events.

2. Set realistic COB goals: Take your semester calendar and set goals for yourself for attaining members (one every two weeks, or something like that). Have a meeting with the other members of your chapter and delegate the work. Maybe break the chapter into recruitment teams and give each team membership goals.

3. Get an alumna to work as a recruitment advisor for you. I am sure that if you start looking you will be able to find an alum who will be willing to help you - try asking your BOD for names of previous rush chairs who might be able to help you over the phone if they are not in the area.

4. Examine how you are bidding people: make people feel special and plan activities that you can invite them to the night after you extend their bid.

5. Incorporate COB into your everyday chapter activities.

I hope this helps! Keep up the hard work -- with your help I am sure your chapter will recover and exceed all expectations!