Help with COB issues.
 

I'm the COB chair for an NPC chapter who is very far below campus total (20-30 women). We are one of the only chapters on campus that are not at total, and the rest are very close to it. Our recruitment chair and I have gone to my advisors (even on a national level) but we're still struggling, so I'm hoping somebody here can provide a little more advice/ideas as far as COB events and encouraging women to recruit goes.


First, the COB events. It seems that what works best for our chapter, as far as strategy goes, is one on one things with PNM's. However we are not recruiting enough women this way, so our advisors are very insistent that we hold big COB events. The problem is, we have no idea what to do. We've had dinners at the house on weekends, events on campus and in the dorms, but it just seems that a lot of women don't want to join our house for whatever reason. So I guess with events, I'm in search of new event ideas that isn't a movie night (we've been explicitly told no events people cannot talk during, since that's the point of the events to begin with) and isn't crafting, because a lot of women in our chapter aren't crafty and feel like they can't attend them and have fun.

Second, the motivational part of it. How can we encourage our chapter members to go out and recruit women? Most of the chapter doesn't understand that total is a national requirement (we are NPC), but we aren't allowed to explain it because it might come off as being negative or discouraging. We have a weekly recruitment requirement that is very simple to obtain, and even with that, most people aren't doing it and are choosing to be fined instead. Many also say they don't want to 'creep out' their friends, so they don't want to ask their friends if they've ever thought about greek life, or bring them over to the house, which worries me as well.

As I said previously, our chapter is in kind of a dire place when it comes to recruitment, and I really don't know what to do, so I'm hoping that you ladies will be able to provide some help! Thank you for any advice you can provide!!

I'm certainly not an expert, but what about doing an ice cream social night or a game night with "mocktails"? Or combine and do an ice cream and games night? Set up an ice cream buffet with a million toppings and let people get really creative!

I wish you the best of luck.

Here are a few thoughts.

Regarding sisters inviting friends, etc. Perhaps you could divide the chapter up into groups (like your colors -- so for DG, it'd be the Bronze Group, Pink Group, and Blue Group). Have a weekly contest to see which group can recruit the most women -- have some sort of desirable prize for the winning group.

Make sure you have some good PR t-shirts promoting sisterhood & friendship. Require sisters to wear them every *insert day or days of the week here*.

Serve hot chocolate outside popular campus buildings -- perhaps tie a ribbon around the cup with a paper attached giving information about your philanthropy --- AND a note saying if this interests them, that your chapter is currently recruiting.

Publish ads in your school newspaper with chapter news -- "Congrats to Susie Q, Donna Doolittler, and Cindy Lou Hoo for making 4.0's this semester!" -- and add a line about - interested in XYZ? Contact lolo@lolo.com

Chalk the campus.

Do some community service work with the local HS (doesn't help with COB now, but will help in the future) -- try to contact the local HS Key Club or similar.

Event ideas:
- Game night
- Go to a sporting event together (sometimes something smaller than a football game could be good -- like a gymnastics meet or something -- ESPECIALLY if you have a member on the team).
- Go to a pick-your-own fruit farm.
- Laser Tag or Mini Golf
- Any philanthropy event.

Girls that COB are more likely to be a little skeptical about Greek Life (perhaps why they didn't do formal recruitment) - you need to find ways to show them what your organization can offer them -- sisterhood, scholarship, and philanthropic opportunities.

Good luck!

I'm not an expert either but getting your chapter to total is a two pronged attack- recruiting new members AND retaining the members you already have. Who would want to be a part of a group that fined them for not dropping everything to do a constant stream of COB "events'?

You need to incorporate recruiting new members into the fun things you're already doing as a chapter. The best part of informal recruitment is that you can really show pnms what it's like to be a part of your organization. If there are five or six of you that always go to Taco Tuesday together, that's a COB event, if you bring along a PNM.

Maybe you need to rethink your strategy of meeting the weekly requirement of having a structured event vs how many pnms did you contact this week. Something like the it takes 14 sales calls before you actually make a sale mentality. Don't have enough pnms in your pool? Encourage every chapter member to join one new campus org this semester and invite at least one woman they meet there to come to one of your chapter's activities.

The more you put yourselves out there on your campus in a positive way, and work on making membership in your chapter the best experience it can possibly be, the more women will want to check out what you're doing and either consider joining themselves or say good things about you to others who might just be your next new sister!

Do you have a copy of I "Heart" Recruitment? Its a great book that details 24/7/365 recruitment efforts.

Here's the link to the amazon.com listing

http://www.amazon.com/Heart-Recruitm...rt+recruitment

Your advisors are idiots. Are any of them from chapters that actually struggled with numbers? Have any of them worked on a LONG TERM basis with chapters that struggled with numbers and made suggestions that helped the chapter to grow and most importantly, RETAIN members? Did any of them have to do COB as collegians? If the answers to these three questions are no, they need to STFU.

You are not, repeat, ARE NOT going to find women who are committed and dedicated to being in a chapter that is lower in numbers and possibly lower on the social totem pole by holding big huge events where every doofus who wants to show up can show up. What you are going to find is a lot of selfish women who are only interested in having letters - and who really don't care which ones - and who will bail in 2.5 seconds when the going gets tough.

COB isn't a microwave pizza. It's more like a meal that takes hours to make but tastes a HELL of a lot better. You are doing the correct thing by connecting with women one on one, and your advisors are wrong. Period.

That all being said...

Every woman in the chapter should be able to come up with the name of another woman that isn't Greek and that she feels would make a great sister. She needs to introduce that woman to her sisters, on a normal, day to day basis. Bring her over to the house after class and talk to whoever's there. If there's a sister who doesn't know anyone but sisters...then you need to institute a chapter rule that every sister needs to be involved in at least one campus activity outside the sorority. Too many women get lazy and depend on the sorority for all their campus interaction.

You can have COB events, but don't make them constant. One or two a month, and INVITE ONLY. If anyone can show up...they're going to feel like the only reason you are opening your doors to them is to get your numbers up. And they'll be right. You can have a slight theme, but the main thing you should be doing is TALKING and getting to know the women. You can't afford to make mistakes, so you should be sure of someone before you offer them a bid. And you can't do that at a big event.

I personally would not go with the chalking or notes...it kind of makes you look desperate.

Oh, and a weekly recruitment requirement IS creepy. I don't blame women who don't want to go along with it. They have come to think of COB as something negative and annoying rather than positive (i.e. I love being a part of this sorority, so I want people I like to have the same experience). c & p pretty much summed this part up.

The basic thing to remember here is...you don't want women who want to join "a" sorority. You need women who want to join YOUR sorority. Those are harder to find, but worth the wait.

I agree that a weekly requirement for COB is way too much and if you're actually getting the girls to pay the fines, that's amazing. I wonder how many you're losing due to the rat race and the pressure. I agree with 33girl that you should probably stop listening to your advisors. But I would have a down and dirty with the members about why it is important to be at total or at least be aiming for total. And these are big girls - talk about the dollars and cents of it. And as part of that conversation I would come up with a plan for what type of girls you would like to get. And pretty, rich, smart and funny isn't an answer. I think if you can be very specific about what you want, and what campus void you can fill, you can make progress. And DON'T get sucked into the "we're all unique and the other chapters are all same same." First, it's not true, second people don't join groups to be different, they join groups for the common bond.

And I would really stress (not force, not fine; it sounds like you have too much of that going on) the importance in joining clubs on campus. And finally, the members need to get over talking to their friends about rushing. Maybe one way you can dance around that issue is to say to friend "we're having a rush event on November 1st. If you know anyone who you think might want to come, would you let me know? And of course, I'd love to see you there. You'd be a fantastic addition to our chapter. We're really trying to improve our status (or whatever word you like better) on campus and you'd be great for that." Or whatever. You get what I'm saying. The non-sorority friends are not stupid so you might as well be up front about the fact that you're looking to grow and are looking for quality women to help that along.

33 are you being a bit harsh on the advisors there? Sometimes when we try to apply a cookie cutter solution from a...dare I say it..."binder" the people we're trying to help get the wrong message, and ultimately we don't end up solving the problem. Advisors usually have good intentions. The "national" absolutely has the chapter's best interest at heart- they want their chapters to be successful!

The important thing for every chapter to know and understand clearly, struggling or not, is that when it comes to recruitment the advisors and the national ARE NOT GOING TO DO THIS FOR YOU. YOU MUST DO IT YOURSELF. They are there to support you, to give you suggestions and to provide resources but not to recruit the women for you.

Thank you all so much for all of your advice! I'll definitely read through it all again and take it all to heart! I just wanted to clarify one thing.


For this, it's not a requirement to attend a COB event each week, it's actually more along the lines of what you said about meeting PNM's - it's hard to explain without giving away the chapter (to the chapter members, that is), but it's basically a list of several things they can do each week, ranging from simply being seen on campus (by another sister) wearing her letters, meeting a new girl in class, inviting her over for (activity), all the way to actually extending her a bid (but obviously not to somebody we just met!!). It is NOT difficult at all, which is why I'm so amazed people are refusing to do it. We do have some shyer women in the chapter, which is why we put in options to attend campus events in letters or be seen on campus in letters by another sister, because that's great PR right there which we also need around campus.

How do you think a conversation would go where the girls were asked would they rather up their effort to get the chapter competitively sized, or fold? Unfortunately, you might end up with a negative answer, but you might end up with an interesting discussion about what they can do and why it's important. Knowing how your members feel about their chapter might be a good start toward rebuilding.

Be sure also that you are not just inviting women to these events but going to pick them up and bring them to the event. Never, ever just invite them and not send an escort.

The comment that sisters think it is creepy to talk to friends about their chapter makes me think that the sisterhood within the chapter is hurting. Who wants to join a group if the members themselves are embarrassed to talk about it? I'd do some things that are just sisterhood events and work on enjoying each other before bringing others around. This time of year, you could have a silly pumpkin carving contest, the ice cream social idea, a games night with games like Apples to Apples. Silly skit nights, etc. Y'all need to have some fun together.

THEN you can start bringing friends around to these sisterhood events. When I think of my best sorority times, they usually revolve around sisterhood retreats where we did these kinds of things.

ETA: I don't like the "threat" that you have to get to Total. I would focus on the positives of having more members.. less work for everybody because you have women to serve on committees, more money for everyone because of the income, etc. Help them understand why having more women is advantageous to them as individuals.

Some really successful COBs in my experience are mocktails, casino nights, and ice cream socials. However, at the casino nights, it is actually 'get to know you' games. the girls pick a card, then the 'dealer' has a list of questions for each card (i.e. 3 words to describe you; most prized possession; if you could go anywhere, where & why; etc.). Even better, some of the cards are 'sister exchanges' where a sister at the table has to go to a different table and send over a girl she replaced, so that the PNMs meet new girls. It's really fun, I just went through and that was a big hit. Good luck!

It sounds like you need to up the profile of your chapter on campus. Instead of over-emphasizing COB, which it sounds like is going on, maybe spend some time creating and implementing a public relations plan.

Easy things you can do:
*have a weekly pin attire day where everyone dresses nicely and wears their badges
*make sure sisters are wearing letters/carrying tote bags when they are looking nice
*attend other chapter's philanthropy events, sincerely participate and have a good time
*have chapter members get to know each other, maybe active dates or get to now you games, etc
*join major/career related clubs and organizations; network
*Is there another sorority on campus that you are friendly with? Have a mixer with them to see how to interact with new people of the same sex. Our campus did dinner exchanges all the time and sister sorority week once a year.
*develop pride in your chapter, it will show to others when there is genuine sisterhood

These suggestions are low cost, but can go a long way toward improving the internal workings of your chapter. Be the chapter that everyone notices because you have a tight sisterhood, not because you're smaller than the others. :-)

The problem is that, if they are under intense pressure from HQ, they want these women pledged NOW. It's not creepy to talk to your friends about your chapter, it's creepy to invite them over once for dinner and hand them a bid at the end of the day. I think your suggestions still stand, because simply having fun with your sisters and including outside friends works well, but I wouldn't immediately assume sisterhood is hurting; it's just as likely that the women are totally COBed out.

As an advisor, here is my 2 cents, for whatever it is worth. You do need to address the apathy of members. Not in a punishment way, but come up with a way to present members why it is important to be at total, how it benefits the chapter (every member), the future of the chapter and the overall experience of membership. If you can get buy in from actives and get them excited about sharing their membership experience with PNM's, that message will help get PNM's excited about joining.

I would check with your district officers related to recruitment. See if there are any other chapters that maybe have been in a similar situation that they can get you in touch with and what they did to grow.

The ideas listed are great so far! I really liked the one about getting members involved in other groups on campus. Be proud, wear your letters, do PR events on campus. For example this is breast cancer awareness month...do a booth and hand out buttons with the pink ribbon and have your letters on them. Have weekly lunch and letters on campus. Make sure you are socially interacting with all groups on campus and show PNM's how being a member is a benefit to their college experience.

Other ideas to get PNM's involved is invite them to play intramurals with your team, do a service project and include friends. There are so many ideas. But again, I think you need to start internally with getting the actives on board and excited about the growth of your chapter. It starts there...I would NOT want to be a part of a group where the members didn't really care if I was there or not.

Do you have good relationships with any other Greek groups? If there is good Panhellenic spirit on campus, maybe the other groups might know some girls who want to be Greek and would be interested in getting to know you. What about the Greek Life office? Any suggestions or help there?

Good luck and I hope you all get some amazing new members. You can make changes and change mindsets and share your great chapter with others.

Love this! :)

This is good advice, but I also think it is demoralizing to say "We have to get to total" if the chapter can see that isn't a realistic goal. "We have to pledge five more women this semester" or something like that may be much easier for women to swallow. Chapter turn-arounds don't happen all at once, and as someone mentioned upthread, retention is also an issue. Beating women over the heads all the time about how they aren't doing enough is not a way to keep members happy and engaged.

I know KSUViolet has mentioned before how Sigma tries to set realistic goals for chapter growth each year, and I wish all of our orgs would follow their lead on this one.

Agreed DeltaBetaBaby. I didn't say it well. Understanding what total is and how it can be beneficial to the chapter and the Greek community on campus and getting members used to the idea of the positive side to build their chapter with good members is where I was going with it. Force feeding a number to "hit" doesn't work and turns people off. Celebrating the experience and sharing that to make a strong chapter is a much better option. Just wanted to clarify.

I will look up what you mentioned with Sigma and goals for chapter growth! Sounds like some good information.

I am loving some of the ideas for COB activities!

No, I'm not. If these advisors can't do a little research about the chapter and figure out that giant events aren't working and that all the pressure is demoralizing, then they shouldn't be advisors. Just plopping someone in a role and thinking "problem solved as long as they listen to this person" doesn't solve the problem.

Not being at total can a chapter, especially if you have housing to worry about. But what hurts WORSE is BEING TOLD EVERY SINGLE MINUTE OF EVERY SINGLE DAY THAT YOU SUCK BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT AT TOTAL. I mean, having people on your back is awful. If these girls could get the 30 new members they need as easily as the advisors and national seem to think it could be done, don't you think they would have done it just to get everyone to STFU? It's really hard to "sell" your sorority when you're in effect being told that all the good experiences you have had don't mean dick to TPTB because you don't have the numbers.

rushchair799 - You no doubt have some members in your chapter who like the fact that the chapter is smaller and don't want it to grow to the same size as the others. That's fine, that's their prerogative. That's probably part of why they joined. Don't push them. Concentrate on the sisters who do want to be more sociable and seen by the campus community. Make sure they have positions like social chair, PR, intramural chair.

However, if it's gotten to the point where some girls would rather pay fines than put on a letter sweatshirt, you might want to talk to them individually and ask them if they really still want to be members. It might just be senior burnout, it might be years of being nagged about numbers burnout, it might be no one tells me what to do syndrome, but if we're talking sophomores and women who have just joined, you may have to do some terminating. I know it sounds counterproductive, but ridding yourself of negativity is just as important as recruiting new members.

another thing to consider is using the 10% rule to your advantage. We all know that in every organization there is (more or less) 10% of the group who does 90% of the work. Instead of fighting with the 90% who just want to be members and not much more, work with the 10%. Maybe you can set up COB teams of 4 or 5 girls who are really good at it and enjoy the process (they do exist ;0). Now, don't beat them up and burn them out, but 5 girls who are enthusiastic can do a lot more when working together than 100 can who don't feel motivated or compelled to participate. And if you can find 2 teams of 5 girls who can maybe go after different segments of the population or focus on different aspects of recruitment, all the better. And hopefully your new members will be interested in being part of that team since they are your strongest resource for recruitment. Does your sorority have any regional or national training? Maybe as a reward to these girls who put in the extra effort, you can send them to this training. It would work as an incentive AND they learn more about how it is done most successfully from their sisters at other schools.

You need to focus on sisterhood. Sounds like everyone is burned out from constant COB. You're not going to attract new members if the current ones don't want to be there. It may help morale to have a sisterhood retreat where you get back to basics. In this spirit, it may also be helpful to institute a semesterly/quarterly "town hall" style chapter meeting where members can air concerns and the chapter can brainstorm constructive solutions. Bring in your alumnae for a sisterhood evening. They can share stories and help the collegians feel more connected.

Next, do you have a plan? Or is it just COB event after COB event? Are your members trained in recruitment? It would also be helpful to hold a membership workshop where you explain things like total and quota and their importance, so the chapter understands WHY they are having to recruit so much, in addition to hosting a workshop on how to recruit new members, practicing conversation, etc.


Public relations is a big aspect of recruitment. The women on campus need to see you in your letters, hosting events with Greeks and non-Greeks, etc. Everyone in your chapter should be actively involved with 2 non-Greek organizations on your campus. This is a great way to become more rounded as individuals, brings bragging rights to the chapter, and helps you to meet more PNMs. Form a PR committee, and have the chapter brainstorm ways to foster a strong campus presence. Celebrate as you meet your goals.

Next, consider the events you already host. Consider inviting non-affiliated women to these events-- sisterhood picnics, chapter dinner, field games, your signature philanthropy, etc. Great way to meet new people who may become members later on. Anything you do (other than ritual events) can be a COB event and it kills two birds with one stone.

Finally, ask your nationals to bring in some recruitment support. These teams can do workshops with you, come on site to better understand your campus and your chapter, and create an individualized plan to improve chapter morale, perception, and recruitment. But remember, part of recruitment is retention. So make it a priority to focus on who you have now and keeping them there, in addition to bringing in new members!

From experience I can tell you that pushing just COB on the current members gets old and many just get disillusioned after a while. Sisterhood and retention are very important. Let the chapter know the importance of being at total but don't make it out to be like it is the only important thing that the chapter will be doing.

Like others have stated have the current members bring friends that are not Greek come to events that the girls are doing. Invite them to have dinner, lunch, coffee, invite them to hang out at the house. But the chapter as a whole has to work at it. Some girls will not feel comfortable inviting other because they don't know how to approach them.

But remember that retention of the current membership is more important than COB.

One of my favorite recruiting posts is this one from Fraternal Musings. (Here's the link - for some reason the linking function won't work for me today: http://www.jessekoch.com/blog/?p=147)

I think you hit on something that the OP is learning as she tries to be the be the most effective recruitment chair she can be: she's the sales manager of her chapter, and she needs to select, train and motivate her primary sales team to help her chapter recruit new members. I don't want to divulge any big secret recruitment stragerie here but even in the biggest most exclusive and competitive chapters there is a small percentage of super rushers that you put out there in front and use to your maximum advantage to close the "sale" on your key prospects. Smaller struggling chapters can use the same strategy to put the most effective front women (with the best attitudes) on the task.

I'm not convinced that fines or nagging or making a chapter feel like s@#! when they've got a challenge (whether it is recruitment, or scholarship or any other issue) is ever effective. But sometimes when TPTB haul out the standard protocol and try to stay on message with the "you need to be at total" it does start to feel like that's all you hear and nothing else matters, which isn't IMO ever really the case. It's the subtle difference between hearing "This sucks" vs "You suck" when really everyone needs to be focusing on not sucking anymore.

Maybe it's a little like dating- when you're not getting the results you want from your efforts, it's time to focus inward and start making yourself the person that others want to date, not just throwing yourself at every available prospect and hoping something works out. Make your chapter the one that's having the most fun, is the proudest to be sisters together, and spends the most effort on celebrating your sisterhood and building each other up. When the experience is positive and the feelings are genuine you absolutely can turn things around!

Our campus total is between 70-100. Not huge, but not small, either. Greek life is big on our campus, but not the be-all end-all. There are many other organizations that offer similar perks to being greek - the sisterly bond, the socials, etc - without the money and dues and rules. Many women on our campus choose this option instead of NPC life, because they don't have to worry about being called to standards or anything - while I agree these may not be the type of women we want to attract, it's discouraging that women can't see what a great organization I'm a part of because all they see is "rules rules rules."

If chapter total is 90 and you are off by 20, that is not a huge amount. I mean, I'm sure it still sucks, but one good formal and 2 or 3 good informals, and you could be in fighting shape in no time. A problem, where you really have to mix things up, is chapter total is 90 and you're at 40. When a quota pledge class doubles your membership, that sort of thing. I would really focus on getting a handful of awesome, motivated girls and quit worrying about rush parties and all the pressure. If you're off by 20, try to get 5 girls in a late pledge class this semester, and 5 girls in a pledge class in the spring. Then you're only off by 10, presuming you can hold onto your members. Then, if you tell your rush team to really target 5 or 10 AWESOME girls and not inviting any girl who isn't, then your new members will feel special and it will (hopefully) cascade.

Thank you all for your help so far! It has been very encouraging and I'm definitely taking it all into consideration when it comes to figuring out how to change things for the better!!

Unfortunately, our chapter is in a situation closer to your second example. The past couple pledge classes have helped immensely, but when it comes to women going alum and graduating, we're practically in the same spot we were just a few years ago, numbers wise. That is why we're being pressured to get our numbers up so quickly - we've been so far under total for so long, it's now put us in a 'dire' situation, apparently.



As far as the concerns expressed with the recruitment groups - I agree with everyone saying they probably aren't working the way we had hoped they would. I actually got a chance to sit down and have a nice long conversation with one of our advisors that assists with recruitment, and she's agreed to look at some of my ideas for changes to the groups. My question is, I know we won't be allowed to do away with the groups themselves, so do you all think it would be better to do larger groups (6 or 7 women), stay where we are (2, 3, or 4 women) or do it individually (perhaps with an accountability partner?) the way it is set up now, a majority of the group has to do one of the things on the list we've given out per week - this allows for if someone is having a super busy week, etc. that they can sit out one week, as long as the same person isn't sitting out each week. I like the idea of setting personal goals for each woman, but can't decide what to suggest beyond that.

I think it would be a great idea to present these suggestions to the chapter and have them vote on it. Make them feel like they are a part of the process, and they will be less resentful.

If you really are in a "dire" situation - you may also try talking to the chapter about being a little more open to whom they invite. On the one hand, you do want to make those close connections, on the other, you could use more than a little help. You don't know where you might find it. You cannot afford to hold out for Susie Perfect. You have a couple of bids to take a chance on Fun Amy or Quirky Jenny. There might be that shy girl in your physics class or the transfer student from New Jersey? They might be lots of fun and great friends - but you won't know until you figure out how to make some new friends? You are in a place where you can afford to take some risks. A senior or a transfer that is only in for a year can still make a contribution.

This thread pretty much sums up my entire sorority experience. 33 knows what she's talking about, because she's been through it, too. It's totally draining to be in serious recruitment mode constantly. I remember getting a form letter from National saying that we were not receiving the quality membership experience expected, and that was the reason we were being closed. I think the quality of my membership would have been 110% better if we weren't constantly being threatened with having our charter pulled.

If you can read the pain in this young woman's posts like I can, you'll understand why I don't want my chapter recolonized next Fall as planned. They've lost another sorority recently to low numbers, and I don't think that campus can take another group so soon.

I have actually had first hand experience on both sides of it. She's here looking for help, because she still thinks they can rally. It does take a 5 year plan not a 1 year plan though, and they need to be willing to be creative.

The problem with a five year plan is that those who sign it (if that's what your org does) are probably not going to be around when the consequences come about, so it doesn't really motivate them to work hard to meet the requirements. They know they're going to have a chapter when they graduate, so it's forgotten about until Year 5 when National starts threatening to yank the charter and the current actives aren't even aware that a 5 year plan.existed.

Me too, me too. We actually took a LOT of juniors, even spring semester.

Don't lock yourselves into looking at women one at a time, either. Are there small groups (I'm thinking 2-5) of women who always seem to be working/hanging out/studying together? Are they women you like? Perhaps they share some classes or a major with one or more of your sisters?

Oh, this is a good point. I know another chapter that was struggling went after the band women in a big way (most did not rush because there were too many time conflicts between Marching Illini and formal recruitment). Once they had a few, it spiraled into getting maybe five women/year from the band...that's huge!

You can do the same thing with athletes, Honors students, any of the clubs... but with the athletes or band members, you might want to find out if waivers can be arranged for missing certain big events like rush and initiations. If they have to choose between the volleyball team and rush, they will choose volleyball because likely they are on a scholarship. But if you can make a special arrangement for them (not a blank check, but they will be responsible for X number of COB events if they have to miss a day or two of rush), then it might be really appealing to them. And using this formula, you could more easily go after girls you don't personally know. Contacting them as a group and inviting them to a rush event wouldn't seem as odd as just approaching random girl on the street. An invitation saying ABC sorority would like to invite the women of the band to a sorority recruitment event on X date would pretty much spell out what you're doing and why. That shouldn't be the end of your approach, follow up phone calls, personal contact with anyone you actually know, etc. would also be required, but this would be one form of a blast invitation but targeted to a specific group of women. And one month you could do the band, the next the volleyball team, the next the honors dorm, and that makes national happy because you are doing parties more frequently, but you aren't having to tear your hair out about who to drag through the door.

Question, and what I advise might fly in the face of conventional "get the whole chapter to bond/kill the cliques" wisdom. Are the groups made up of women who usually hang out together (for example, the 4 girls who live together off campus in CollegeGrove Apartments or whatever your student complex is called) or were they assigned at random? If they were assigned at random, and they're not that close to each other or worse, that might not be putting forward the best sisterhood face to prospective members. Whereas when a PNM sees 4 girls who are bouncing off each other and super tight, they don't think "oh, that is a clique." They think "oh, they got these great friendships because they joined the sorority." Let the women who are close to each other work together. Hopefully you have a few "social chameleons" in the chapter who get along with everyone and can maybe float from group to group.

4 is about the max you should have for this sort of thing. Getting more people than that together is way too complicated.

They were assigned based of a few criteria, but I will admit that we tried not to put BEST FRIENDS together, but did make sure everybody in the group got along well and did hang out together on a semi-regular basis. The worry was that if we put people with their absolute best friends, they'd just make up stuff instead of actually doing the recruitment things, rendering the groups pointless. This is still happening though, which is the issue. Our alums won't let the whole idea of the recruitment groups go, though, so I'm trying to find ways to revamp and rearrange them to make them more useful. We're on the right track, in that what we're doing now is far more effective than what we've done in the past, but it's still not working as well as we had hoped. It's just discouraging to see my sisters having such a poor attitude, I understand why they do but it's not helping anything and doesn't seem to be changing.

I'm sorry. Maybe mentally/emotionally you can put all your eggs in the new girls' basket. It's rough on seniors no matter how up to snuff the chapter is. If they've had a pressure-filled 4 years, they could REALLY be over it. They can't be let off the hook completely, but if you really work on the idea that new members each get one member through informal, that would be substantial growth, and would have the enthusiasm in the young half of the chapter.

I'd also advise against trying to change too many things at once. If what you've been doing has been having small but real benefits, just tweak for now. Your system needs to be modified (not so many penalties, not so many parties) but other than that, maybe you can work on targeting your invitations and worry less about full chapter participation on a day in/day out basis. Headquarters may want you to have 100% increase in chapter size in a year, but I'd decide what is realistic for you and go with that. Maybe a 10 percent increase through informal? Or replacing through informal the number of seniors you will be losing so you don't have that drop over the summer? As Many As You Can Get isn't super helpful when setting goals. It also doesn't allow you to be done with it for a minute (and celebrate that fact) before you have to start over again.