Kappa Beta Gamma
 

My sorority is currently looking into and voting on possible extension with ΚΒΓ. Our EC has presented us with information regarding this organization, however I feel there are unanswered questions.

Should I hold my vote and hope for a NPC organization to approach us in the next 5 years? (Pros/Cons)

To a sister of ΚΒΓ: how is your experience with the organization? (DM me if you wish)

Why is ΚΒΓ no longer associated with NPC?
Why have chapters closed or colonized with other organizations?
Where is the yearly retreat hosted?
How much are dues per semester/per year?
How much do pins cost? (& are they made of gold?)

If you have any other information I would love to hear it! :)

Thanks!

My understanding is that they left the NPC because the number of chapters they had fell below NPC requirements.

Thank you for the clarification!

Do you know why they lost chapters?

I didn't know that they have ever been part of the NPC.

But, yes to what KSUViolet says. These are questions best addressed with Kappa Beta Gamma.

I would recommend visiting their National site (http://www.kappabetagamma.com/#!chapters/c5o2) and getting in touch with the two chapters in British Columbia - they may be better able to help you with your questions.

They were never a part of NPC.

Thank you everyone, I appreciate you taking your time to reply to my post.

Our EC is currently talking with them and sending questions that we have. I should have clarified that. Sorry!

I was just wondering if there was any external information because it is very concerning to myself that there have been so many chapters close. Due to this, I wanted to hear from people who might have information on ΚΒΓ. :)

I am not part of KBG but I will say this. If membership in an NPC group is truly what your members want, DON'T join KBG. If you do decide to join KBG, this is a forever move - not a "just until we get enough people for a bigger national" move.

Just stating this because there were some chapters out there who thought the latter was ok, and it's not. It's crummy.

Oh, and my guess as to why chapters closed is because being Catholic was no longer a dealbreaker to joining other NPC groups.

Yeah, that is exactly what I am wanting to bring up at the discussion! :)

Also, I never knew that! I don't think anyone in my sorority knew that! Thank you for the information. Do you know what decade NPC sororities opened their doors to different faiths? :)

You're seriously the best.

Could you please use the search function and not rely on us to answer every single question that already has been answered?

You will need research skills in your future employment and your current quest is a great place to develop some. GreekChat was declared a "no spoon-feeding zone" quite some time ago.

Thank you.

ETA: there is no "perfect" or Hollywood or ideal version of a sorority in existence. We all have challenges with finances, membership, scholarship, philanthropy, ritual, and so on. All this is readily apparent by spending time reading and researching, not just on GreekChat, but elsewhere.

The NPC dropped the Christian faith requirement in the 50s or 60s. And Iota Alpha Pi suffered since they were largely a Jewish organization and labeled as such and thus had a decline in membership. To back up my sister and others, KBG was never in the NPC but has been trying to last I heard.

Also do some research and see what sororities line up best with your goals, principles, etc. That is the best way to start looking. If you think KBG is the best fit go for it. But don't judge because they are not members of the NPC. Be open minded when searching. It's not about what umbrella group they belong to it's about what each group stands for.

But every umbrella group has it's own rules and standards for becoming a colony. But that's step two. Atep obe is figuring out which group will benefit your siaters, campus and community. Best of luck!

Probably the biggest question you need to ask is HOW well do they service their Existing Canadian chapter? Any sorority that has Canadian chapters will tell you that the logistics are very interesting for dealing with chapters in Canada, and you want to make sure that if you sign on that you will be able to actually get services from HQ. Ask to talk to that chapter and see how much help they get from the home office and if their needs are met. They will be your best guide to whether or not you will get what you are looking for.

There is a lot of research that you need to do, but I'm wondering if you're focusing on some of the wrong issues.

Should the national organization tell the group the answers to the last two questions? I could not imagine joining an organization without knowing these two things upfront. I find it kind of old that KBG is not telling the group these things. With regards to having to spend $10,000ish to cover the cost of colonization, well that would turn me off right away. I've been looking at engineering sororities and learning about the process of colonizing a group of one of those three organizations and have never heard of having to pay to get the sorority to colonize.
I did read the expansion guide on KBG website ( hey I've been snowed in for three days now). I find it interesting that a group would require so many specific things. Like paying for hotel for 6 officers, airfair ect, IDK it just seems weird to me and if I was in the OPs shoes I would be weirded out by all the money requirements.

Are there any other sororities that are not part of the NPC that are not a major based or religious based group?

I would not interpret the OP's "looking into" as thinking that anyone from KBG has been in touch with anyone in her group, officially or non-officially. I mean I'm "looking into" new carpet for my rec room but that doesn't mean 1-800-588-2300 EMPIRE (today) has their truck pulled up outside my door.

And pretty much every sorority has a colonization fee.

NPHC. Service sororities. Locals. ;)

I can't think of any other national, non-special interest sororities that aren't council affiliated.

Edit: Wikipedia has a list that might be helpful.

I also wanted to add that Beta Sigma Phi is not based on religion or major. That might be something of interest to the OP as BSP has some college campus chapters.

Thanks for getting the jingle stuck in my head.

:D Nice analogy. I'm having visions of the old man with the glasses, and yes that jingle is stuck in my head.

I was under the impression that the OP's local sorority and KBG were already in communication with each other. But I could have made a mistake in my impressions.

And I guess I learn something new everyday.
DNP

yeah, I knew there were others out there, I just can't seem to think today.
DNP

Yeah, as ree-Xi was right with I may be focusing on the wrong questions. I should be asking what kind of support do ΚΒΓ chapters receive from HQ.

And we have been in touch with ΚΒΓ about extension, but as this would be a big step we have to do our research and then vote on it. Some of these questions I asked would have been ask by my EC to them.

A lot of my questions have been answered, even ones I would have never thought of asking! Now I'm just curious about the king of support from head office chapters would receive. Are there any ΚΒΓ that can answer this question? I know I can ask HQ, but asking here might get a more honest response. Also, for those in Canada in any other national or NPC organization, what sort of support are you receiving? What should I expect from HQ? Sorry for my ignorance, I'm just unsure where I would find these answers on here.

Thank you in advance!!! :)

NPC, as far as I can tell, never had a Christian faith requirement. Perhaps you're talking about the religious based organizations that became associate members in the late 1940s and full members in the 1950s when the AES organizations joined NPC.

Regarding the whole "faith vs. NPC" issue, while the NPC might not have required its members be Protestant-only, many sororities were Protestant-only. Was this written into their constitutions? I can only speak for Beta Sigma Omicron, as I have read its constitution. At one point, only Protestants were allowed membership. (The majority chapters of BSO joined ZTA in 1964.)

Looking at KBG's wikipedia entry, some of the chapters that closed did so in the latter part of the 1960's, when Greek life started to decline in general:

ALPHA, St. Louis University, 1947- 1967
BETA, Marquette University, 1917- 1968
ZETA, Loyola University New Orleans, 1961-1966.

If you are worried about chapters closing, look at Findlay (2002- ???), Franklin & Marshall's (2003-2008) and Frostburg (2007-2013). Some research on GC will lead you to at least one thread on F&M's KBG closure.

Compare the closing of three chapters with the chartering of 12 chapters, including St John's in OCt 2013.

Good luck!

Hi Luchia, I am a Alumni of Kappa Beta Gamma, if you have any questions about KBG I would be glad to help answer them for you!!!

-Kappabetagam

Ask and infophiles will share: Kappa Beta Gamma/Kappa Delta

MaryPoppins, while those closures did occur, they were all for very different reasons at each chapter, and Kappa Beta Gamma has been growing significantly over the past five years. To continue to quote a thread on chapters that closed before our current International Executive Board, and a chapter that closed due to low retention/recruitment is not needed.

Well, bumping a nearly four-month-old thread wasn't really needed either. Ditto for trying to school an established GC member on proper posting etiquette when you have only three posts yourself. :rolleyes:

With respect, I was simply trying to respond to the person who began the thread, as she was seeking out members of Kappa Beta Gamma. If I had been actively looking at GC I would have responded earlier to her posts.

I do not have a lot of posts on GC, but I should still be allowed to ask people not to discuss my organization. I would never discuss a chapter of an NPC (or other larger organization) closing, unless I had actual details about the closing. I simply find it inappropriate to continue noting closings about any organization when the reasons behind those closings is not known by the poster.

Sorry if I came off as rude, but I was simply asking for people to discontinue repeatedly posting about the closings of old Kappa Beta Gamma chapters.

I think your complaint is fair. If the OP wants to find the information, she could look for it herself.

Suggestion: in future, to respond to the OP on a thread that hasn't been active, try using the "send a message" function.

As for asking people not to discuss an organization, you can ask, but public information is public information. We all have closed chapters in our organizations, for a variety of reasons. Asking for censorship is IMO not very smart and draws MORE rather than LESS attention to a situation.