Conference attendance
 

I was wondering if any other GLOs have encountered this problem before and how they dealt with it. We're required to have a certain percentage of our active sisters attend conference each semester. Conference is always on the West Coast, because we only have two chapters on the East Coast. All our other chapters are on the West Coast. This semester, EVERYONE is saying that they don't have the money to fly out to conference. I've told them that we're going to get fined by our Nationals if we don't have the minimum number of girls at conference. They just say "Oh, well, I'll just pay the fine. It's going to be cheaper than a plane ticket." A lot of these girls are the same girls who still haven't paid their dues for this semester. I'm worried that these girls aren't going to pay up for the fines, and our treasury doesn't have enough money to cover all the fines while these girls work on paying their dues and their fines. I've stressed to them that it's not just about the money issue. I've stressed to them that it reflects poorly on our chapter. In addition, how can we convince our Nationals that they should give conference on the East Coast a chance when we don't show up at conference? How can we convince Nationals that they should have West Coast chapters visit us and help us out with recruitment when we don't show up at conference? I'm just so stressed and frustrated and discouraged as president. I don't know what to do.

Are you required to only have a certain percentage and/or iare only certain officers requiired? With Alpha Gam, only the required collegiate is the President.

Can you have fund raisers to help off-set the price of attendance?

As for not paying their dues, that should like a membership concern since they may not be in good standing if they aren't paying required financial monies.

In my opinion, only having 2 East Coast chapters probably won't sway your nationals to move to the East Coast but perhaps they would consider moving to the middle.

I know that Alpha Gam tries to vary the location but even still, where they choose it, may be difficult to get to, i.e., expensive airfare and/or cab/shuttle service.

I don't know what GLO you are in but if there are GC members, try pm'ing them and ask. Even if the convention is on the same coast, chapters may still have poblems getting enough memrers to attend.

Not knowing what Your Organization is, it is hard to evaluate.

Having a cetain % of Your Chapter Members required without any help from Your NHQ is unthinkable.

LXA expects a Rep. from each Chapter (President), to attend and is paid for by the National Hq.

Anyone else pays their own way, I did as an Alum last year.

One of the Chapters Alum Assoc. gave a % to send 4 Actives and one Alum.

Now as far as Your Actives not paying dues, You do have a serious problem. They are hurting Your Chapter and should be delt with asap.

To clarify, as president, I'm required to go and I am going. However, we are also supposed to have 50% of our active sisters attend. Fundraising is definitely a good idea, and some of the girls are trying to think of fundraising ideas. But we're getting down to the wire. Conference is in a couple weeks and these girls still can't even decide on a single fundraising idea. I know we should have started planning a fundraiser much earlier, but I've told these girls since the beginning of February to start saving money and start trying to get money from parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. for plane tickets to conference, but no one actually did it. As far as Nationals helping us out, we don't get anything from Nationals to attend...not even me, as president.

One thing to help out in the future is to include a chapter budget line item for the conference. Dedicate a portion of your dues or fundraising proceeds to go towards this fund and use it only for this purpose. Decide who should be the beneficiary as the fund such as president or official delegate. (I know it's hard since 50% of the chapter is to go but as presdient it should be a benefit.) Make sure that you don't wipe it out. It may only be enough to cover a night's lodging at first but you need to start somewhere. As time goes on, the fund should get larger and be able assist more people.

It is a great idea to budget in the expense expected for the conference each year.
Regarding 50% of active sisters to attend the conference, does active = members in good standing? I would assume if your members are not paying their bills then they would not be in good standing. So in short, if not in good standing are they still required to attend?
Good luck.

Holy mackeral....50%!? It can be hard to get 50% of any chapter at any one event, let alone one that's cross country. BUT! To save on lodging, and I know this might not be the most *attractive* option, but there's always hostels, and especially on the west coast, hostelling can be cheap and efficient (some even offer group rates!). Is it possible to ask a local chapter or a couple of local chapters to house your girls for a few days? That could mean carpool opportunities too. If you're willing to plan ahead and spend a few days...Greyhound bus tickets can be a viable option. It takes a while, but it's vastly cheaper than air fare.

Something needs to be brought up about having that % of Chapter Members required to attend. This is ridiculous to say the least.:o

As long as there is a rep. from each Chapter, Policy can be made and voted on.

It seems if they are that staunch, there will be little expansion or even keeping Chapters viable and open.

What organization do you belong to? I have a hard time believing any national organization would require you to send 50% of it's active and in good standing members clear across the country twice per year (you say it is a semester event). Whether this was 1 member or 100 members is is an unfair burden to pay this out of pocket and at this regular rate (2x per year).

Something doesn't seem quite right.

i was wondering the same thing... that's crazy!

I don't really want to say which org I'm in, because some of my other threads have been about problems that I've had with the girls in my chapter. But we currently have 20 members, so it would be a minimum of 10 girls at conference. It actually used to be 75%, but we petitioned our nationals to change it to 50% for us and the other East Coast chapter. The West coast chapters still have to send 75%, even if conference is in NorCal and the chapter is in SoCal. We only have 11 chapters, so it would be a VERY, VERY small conference if only one person (the president) had to attend from each chapter. In addition, there is usually a big party the night before the actual conference, there is a dinner and sleepover for all the new initiates, and there is a lunch where we can mingle and get to know girls from other chapters. But, I do agree that it would be so much easier and better if the requirement was lower (like just requiring the president and a delegate to attend).

As far as lodging goes, that's taken out of our treasury so girls don't have to pay out of pocket. The only thing girls need to pay is their plane ticket and bringing spending money (for meals and souveneirs). But right now, plane tickets are so expensive.

maybe i'm reading in to things, but it appears you're blaming the women (they're not girls) for not thinking ahead, but as president that should have been one of your responsibilities as well.

when i was in college, there's no way i could have raised any money to attend a conference, even if the president threatened my life. my family didn't have money for that--they had to take out loans just to get me to college! and i wouldn't have spent my measly $6 an hour babysitting money on plane tickets when i needed that money for food. that would have been a hell of a lot of babysitting anyway! you need to realize that not everyone has a financial support system--some people can barely feed themselves in college.

while i hope for the best for your chapter, i hope you will take what i have to say to heart. i'm not judging you or your chapter. i'm just trying to make you see that no matter how much begging and pleading you do now, you ALL should have thought of a fund raiser at the beginning of the year since you knew about the conference then.

best of luck to you.

If your sorority is looking to become a nationwide sorority, they really IMO need to rethink this policy.

It's quite a burden to expect that % to attend, especially if some of them have to fly across the entire country. I'm sure that at some point when the NPC groups were expanding, the geographical issues were similar, but I doubt that they made the whole chapter show up. Maybe they could teleconference the East Coasters in for business meetings or something.

10 plane tickets is what, like $3000? Wouldn't that money be better spent helping your chapter grow on campus or helping to colonize new chapters, rather than flying people across the country for a weekend? Yes, you do need to plan ahead for $ for conferences and stuff and include it in dues and fundraisers, but this is a little beyond reasonable.

have you tried going on some of the discounted airline ticket places online like priceline.com and seeing what kinda of deals you can get for 10 tickets. I have always done the name your own price whenever i have to fly somewhere (and trust me i am on a very tight budget). But i have gotten tickets for like 125 or 150. That might be a easier to. and as well as fundraising. I do know of some things that can be done online ( not things i want to talk about on here) but if you want to PM me i can tell you about some of the programs that i know of. they are a bit unconventional but can yeild a large amount of money. Let me know.

as students, I would actually recommend checking out www.studentuniverse.com I booked my flights to Germany through them and have not had a problem (knock on wood!) My flights were $420 round trip from Chicago to Frankfurt. I haven't really checked the domestic flights, but these international flights were almost half 'normal' price - and they are on United/Lufthansa so they are not on the no-name airlines - and student univers works with Orbitz.

Just a suggestion

Sarah

I really didn't mean to come across as so insensitive. I'm really not mean and insensitive. I'm just annoyed. If they couldn't afford to go to conference because they're barely scraping by, I would understand. I just feel like their priorities are a little messed up. I know that conference may not be the most fun thing in the world, but I just feel like no one is trying to work with me. I feel like I'm working against them and they're working against me.

They told me that none of them can afford to go to conference. Yet the weekend before conference, slightly more than half the chapter is planning on going on a roadtrip to this fancy casino in Canada. They're planning on getting a suite, gambling, drinking, going clubbing, and shopping. AND on top of all this, they want this to be counted towards fulfilling the minimum number of sisterhood activities they're required to participate in. I've also heard them say that if they stop off at Buffalo and have a mixer with one of the fraternities at SUNY Buffalo, then it'll also help them fulfill their minimum number of socials.

Do you have a regional officer or advisor for your chapter? If so, have you addressed these issues with them? What happens if you simply do not send all those people? What exactly will happen? Perhaps your national officers need to see the reality of a very biased and unfair travel requirement policy. Even if your members had the means to go, it is still highly unusual to require chapter members to attend conferences across the country twice per year. That part is just off base.

Talk to the alums...although it sounds like you have a pretty small chapter, so that might not be feasible. However, if you could even get $500 from someone, that's $50 bucks a person that you don't have to pay for, and that could make a difference for some people.

Still the policy is ridiculous and something that I would submit changes for as legislation during the conference or convention or whatever the legislative session for you organization happens to be. While it sounds like they do a lot of programing for you when you go, and it sounds like it would be fun, it just seems really unnecessary and dificult. I mean really 75% of all active members are required to show? Beyodn the social aspects it seems overbearing. I mean, my chapter has problems getting 50% of our chapter to events across the street. Getting that many people across the country is ludicrous.

Now, I do realize that I am part of an organization in which the legislative powers, and in fact the supreme authority on all matters lies with the undergraduates, so I realize that a legislative session may not be possible, but you need to talk to your national officers, any sort of alumni conselors you have and even go so far as to contact the other chapters, explaining the intense difficulty that occurrs each semester. There has to be some sort of third alternative to this, either moving things to the middle of the country or alternating coasts or making it so you only have to 75% attend once a year and the other time you only need 25% or something. There has to be a way around this, and if you organization has any sort of vision of expanding beyond the 11 chapters, this has to be dropped.

There is nothing wrong with The Members of Your Chapter doing what they are doing. Time away to have some fun is not illegal. It just helps to rejuvinate a bit. A Conference that is required is not the way to do it.

What seems to be wrong is Your HQ and their Requirements.

There must be a change, or, they will have less Chapters and even less Memebers.:o

I am in no way degrading Your Organization, but it does seem to be a bit over the top!

If you have chapters like this, maybe yank their charters -- or at least make the threat. They signed up for the organization. The requirements were not some sort of surprise. It sounds like these conventions are important for keeping your organization unified.

How old are these two chapters? If they're not working towards expanding over there as they should be, they sound like dead weight. Cut them and focus on your region. You may have simply overexpanded.

Oh geez.

I know that I am going to sound like a bitch when I say this, but you guys don't know jack about money and time constraints when attending conferences/conventions, etc.

For someone from Hawai`i to just get to the West Coast, it takes at least 5-5 1/2 hours at a cost of an average $350 (during slow months). IHQ tries to accomodate each chapter when scheduling locations, but Delta Sigma always has a tough time because there usually are no direct flights from Honolulu to wherever things are being held (Philadelphia, Kansas City, Alpharetta, etc). The chapter scrapes just to send our President alone and she misses days of school because of how much time it takes to get from here to there. K, done with rant...sorry.

Fundraising and the alumnae were our biggest supporters in sending our members. But at the same time, I think your nationals are being unfair with requiring that % of sisters to attend. They need to be reminded that not everyone can afford to go and at the same time...hi, aren't you guys in classes at this time?

Try and come up with a compromise with your Nationals. If you can somehow get yourself and the majority of your exec board to conference, would it be possible for Nationals to send some consultants to your chapter to present the things discussed at conference? That'd sound fair, right?

Still, at the same time, remind your chapter that they have an obligation to the chapter and organization. Even if it's an inconvenience, effort should at least be made to attend.

OTW, Very Well explained!:)

What many dont know is time and Money Constraits, it is very Hard. I went to My General Assembly and paid My way and it was tough, but it was at where Our IHQ was located and I got to visit My IHQ Sight.

That was a small Portion as I am sure any Member can tell You. It is meeting Members of Your Greek Organization while YOu are there. I had the Pleasure of Meeting @ 16 GC LXAs and What a Treat That was for me. This is not talking on the phone, Emailing, or PMing, this is Fsace to face and saying, Damn, I am so glad to finally Meeting You!:D :cool:

It was also a Treat in Meeting so many Members and discussing problems that effect all of us and what needs to be done.

If you ever have a chance to go, go! Sandy (OTW) has a long way to go, but She seems to make it and I am sure She is very Happy about it!:cool:

I don't know what sorority the original poster is in, but I take it that it is a younger organization. Those who chose to pursue younger organizations have to accept these types of things as part of being in a young organization. When you have chapters sporadically spread out over the US, some chapter is always going to feel that they are getting the short end of the stick.

I would ask the posters who are saying that to require a percentage of membership in attendance at conferences is ridculous to put yourself in the situation of a smaller organization. Picture only 20-30 actives (or less in your chapter). Picture having maybe only 500 members TOTAL in the nation. If your organization puts on a conference and expects to have 200 members in attendance...well, you do the math on how many people from each chapter would need to be there. If you are a very small sorority, but your national has the ambition to put on conferences and events that larger sororities enjoy to enhance your experience, then they of course are going to want to make sure they are not wasting money and time planning something that less than 100 people are going to attend. Smaller organizations (even smaller nationals) do not have the funds that older, larger organizations do. They cannot afford to take a financial hit from low attendance at a conference. Therefore, I completely understand where this national is coming from.

In my opinion, if the entire membership was notified of these requirements well in advance (especially if it is an annual conference), then there should be no reason why the requirement cannot be met. In my sorority, alumnae often donate money to the actives so that they can attend conventions, etc. Most of the time, though, everyone knows that the national events are coming, and therefore, they start saving, fundraising, or whatever the case may be. We have some chapters that are very far out from the bulk of our chapters, but yet they still manage to come to every single national event, and they roll deep at that. Most importantly, they WANT to attend these events and will do what they need to do to get there. I'm thinking that part of the reason the original poster is having problems getting her sisters to attend is because they really just don't want to go. If they did, they would be anxiously saving up and preparing for this conference. That might be an even bigger issue...