"Incorporated"
 

This is a curiosity question because I genuinely do not know or understand the reasoning and am just looking for information, so please do not flame me :)

Why do NPHC groups and other minority GLO's all refer to themselves as "Incorporated" when talking about their group (IE: "Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.") I see this all the time when it comes to BGLO and other non-caucasian groups, but never amongst NPC and NIC groups, or amongst other non-social groups (Alpha Phi Omega, Gamma Sigma Sigma, etc.) unless a particular chapter is made up of predominantly minority students.

To my knowledge, EVERY national GLO is incorporated in one way or another, so it is not like these groups have a status the other ones do not. Could someone explain the reasoning behind putting emphasis on the incorporation status?

There are a few threads that I've seen about this topic. I'll add links for you when I find them.

ETA: Here are a few I've found. Do a search if you want more.

http://greekchat.com/gcforums/showth...=incorporation

http://greekchat.com/gcforums/showth...=incorporation

http://greekchat.com/gcforums/showth...=incorporation

Pretty much the best general answer you're going to get. Thanks Babs! And thanks KS for linking it.

Interesting reads, especially when looking at why other GLO's who are not culturally-based but exist on HBCU campuses adopt similar mannerism.

I've always wondered about that - thanks for the info.

Alright, I understand this explanation.

But I was wondering how come the minority GLOs do the same, since they were founded much later (1970s on up, for the most part- not saying all of them were) than the BGLOs.

:)

That's a good point. I can understand the BGLOs. But there's orgs that were formed in the last 10-15 years who like to throw on the "Inc."... it's like, so what? You can fill out a form and pay a fee to your state's department of state? In this day and age, it's not like it's a major accomplishment, and it's not something that sets you apart.

Educated guesses:

1) Other "minority" GLOs consider themselves to be peers of NPHC organizations.
2) Incorporation may have been difficult for them as well and it's a sense of pride.
3) It was the campus standard.
4) May have been assisted by NPHC members.

I lean toward number one, though. If an organization was founded for cultural or multicultural purposes and NPHC organizations were the closest model to what they were looking for, then it makes sense to me that certain traditions made sense to the founders of those orgs.

Or even better, if the lack of "incorporated" in the title would make an org seem illegitimate among its peers, then I can see them wanting it.

Yeah, that seems to be the best explanation.
I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

No offense...

.....
lol .....

I didnt want to start a new thread but
I wanted to know, is it necessary for a sorority to become incorporated to gain national status? If not, how is it that some organizations become nationally recognized with just one chapter?
( the groups are not considered national but they are known nationally as fraternity or sorority groups)
Also, does a sorority need to become a part of a national council if it is seeking national status?

What?

I'll speak for Theta Nu Xi. Incorporation is a major accomplishment for an up-and-coming organization. Few people on Greek Chat (or offline) have any concept of the dedication and confidence it takes to claim membership in an organization that is not mainstream and is still very young. The current members of Theta Nu Xi are building a reputation through hard work and social action; a reputation that will be appreciated by the women who will eventually celebrate our centennial.

Our formal title is "Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority, Incorporated." There was a time that we were "Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority." Gaining incorporated status was an enormous status leap for a small organization like ours and serves to remind us all of our commitment to professionalism.

Calling the sorority by its full title is an expression of respect for us. We formally recognize each woman who signed the incorporation papers, because it was a historic and important moment for us. It is part of our tradition.

The incorporated status is filed with the IRS, local, state and Federal business offices so that the concepts and ideas of the organization are kept in perpetuity and rarely changes without the membership voting to change it.

Typically, sororities don't have to be a part of council, however, the colleges and universities are requiring being part of a larger group because of liability reasons.

Please know that I mean absolutely no disrespect to Theta Nu Xi.

But I don't want anyone getting the idea that it's really, really difficult to form a corporation. It's not; it's actually pretty easy.

Keeping it going, of course, may be another story. ;)

I only asked because I had the impression that incoroporated organizations with five or less chapters were considered national organizations. I didnt think it was true but it seems like a growing trend. I have a new question: what exactly does the inc change for a group. i can understand the significance of the title. but my fear is that once my sorority becomes inc. things that take place now might have to change. I dont want my sorority to become a business... is it REALLY necessary to incorporate a greek org.

There are a number of benefits, but the two I find most important are:

1) A corporation is its own entity, separate from the owners/founders. So, there is a layer of protection against lawsuits and such. If you're not incorporated, you can personally be sued.

2) Because the corporation is its own entity, it continues on after leadership changes (or even after the death of the founders).

I'd recommend going online to research what incorporation entails and how to do it. You wouldn't need to ask these questions if you'd familiarize yourself with Google.

Woops, didn't see this one. You're absolutely right. Submitting the paperwork is the easy part. The hard part is getting an organization to the point that it can sustain a corporation. That's what we celebrate when we holler "Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority, Innnnnnnncorporated!"

I can appreciate your responses and explanations regarding how you feel about your org's Incorporation but IMO your org (like many others today) stresses the "Innnnnnnnncorporated" (and did so initially) because NPHC orgs traditionally do and people think it's cool, as I'm sure your founders did. And there's nothing wrong with this but...let's be real.

that is helpful, thanks!
''sustain a corporation'' what does that mean, if you can explain it?

alot of good answers from my fellow NPHC members in this thread and the others as knight shadow has provided links for.


best answer i saw was this tho....
and its even more to it than just this....


Supa B
Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, *pulls back* INNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNCORPORATED!!!
Founded Jan 9, 1914
Incorporated since Jan 1920...

I read somewhere, I forget where, so please correct me, and I won't say the org. b/c i know i'll get that wrong, but...i read somewhere that when they were founded one of the older HBGLO's sought incorprated themselves right out of the bat, like they made sure that was one of the first things that they did. My own group had three chapters before they/ we were incorporated. Also, i think the full name is Theta Chi International Fraternity, Inc. That is too long for a t-shirt.

Companies aren't the only things that can be incorporated.

basically...


Incorporation (abbreviated Inc. in U.S. and Canadian business names) is the forming of a new corporation (a corporation being a legal entity that is effectively recognised as a person, albeit a fictitious one, under the law). The corporation may be a business, a non-profit organization, sports club or a government of a new city or town.

NPHC orgs originated many Greek traditions as did non-NPHC orgs. Newer orgs were influenced by the established Greek traditions and adopted certain traditions, assigning meanings to them that are relevant to the orgs. So, for example, you have organizations that only salute (no stepping/strolling), but have adopted "Innnncorporated." We all learn from each other. However, I don't know of many viable newer organizations that adopt traditions simply because they "think it's cool" without really considering the effect.

Again, I can only speak for Theta Nu Xi, but we understand where this particular tradition came from within BGLOs. I realize that members of mainstream organizations often have in their minds that members of younger organizations have no grounding in history. The truth is that, at least for Theta Nu Xi, we are serious about what we're doing and we don't take things lightly. This isn't a game.

You didn't refute what rhoyaltempest said. :)

While some of you know why "Incorporated" is said, I say "some" because not even all NPHCers know why it is said, Theta Nu Xi and other organizations are young and didn't exist at a time where being incorporated was a huge feat for certain types of organizations.

So even if you all know the significance behind "Innnnnncorporated," the reason you are actually saying it is because of the BGLO tradition of saying it. If not for that, it would be another unspoken fact about your organization as it usually is with NPC and IFC organizations.

sustaining an organization is very important especially if you are up and coming.

Zeta Phi Beta Sorority was founded in 1920, and soon thereafter the great depression hit, so you can imagine at that point being in a sorority WAS TRULY a luxury. Chapters were moved around and people came in and left, but those were hard times. Now Zeta boasts of a membership of over 100,000 college educated women and our list of accomplishments is long, so when EYE say Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, INNNNNCORPORATED, its meaningful to me

That's very touching and REAL, neosoul. :)

Thanks for being so receptive.

The goal is to understand. Not necessarily to form a judgment either way.

ETA: And you clearly either haven't read the thread or don't understand what you read. :)

bwhahhahhahahaha

go DSTCHAOS

"your" GLOs and BGLOs do not operate on the same wavelength... lets leave it at that

Well, then it's not about you not understanding. It's about you disagreeing.

This thread says it all and you just think it's silly. We're fine with that. :)

"trace"?

Actually, some GLOs are corporations and some are not. If I'm not mistaken, Kappa Sigma Fraternity is an unincorporated association. Kappa Sigma Fraternity, Inc. (aka Kappa Sigma Memorial Foundation), was a corporation formed by Kappa Sigma Fraternity to hold title to Memorial Headquarters in Charlottesville. I wouldn't be surprised if there are other GLOs that are set up similarly -- as associations that have in turn formed corporations to hold certain property.

You can find some interesting KS history in the opinion in Kappa Sigma Fraternity, Inc., v. Kappa Sigma Fraternity.

No.

Because that isn't silly?

no

I wasn't trying to refute! I was agreeing.

:) Okay. I re-read your post and see what you were trying to say.

To clarify, I was saying that younger orgs adopt NPHC (and non-NPHC traditions), but make them their own so that they are relevant. I took issue with the comment that we think it's "cool" and that's why we do it when, in fact, we do it because we recognize and appreciate the history and wish to emulate the positives while connecting to the historical stream of Greek Life. We contextualize the traditions for our own organizations to carry them out in unique ways as well as building our own traditions.

As has been noted elsewhere, many NPHC (and non-NPHC) traditions were borrowed from predecessors, but the traditions were adapted to the organizations that took them on. Within Theta Nu Xi, we have women who were brought up in other Greek traditions. They bring that background to the table when they join, which is why you'll see an amalgamation of traditions that have been adopted from those who went before.