New Colony Budgets
 

Hi All,

I'm on the finance team for my sorority, and I've been asked to provide budget training to our new leadership consultants for this year who will be working with our new colonies. I'm trying to come up with a checklist of questions these LCs need to ask of panhellenic and the other sororities on campus so that we can come up with a good idea on what the colony's overall budget should look like.

I think I've got a pretty good list started, but there are sooooo many different types of campuses out there, and so many unique situations for difference campus "cultural norms" that I was wondering if any of you could look over my list and provide any ideas for additional questions we should try to get answers for?

*I purposely did not include questions about typical chapter officer budgets for supplies and things like that, because we have a pretty good feel for that already. I'm mostly interested in gathering information that would give us a good idea about what the cultural norm is for the campus - things we need to budget for, so we don't scramble too much when that item or event pops up for the first time and we weren't prepared to pay for it.

Thanks so much for your assistance!



Sorority Budget Questionaire/Checklist

*Obtain a copy of all other panhellenic sorority budgets at the university, when possible.

Panhellenic/Greek Life

• What are Panhellenic/Greek Life Dues?
• Is there a flat fee per chapter, or a per member charge? If per member, does this include new members, or are they calculated separately?
• Are these dues due each Semester (Quarter) or once per year?
• Are there any additional fees required to be paid to Panhellenic/Greek Life for new members?
• Are there any other requires panhellenic fees to be aware of? (such as a registration/entrance fee to participate in events such as greek week, greek sing, homecoming, etc).
• Do each of the fraternities and sororities participate in each other's philanthropy events? If so, is there a "typical" donation to that chapter's event, such as an registration/entrance fee, or is there a recommended dollar amount that should be donated? How many organizations are on campus that typically have events that we should be prepared to donate to?

Recruitment

• Is there a limit on how much money can be spent toward recruitment? If so, how much.
• How do alumnae or parent donations affect the amount of the money that's allowed to be spent for recruitment?
• Are there any other financial rules that we need to be aware of with regards to recruitment?
• Are receipts required to be turned in to Panhellenic to prove totals spent?
• Are there room rental fees that have to be paid to the university during recruitment? If so, how much? Does this fee cover all of recruitment or is it a per day cost?
• Does panhellenic require chapters to purchase panhellenic T-shirts for all members, or is this cost covered by panhellenic dues and fees? If this is an additional purchase, how much do these normally cost per member?
• Are there any recruitment infraction fines? If so, how much, and what are the rules surrounding these fines?

New Member Program/Bid Day

• What kinds of events do the other chapters host for Bid Day?
• How much money does the chapter spend on bid day/night festivities?
• How much do chapters typically spend on Bid Day gifts to their new members?
• Do these gifts include a T-shirt, bag and other small gifts or are there other items that are typical of campus culture that we need to be aware of?

Social

• How many mixers do other sororities typically have per semester (quarter)? What kinds of mixers do you have and how much money does the chapter typically spend to host those mixers?
• Do other chapters have a "formal/semi-formal" event each semester (quarter) or once per year? How much money (per person) do they typically expect to spend to host the formal event? Do the other sororities require members to pay an extra fee to attend the formal, or are formal events included in regular dues (Note: WE will make our dues all inclusive, but we need to know if they charge additional fees to attend formal events so that we can set those dues high enough that our social events are comprable for the quality of sorority membership)

University

• Are there any university specific events that we need to be aware of to participate in and budget for?
• Does the student activites department provide any sort of funding to fraternities and sororities? If so, how does this process work?

Operating Budget

• What composite company does your chapter use, and how much does your composite usually cost?
• Does your chapter have any particular items or events that you typically budget for that we haven't already covered that you think you be beneficial for us to know about?

On social: how are expenses divided up between the sorority and the fraternity for a mixer?

Payment plans for paying dues- do a lot of members use them, how is it normally broken up?

Are shirts and other extras included in dues or added on to bills later.

Housing fines, parlor fees, extra unexpected costs from the university.

Stating costs- At my campus sororities have to disclose the first semester new member dues to be included in recruitment information for PNM's. Do chapters include badge fees and any extras in that amount, or do they report the minimum necessary to sound more affordable.

This is one of my biggest pet peeves! I HATE when a chapter tries to say "Oh, we only cost $____" but that doesn't include everything that the member is really required to pay for. For some members, that extra $50-$200 or so for a badge makes a big difference. If they are trying to figure out how to pay their first semester (which is advertised as their most expensive), they probably figure if they can just get through the first semester, the rest of the time will be easier to afford.

Good suggestions. Thank you both!

Especially with regard to recruitment...
-Are new colonies allowed a higher limit in order to allow them to purchase supplies that other chapters get to use year after year
-Do chapters rent chairs/tables/table cloths/crystal/etc. for any of the nights (especially preference night!).

Yes, most PH's will allow for expenditures to get the colony up to speed. And yes, many rent - esp those without housing or suites only that have to recruit in another venue.

Recruitment
- Do the chapters pay for Recruitment Counselors (i.e. meals, lodging, t-shirts, training, etc.) or is that included in the Panhellenic dues?

New Member Program/Bid Day
- What do chapters typically do for Chapter Retreat and how much does it cost? (i.e. in-house workshops vs travelling elsewhere which means busses, lodging, meals, etc.)

Expenses for recruitment counselors are generally funded theu the CPH budget which includes PH dues and recruitment registration fees.

Chapter retreat, new member retreat, etc are so varied due to campus differences. Some go to camps, some go to hotels, some go to an alum's lake house, etc. And whatever is costs is funded thru the chapter budget. Smaller chapters usually just drive their own cars. Larger ones will rent buses....it's the economy of scale.