What determines the location of an organization's national office?
 

I must have dozed off during new member education, because I cannot remember this answer.

I think it involves tea leaves and a bit of goat's blood?

(just kidding)

Yeah, i've sort of wondered about this...why are so few next to/in proximity alpha/first chapters?

Edit: to fix stupid grammar.

Indianapolis
 

There are a lot of headquarters/national offices in Indianapolis...many on Founders Road. I was once told that there is a tax break for non-profit organizations thus the appeal of the location, but I'm not 100% on that.

Yes, besides wanting to stay within a stone's throw of the institutions they were founded at, other reasons are tax inducements (the reason why Indianapolis is a center for Greek IHQs), sometimes proximity to other group's IHQs, and the "hook-up" (someone finds a place/building that fits the bill and for the right price).

Re: Indianapolis
 

I'm sure there is no really easy answer, but I've asked national officers of a number of fraternities who are headquartered in Indianapolis (Delt included), and that's the answer that keeps coming up.

SO it's a matter of cost?

You bet.

Ours is where the fraternity started (Charlottesville, VA).

Ours was originally established in NY (in 1921) (Alpha = Syracuse), but was moved to Chicago & Evanston in 1923 (Beta chapter = Northwestern) then Detroit (Theta = Michigan) based upon where our board members lived. We moved back to Evanston in 1946 and have been there ever since.

Re: What determines the location of an organization's national office?
 

It's going to be different for every GLO. It may be cost/tax consideration, historical significance, proximity to other GLOs, geographic centrality or some mixture of those or other reasons. In the early years of many GLOs, the "national HQ" was wherever the exective secretary (or like officer) lived.

Our HQ is in Evansville, Indiana. We ended up there because of connections with Evansville businessmen who were hoping that the Fraternity could help establish a musuem of American music or music hall of fame in Evansville. The museum/hall of fame idea fell apart, but we stayed in Evansville.

Lexington, VA -- where we were founded just down the hill at VMI.

Ours is nowhere near Alpha Chapter, or in Indianapolis. I've been told that the location of ours was chosen so that it was relatively central to our chapters for travel purposes. Thus, Centennial Colorado.

Oxford, Ohio the location of Beta's founding

Tax breaks were the main reason and I beleive LXA was the first not only In Indy, but first at Founders Road. It was dark and raining but I did See, I think, TKE, AGD, and SK. Someone correct Me if I am in error on those.

Our's is located where we were founded--DC.