Third Party Vendor Events
 

We've been working on our chapter's risk management program/policy/etc. and I was reading about how third party vendors can help take away part of the risk/liabilities to the sorority/fraternity at events where alcohol is served. How exactly does this work, like how do you go about getting a third party vendor? What exactly is a third party vendor? How do these types of parties/events differ from non-third party vendor events? Is this a good idea, and do people enjoy these parties or not?

It is an NPC/IFC rule to have third-party vendors at functions were alcohol is served to cut down on insurance liability. Basically it means that if you're having a party and want to serve alcohol, instead of you buying alcohol, checking ids, and serving those 21+, you would rent out a bar or club or something of the sorts, and checking ids and providing drinks would be their responsibility.

about how much does this go for in your college town? we didn't have these when i was an undergrad, our town was pretty small!

it really all depends on the bar/night of the event/etc. One of our alumni actually owns a bar downtown here in Columbia so he normally lets us have the place for free, as long as we tip the bartenders well. Several of our brothers work at other bars downtown so they can normally get us those places pretty cheap.