Soror AKA2D'91 - You're lucky that your chapter doesn't fundraise. A lot of Sorors start twitching in their seats when the word "assessment" comes up, but I personally see nothing wrong with it. I really like how your chapter does it - assessments are an annual thing and that's it - and then everything is covered and the chapter can carry out their programs all year long. You know from jump what your assessment is and you can plan for it accordingly. I will add this to my list of suggestions.
Sorors - thank you to all of you who have responded so far. These are great suggestions to add to our brainstorm and planning.