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I applaud your determination in starting a new organization on your campus. I did that myself as an undergrad, and it was much tougher than I had anticipated!
No matter what you do, no matter how dedicated you believe your potential members are... some of them are going to drop out along the way. This is a normal part of college life. Every semester some of your student members will transfer, graduate, drop out, flunk out, or just get overcommitted elsewhere. So, how do you deal with this?
1. RECRUIT TWICE AS MANY AS YOU THINK YOU NEED. If you must have at least 10 full-time students to be recognized by the university, aim for a membership of 20. (I know, easier said than done....) Get all your core group members involved. Let them know that your target is 20 and make them all responsible for seeking out potential members.
2. Set your scholastic standards high. If your typical member has a GPA of 2.1, the chances of some of them winding up on scholastic probation (or worse, flunking out) are very high. Set the GPA requirement at 2.5 or above to ensure they already have reasonably good study habits. For the same reason, minimize the number of newby freshmen you recruit. It's much better for everyone if they have at least one semester of college-level work under their belt before they commit themselves to your group.
3. Build a sense of ownership in each person. The hardest thing for the initial organizer to do is to let go of some of the key tasks and decisions, but you must give a lot of the responsibility to the other members. If you don't, they will continue to think of this as "WannaB3's sorority" rather than their own sorority and it will be easier to walk away.
4. Set local dues carefully. They shouldn't be so high that they form a barrier to membership, but they need to be high enough that each member feels they have a 'stake' in the organization, something to lose if they walk away. Make it clear that the dues are non-refundable.
5. Focus on the near term benefits. No matter how committed the members are to the eventual goal of being recognized as a new chapter of XYZ, if the meetings and projects of the local group are a snooze they'll drop like flies. Balance your long term goals with the near term need to have fun and develop strong sisterly relationship. If people stop showing up for meetings, etc, think realistically about what they are getting out of the organization right now. Ask the members for candid feedback, and then action whatever you discover. If there is no near term benefit for your members, you'll never reach the long term goal.
Good luck and keep us informed!!
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