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Try having a semiannual "budget day"
Make it separate from a regular chapter meeting where your entire chapter goes over the budget.
Tell your sisters about a month ahead of time to look at their finances and try to determine whether or not they will be able to stay active in the next semester.
On that day, let your sisters know that they will be signing a contract stating that they approve the budget and that their dues will be what is allowing this budget to work the way it is.
Make one of the clauses in the contract explicitly say that they will pay the dues they promise even if they drop out or are removed by the processes of the Sorority. This way you won't have as many sisters dropping mid-semester because of dues. (It's better to have people drop before your budget is created, instead of after, I wouldn't be surprised if that is where a lot of your financial turmoil stems from)
If an emergency arises, and they cannot pay because of a genuine financial crisis, then let them know that you are willing to work with them. If it's a really tough call, put it up to a chapter discussion and vote.
If a sister tells you before "budget day" that they do not think that they will be able to pay next semester, then try to see what is stopping them from being able to pay. Work out a payment plan, ask the sister to do an additional fundraiser for the sorority, or work with her to try and get a better job/manage credit/reduce other costs. (If a sister makes a payment plan, make sure to incorporate that into your budget)
If she tells you that she still cannot make her dues, then you should ask her to resign. Let her know that she will always be your sister, but she cannot remain in the house if she cannot pay her dues.
The whole point of this is to do 2 things
1. Make sure your budget is predictable
- Having a budget that is getting thrown out of whack because you don't have the cash inflow that you need can get quite expensive. You end up buying too many shirts and too many meals. Being sure of how much money you have is almost as valuable as the actual money. You won't have any more sisters drop because ya'll are "unsure" about whether or not you will have events
2. To get people to take Fiduciary responsibilities seriously
- Social Psychologists have described the process of altering a general population's opinion about something as "framing". Right now, it seems like paying dues to your organization is not "framed" as important enough. By taking a day aside to talk about one thing and one thing only, you get importance of paying dues on time and having a balanced budget into your sister's heads.
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