[preciousjeni]

These are questions you may first want to pose to the organization. As to the colony vs. charter question, not all organizations use the same terminology. For some orgs, a colony is a group of uninitiated women seeking to join the organization. For others, a colony is a group of newly initiated women at a new institution. There are yet other definitions for colony, if you can imagine that.

Find out from your contacts whom you should speak with on the regional/district or national level about your interest in the organization. You don't want to do something now that may jeopardize your chances in the future, like posting on an internet message board.