[33girl]

Your advisors are idiots. Are any of them from chapters that actually struggled with numbers? Have any of them worked on a LONG TERM basis with chapters that struggled with numbers and made suggestions that helped the chapter to grow and most importantly, RETAIN members? Did any of them have to do COB as collegians? If the answers to these three questions are no, they need to STFU.

You are not, repeat, ARE NOT going to find women who are committed and dedicated to being in a chapter that is lower in numbers and possibly lower on the social totem pole by holding big huge events where every doofus who wants to show up can show up. What you are going to find is a lot of selfish women who are only interested in having letters - and who really don't care which ones - and who will bail in 2.5 seconds when the going gets tough.

COB isn't a microwave pizza. It's more like a meal that takes hours to make but tastes a HELL of a lot better. You are doing the correct thing by connecting with women one on one, and your advisors are wrong. Period.

That all being said...

Every woman in the chapter should be able to come up with the name of another woman that isn't Greek and that she feels would make a great sister. She needs to introduce that woman to her sisters, on a normal, day to day basis. Bring her over to the house after class and talk to whoever's there. If there's a sister who doesn't know anyone but sisters...then you need to institute a chapter rule that every sister needs to be involved in at least one campus activity outside the sorority. Too many women get lazy and depend on the sorority for all their campus interaction.

You can have COB events, but don't make them constant. One or two a month, and INVITE ONLY. If anyone can show up...they're going to feel like the only reason you are opening your doors to them is to get your numbers up. And they'll be right. You can have a slight theme, but the main thing you should be doing is TALKING and getting to know the women. You can't afford to make mistakes, so you should be sure of someone before you offer them a bid. And you can't do that at a big event.

I personally would not go with the chalking or notes...it kind of makes you look desperate.

Oh, and a weekly recruitment requirement IS creepy. I don't blame women who don't want to go along with it. They have come to think of COB as something negative and annoying rather than positive (i.e. I love being a part of this sorority, so I want people I like to have the same experience). c & p pretty much summed this part up.

The basic thing to remember here is...you don't want women who want to join "a" sorority. You need women who want to join YOUR sorority. Those are harder to find, but worth the wait.