Corina,
I am sure one of the difficulties in finding new members is that you go to a school where greek life isn't well received by the rest of the student body. I can relate! We have the same problem here. We have all nationals here at CofC, and come August we are still worrying about whether we're going to get enough girls to rush. And the fraternities here have an even harder time.
The best way to overcome this is to show your campus that NBO is not full of your typical "sorority girls." Host events that are more than just social events (this will help with the alcohol stereotype). Host events that are open to the entire campus (this will help the the exclusivity stereotype). One thing we like to do right before a COB event is to host a crush party, which is like a date party, but each sister can invite 2 or 3 people. Ideally, you are supposed to invite your "crush," but often we will bring along girls that we know are interested in Zeta or who we want to be interested in Zeta. This shows people that you don't have to be greek to hang out with NBO, and the potential members are more laid back and comfortable b/c they get the feeling that this is just a social function, not a rush function. And they get to see how fun NBO is, the sisterhood, etc AND you can invite boyfriends and guyfriends and just have FUN!!! Destress! You sound like you need it!
Also, when you are planning COB events, plan it down to the tiniest detail. Allow a lot of time and money for COB. Right now, this has got to be NBO's main focus. But PR is a big part of that, too - wearing letters all over campus, eating at the cafeteria as a group (wearing letters), crush party, service events, attending functions sponsored by other organizations on campus (greek and non-greek).
But hang in there! You CAN do this! Rome wasn't built in a day!
