Okay, I am a member of the expansion committee for my Phi Sig, and when I saw this thread, I was very curious to see what people had to say. Having experienced first hand the trials and tribulations of expansion for a "smaller" sorority, there are a couple things I'd like to share.
First of all, as some of you might know we were one of the groups selected to present at Cornell. I was actually at the presentation. Now, granted, there were huge differences between us and Alpha Xi Delta - AXD's materials were extremely well designed, they had a video, all kinds of stuff, whereas all we had was a powerpoint presentation (we're fixing that, don't worry!). That being said, all the things that have been mentioned in this thread, i.e. alumnae support and money, we had and were ready to committ 100% to that colony. We have more chapters in NY than any other NPC org. The alumnae support was there. We had plenty of money in the chapter reserve fund from when the Cornell chapter was there before. We had a chapter consultant ready and waiting to move in to Ithaca to live there for an entire year to support the colony.
Yet we didn't get a single vote. Not one.
Now I'm not saying AXD didn't deserve it more than we did. AXD is a fabulous organization and I honestly wish them the best of luck. They're going to do an amazing job and have an amazing chapter. So please don't take this the wrong way. I'm only trying to provide the view of an expansion committee member from a small org.
Do I think Phi Sig could have done just as good as a colony there? Absolutely. Am I also hurt that we didn't get a single vote? That not one of the groups thought that Phi Sig would be a good choice, given everything that we also had going for us? Of course I'm hurt.
I do also think at the same time that there is much more to the expansion process than meets the eye. Again, I am very very happy that Alpha Xi Delta was chosen, this is not a post out of bitterness or anything like that. I am just saying that sometimes, for whatever reason, there is more to picking a group than alumnae, money, and geographics.
This is one of the reasons I see GC as such a valuable tool for smaller groups, like Phi Sig. As I've often read, many people out there aren't really even aware of the smaller groups. So hopefully, all of my sisters are making positive impressions on all of you out there - and maybe some day, when your school opens for expansion, you WILL say "hey, i'd love to see phi sig here, those girls are great!". Because that's how the strong groups got so strong - people meet Chi O's, or Tri Delts, or Thetas, or Kappas, etc, and think, "hey, those girls are the best, I'd love to have them here!" and when the school opens for expansion, thats who they want. Am I jealous that we're not there yet? Of course
But we'll get there. I'm keeping the faith.