[aephi alum]

I was not a founder of my local sorority, but I joined very shortly after its founding. What my sisters did is pretty much what I would have done if I had been among them at the time.

- Identify a need for a GLO serving a part of the campus community that was not then being served
- Gather the core group of founders
- Gather ideas for the tangibles and intangibles
- Choose what the tangibles will be, and their meanings
- Create a pledge program and rituals
- Go through the pledge program and rituals as new members
- Start rushing so the new GLO can continue to exist and grow after the founders have graduated

During the idea-gathering phase, the group had some help from established orgs, including AEPhi and Alpha Phi Omega (one of the founders is a brother). You have to look to established orgs at that point, if for no other reason than to understand that a GLO should have certain tangibles such as colors or a flower, and to understand what is already in use by other GLOs so that you don't duplicate them too closely.

However, my sisters chose the letters, symbols, colors, etc. and their meanings themselves - venturing into uncharted waters.

As others have touched on, though, you have to be very very sure that a new org is really needed and would survive alongside the existing orgs. It's a lot like starting a business. If nobody's going to buy your product, you're not going to be in business very long. And just as it's much easier to work for an established corporation than to found your own business... it's much easier to join an established GLO rather than create your own.