My chapter went through something similar several years ago. It is truly disheartening and frustrating when you put so much blood, sweat and tears into something, only to see it go down the tubes. I definately feel for you.
However, I do not think disassociating from your national will be a cure-all. Those problems you mentioned - low numbers, less participation, financial problems -- will still be there whether you are national or local. Simply going from national to local will not be a panacea.
Basically it boils down to gut check time...get all members together for an "emergency" meeting and SERIOUSLY ask each and every one of them "Are you with us or against us." These people need to do some major soul searching and decide to either get on the train or stay in the station...in other words either they are going to put all their efforts, skills and abilities into making this chapter better, or they are going to RESIGN. Dead weight does nothing but bring you down...forget the fact that these people are your friends and sisters, and decide that either they contribute to the fullest in all aspects (financial, participation, etc.) or they leave. That means that if they can't pay, they can't play.
Second, I would make a LOUD and CLEAR cry for help to ALL your alumni. Tell them candidly that the chapter is on the verge of closing and that you desperately need their help and support to get things on the right track. You may see if Headquarters has a list of former Presidents or other officers that you can contact personally. Those alumni often are some of the first to offer assistance because of their direct connection with the chapter's history. Alumni can be amazingly effective and receptive when they are contacted by a fellow alumni rather than a student...sometimes all it takes in just ONE alumni to really get involved and start drumming up support from her circle of alumni friends.
And I think you are wrong about the nearby chapters assisting you. Just because they are at a larger school doesn't mean they don't experience the same type problems. You have to "think outside the box"...maybe one of these other chapters has a different approach to recruitment that may benefit you guys because no one else at your school does it that way; or maybe they have an incredibly successfull fundraising program that you can copy. Getting assistance from a successful chapter may inspire your girls and allow them to see "what could be" if they really work at it. Regardless of what type of school these chapters are at, you are all still sisters...and who knows, they may be experiencing the same type problems with the HQ staff as you, OR they may have a HQ staff member "favorite" that they can contact for help. Plus sometimes just getting a different opinion from a different point of view can shed some light on something you may be overlooking.
As far as finances go, you may need to cut back on spending on some programming in order to same some money. At one time, my chapter was nearly $40,000 in debt to HQ and other creditors. We cut spending on rush, socials, athletics, and special events to the bare bones -- which is hard because your members won't want to contribute if they don't feel like they are getting anything back. Also, try and have some low-cost, but fun, fund raisers -- such as car washes.
If possible, contact those alumni that may have left school (graduated) with a balance with the chapter and ask if they can pay now. But the main thing is to have your treasurer religiously squirrl away any and all extra money you come across to help deal with the debt.
You are in a tough position, no doubt about that. And just to let you know what eventually happened to my chapter. Continued behavioral problems prompted the Univ. to suspend the chapter off campus, the HQ decided at that point to pull the charter due to the suspension, behavioral problems and continued debt. However, a group of members did form a local group that existed for four years until the national was allowed to come back on campus to recolonize. The local group then became part of the new colony. The efforts by the HQ staff to colonize are sometimes more agressive.
Good luck with things! I hope some of these ideas help!
|