HELP! Local to reg. or nat.

thefabulousone · #1 05-20-2010, 01:04 AM

I am currently a member of a local sorority that has been around for 82 years. On our campus we are the only local around. I am concerned because our numbers have been low and the other nationals on campus have been taking our PNM's away due to the "lure" of being apart of a national sorority. We have been told recently by our greek advisor that the main reason girls do not want to join our organization is because we have no national affiliation and therefore, no "perks" like networking post graduation.

I have been contemplating what to do as far as saving our sorority and raising numbers and am at a standstill. The only option I see is either going regional or, national but I have no idea as to how to start the process for either. For me and my sisters past and present, disbanding is NOT an option as our history is rich and we are a staple on our campus.

How and where would I go about finding information or speaking to someone about the possibility of going regional or national? I feel that going regional is more plausable then national.

Is there anyone out there that has been or is currently in this situation or a similar one? Any advice, guidance, help, stories, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much!

KSUViolet06 · #2 05-20-2010, 01:14 AM

We have an entire forum dedicated to Locals so there is alot in there. These theads may be helpful to you also:

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...light=national

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...light=national

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...ad.php?t=83658

Also, some thoughts:

*Affiliating with a national or regional sorority is not always a "fix" for recruitment issues. You could become a chapter of a national/regional and girls could still not be interested.

*Consider consulting your alumnae and such before starting this process. You may lose valuable alumnae support by making such a drastic change (like becoming an entirely different sorority) without seeing how they feel.

*Every sorority has different requirements for expansion. They will evaluate whether the campus is a good place for a chapter, the potential for the chapter to thrive, etc. before deciding to expand to your school. Size may also be a factor (ex: there are sororities who require interest groups and such to be a certain size).

NinjaPoodle · #3 05-20-2010, 01:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

*Affiliating with a national or regional sorority is not always a "fix" for recruitment issues. You could become a chapter of a national/regional and girls could still not be interested.

*Consider consulting your alumnae and such before starting this process. You may lose valuable alumnae support by making such a drastic change (like becoming an entirely different sorority) without seeing how they feel.

I was thinking the exact same thing.

Thefabulousone, KSUViolet06 suggested great advice and I wish you the best.

Mevara · #4 05-20-2010, 01:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thefabulousone

The only option I see is either going regional or, national but I have no idea as to how to start the process for either. For me and my sisters past and present, disbanding is NOT an option as our history is rich and we are a staple on our campus

I think she means to expand her current chapter to other schools, not affiliating with another sorority.

ASTalumna06 · #5 05-20-2010, 07:33 AM

^^ That's how I read it, as well.

If that is the case, why do you want to go regional/national? If it's simply because your numbers are low right now, I would first analyze how big of a problem it actually is. In other words... how long have numbers been an issue? Has there been a steady decline over the years? Are the reasons you stated for "losing" PNMs the truth, or simply hearsay and "excuses" for not bringing more girls into the organization?

You might find that your time and effort is better spent working on your recruitment practices and strategies. Adding chapters to a local sorority is a big undertaking, and I wouldn't want you to feel pressure to do so simply because your new member classes haven't been as large for the past year (or something along those lines).

Basically... truly analyze why you want to expand, and only do so if you a) feel it's necessary, and b) want to.

Senusret I · #6 05-20-2010, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

^^ That's how I read it, as well.

If that is the case, why do you want to go regional/national? If it's simply because your numbers are low right now, I would first analyze how big of a problem it actually is. In other words... how long have numbers been an issue? Has there been a steady decline over the years? Are the reasons you stated for "losing" PNMs the truth, or simply hearsay and "excuses" for not bringing more girls into the organization?

You might find that your time and effort is better spent working on your recruitment practices and strategies. Adding chapters to a local sorority is a big undertaking, and I wouldn't want you to feel pressure to do so simply because your new member classes haven't been as large for the past year (or something along those lines).

Basically... truly analyze why you want to expand, and only do so if you a) feel it's necessary, and b) want to.

*best answer as chosen by Senusret I*

ASTalumna06 · #7 05-20-2010, 08:20 AM

^^ Best person on GC today as chosen by ASTalumna06

Senusret I · #8 05-20-2010, 08:31 AM

yay us

33girl · #9 05-20-2010, 10:15 AM

Even if you do add chapters and become a regional or national group, it will take a long long long LONG time before you're on the same level as the national/NPC groups on campus.

I would tell your Greek advisor to go pound sand. Unless she has written comments from girls saying "I didn't join LocalSorority because they are local" she has NO idea why the girls did what they did. It could be that she is part of the problem.

When you say "taking your PNMs away" do you mean outdoing you in rush, or do you mean literally enticing girls to quit and start pledging them? If it's the latter, they should be disciplined. If you are a full member of your school's Panhellenic, then they have to treat you the same as they would treat any other Panhellenic member group - that includes not being allowed to pledge any other group for a year if they quit pledging you. Again, this would be the fault of the Greek advisor for not enforcing it.

Unless you're having problems filling a physical plant or unless your numbers have dwindled to the point where you can't fill basic offices, don't put pressure on yourselves to get numbers for the sake of numbers. Ask your alums for help - for example, networking. List companies where alums work on your website - and make the women aware during rush that not only will those alums feel positively about them because of their sorority affiliation, but also because they KNOW they're from the same school. Just walking in to a company where Annie ABC from State U works and saying "I'm an ABC too!" doesn't mean crap if you were an ABC at a school that Annie's chapter thought they were "above" sometimes.