Frustrated with House Corp/Nationals...

[Kaydee_cutie]

Hey there ladies!!

Basically, my collegiate chapter is struggling and they (me too) also feel as though nationals is just letting them flounder until they close.

heres the deal: When I joined 5 years ago, KD was by far the largest chapter on campus, BUT we were being housed in a different house. Since then we have moved into somewhat of a Greek Community on campus. The house itself is very large and is beautiful (even though it has VERY small rooms and looks somewhat like a dorm), but many girls cannot afford to live in it. Rent is on average over 600 dollars a MONTH. Problem is, our house corp makes our sophomore pledge class and council live in the house or else they go on National Probation. We have lost nearly 40 girls in the past 2 years simply because they can't afford the outragous rent. And when total is only 75 (we currently have 32), this is a huge problem.

We are the only sorority in this community, so the other 5 sorority chapters have a distinct advantage during recruitment because their rent is DRASTICALLY less expensive. Also, the only reason the fraternities in the community can strive is because they all have HUGE support from their alumni. They donate so much money that it cuts their rent from the 600 to about 200 or less per month.

While the girls in the chapter are amazing women, they are all getting very frustrated, because they feel that house corp only cares about filling the house and collecting rent instead of the girls themselves. Also, nationals seems to be completely ignoring the problem. There are 2 other KD chapters within very short driving distance of ours, and they seem to be having more national support (CDC visits, national officer visits, etc). Its just very frustrating for the women, because the problem is not getting any better.

Also, to make matters worse (if possible) our panhellenic has made our formal recruitment completely no frills. And when I say no frills, i mean NOTHING. No decorations, no door songs, no matching outfits, no skit. My chapter lived for skit night and now it is gone, so needless to say they are VERY nervous (especially since they are the smallest chapter on campus).

Basically, I'm not sure that what can be done, but I can't just sit back and watch my chapter dissappear (we have been on campus since 1913). I guess I just needed to get everything off of my chest and if any of you lovely ladies have suggestions, I would love to hear them.

Thanks so much, and I'm sorry that this was SO long!

AOT,
Steph

[KDAngel]

My heart goes out to you and your chapter. I couldn't imagine watching that happen to my chapter.

My advice:

1) Call nationals (901/748-1897, 1-800/536-1897) and tell them your concerns. Maybe they can help come with a creative solution to the problem. I know you think they've turned their back on you, and maybe some of them have, but I bet if they knew the chapter really wanted to turn things around and felt like they were being ignored, they'd step in and help. I'd also tell them about your recruitment concerns as well.

I had issues with while a collegian and while I felt like one national officer was out to get me, I had overwhelming support from HQ when I went them and told them what was going on. From there, I stayed in very close contact with one of the officers who helped me out with a lot. I really felt like no one cared until I found her. So at least try...

2) Reach out to your CAB also.

3) If you can't make progress with the first two, email your alumnae and ask them to get involved. This also seems like a good year to really pull off and amazing Homecoming and ask for alumnae support. Maybe try and make a slide-show of your chapter through the years or something and remind all the alums just how much KD meant to them. It'll take some work to get it all together, but you can do something nice with powerpoint if nothing else. But with almost 95 years of alumnae, there's a lot out there to reach out to.

4) While a totally no frills recruitment doesn't sound fun, at least the rest of your campus is in the same boat. Stress the importance of really connecting with pnm's and making every conversation really count. Even if it's not a girl that you think would fit in with the chapter or a girl that you know has her heart set somewhere else -- practice having the very best conversations possible because it could be that girl that talks about your house to one of her friends and she could go KD because of it.

And while every sorority thinks they're the best, remember what makes Kappa Delta stand apart from the others and sell it.


And finally, do you know exactly how much every other sorority pays in rent a month? I know when nationals set up my chapter's house in 2003 they took that into consideration and made sure they picked a figure that both covered the rent, but stayed in the middle of the road, so that we were neither the most of least expensive. When you talk to them, perhaps tell them that while you used to be the largest, the increase in rent is just a factor that's breaking your chapter. Perhaps also see if you could do something that raise money for housing. Ask nationals for ideas. It would take a LOT of work to offset the difference between your house and other houses, but if they could maybe lower it a LITTLE and you all could think of something to make up the rest of the difference... you may also talk about cutting some of the other budgets for a while why you try to build your chapter back up. I don't know. I really do think nationals can offer you great insight here though. So talk to them and let us know what they say, because I'll have a much better idea of everything depending on how they react, because really they're your best solution right now.

[Leslie Anne]

Lots of good advice given!

I've served on House Corp so I've got some ideas swirling around in my head.

I was up until 6 am so I must get coffee first. Then I'll dig out my HC stuff and give you a PM. Not all is lost!

[Katmandu]

I believe I am an alum in your city, but don't want to out you if you are trying to maintain some anonymity. Please PM me if you wish. I can at least provide a sympathetic and listening ear if you want to vent. Maybe articulating your thoughts and feelings will help as you and your chapter sisters move forward and tackle what sounds like a difficult time.

I am a very old (dinosaur) alum of a chapter out of state, and a very new chapter advisor (as in one Advisory Board meeting under my belt) to one of the chapters within that short drive you speak of.

I haven't been involved in your chapter as an active alum, but will be keeping my ears open, at any rate, and keeping all of you in my prayers.

[Kaydee_cutie]

Thank you ladies so much for your replies!! However, we have tried to reach out to Nationals in the past and they haven't really helped much. I was on chapter council the first year we moved into the house. Our housing is a special case within Kappa Delta. Our house isn't owned by KD or the University, but a private company, and they are the ones that keep raising the rent, not us.

When we first started to have concerns Kim Flood Ryan came to talk to council and come up with solutions, but basically came up with that we had to listen to whatever our house corp said. I'm trying to get on our house corp so we can have the voice of a young alumnae, but they are somewhat hesitant to allow that.

Also, VP of membership, Betty Mulkey lives in the same city we are located and promised us that she would be at our recruitment last year, but didn't come because she had to attend homecoming for one of our nearby chapters. (that is doing VERY well)

ALSO, our house holds 32 girls, and that is exactly the number of girls in chapter right now. Total is 75 and when I was first in chapter we had over 95. It is impossible for many of our women to live in the house now, so we are obviously below capacity, and the company that owns our house says they will take the letters of the house if it falls any lower.

Its just heartbreaking to know that I really can't do anything to help my sisters out.

Thanks again for your ideas!!!

AOT,
Steph

[KDcowgirl]

I'm not sure how receptive your school is to this kind of thing, but at my school many fraternities & soroities act together, especially in situations like yours. Perhaps there's some way you could join forces with another soroity on campus (particularly on the housing issue - maybe you and another sisterhood could pull your resources and work up a new/different living situation of your own) to raise awareness and support! We frequently host join events with other Greeks on campus and this not only helps the events to draw a more dynamic crowd but it also keeps cost low. Just something to consider.
Likewise I would hope that if you are surrounded by such successful nearby chapters the girls might be willing to take a KD roadtrip to come and actively help out your chapter.

As for the recruitment stipulations, I say get creative! See this as an opportunity rather than a challenge. A key strategy in our recruitment has always been going out and developing individual friendships/relationships with as many potential new members as possible before recruitment. This will also help sisters to make better informed decesions about who to welcome into KD.

My advice may be naieve but I hope it helps at least a little!

[kathykd2005]

Kaydee_cutie,

Whatever happened with your situation? I would like to know how everything is going. I hope the situation has gotten a bit better.

Love in AOT,
Kathy