Am I Approaching This the Right Way?

[33girl]

Make sure that every brother is involved in another extracurricular activity. This is the easiest way to meet people and get your letters out and about. Hall council/RA are great as they give you tons of access to freshmen.

I agree with tld221 in getting things straight in your own house before you reach out to a sorority. If there's a sorority where a lot of their members know your members already though, that's a different story.

[DeltNick]

I think all of our brothers are seriously involved in at least one other activity which is good. However, we are a Chapter of 15 men on a campus of 10,000 undergraduates, so, in my opinion, we need to be getting our letters and our name visible on campus on a large scale as well. We all have friends from other activites and student associations that we have been putting into our names list, but we are also making a big push to bring in people who are complete strangers. I have a few friends who are RAs, so I am working with them to get access to the freshmen. Our school is pretty strict when it comes to things like dorm storming, though, so we have to be creative. We also have to be very careful; we can't afford to spend a significant portion of our semester budget on a hefty fine.

We do have a sorority on campus that we have traditionally worked with in the past, but none of the brothers have any contacts with any of its current members. I think that, personally, we are all confident in what we are as a brotherhood and as a Fraternity. The elephant in the room is that nobody outside of us and our close friends really knows that we exist. I think that once our campus visibility goes up, we will have a bit of an easier time generating interest from prospective members. It will take a lot of work, but I have faith.

[DeltNick]

Hey guys, another (good) update.

Spoke with a friend who is in a service organization (that is very visible on Campus) at my school. She got someone from her group's exec. board to get in touch with me, and now we are planning a service event to promote a charity that was actually founded by a Chapter of my Fraternity.

Also signed up for as many table slots on the walk as I can. Brothers have signed up for shifts, and now we'll have at least two people on the walk all day Thursday and Friday to hand out information, meet people, and invite them to a barbecue that we are having at the house this weekend. We went in our basement and found a box of unopened pamphlets, informational booklets, and lanyards that we can hand out to any prospective members as well. We also found a nice, big banner with our letters on it to proudly display behind our table.

I feel pretty good about this so far. Our confidence is going up every minute. I'll check in again soon.

Sorry for the double post, by the way.

[DumbRush2009]

As a rush I can say that introversion wouldn't really turn me off from a fraternity; just in order to be effective, you guys are just going to need to take your introversion into account when doing the actual planning of events. Put yourself in the pledges' shoes... they're alone, knowing no one, at what I'm assuming is a social atmosphere several times larger and less personal than the high schools they're used to.

I think the best thing for you to do is to look for new freshmen online, on sites like Facebook and MySpace. You could contact potential pledges and just sort of befriend them, before inviting them to maybe an event or two. By that point the ice will be broken, and introversion won't be as much of a problem for either you, or the potential pledges.

I'd also like to say that I think you're a smart guy, and you have a great head on your shoulders that is going to help your fraternity to come out of this rut, and thrive at your school sooner or later. You have some great strategies that seem like they would, in theory, help you to grow in number while maintaining your standard of excellence. I wish you the best of luck.

[DumbRush2009]

For the Facebook page, just make it "X Fraternity Fall/ Spring Rush 2009". Find the PNMs, and invite them to join the group. Try to start talking to some of them as long as it isn't weird. Be sure to keep a schedule of your rush events on the page.... pretty sure that will be really helpful.

[DeltNick]

Hey everyone. I know it's been a while, but here's an update on how things are going with our Chapter.

Fall Recruitment has had its ups and downs, but for the most part, I am happy with the position we are in. Our pool of somewhat to seriously interested prospectives is at 7 (which is very good, considering how fall rush works at my school), and two people have already accepted bids (fall rush works on a rolling admissions basis). We have a few weeks to go still before our pledge ceremony, so we're hoping that we can get at least half of our interested people to pledge.

Also, something very important happened over the past few weeks that really opened my eyes to what it is we are fighting for over here. For the longest time, our Chapter has operated as sort of a "rogue Fraternity" when it comes to our compliance with Nationals' policies. We didn't actively try to educate members on the values of our Fraternity or how to uphold them, we had very little programming, and overall, we didn't have much in common with our National organization other than the fact that we bore the same letters. This is something that I felt needed to be changed.

At the beginning of our recruitment effort, I stressed to my brothers that the Fraternity would be undergoing a philosophy change. It was no longer going to be just a drinking club -- a group of guys that hang out together and drink alcohol all the time, but don't do much else. Not to say we can't still have fun and enjoy each other's company, but that shouldn't be what unites us as a Fraternity. Our values are what unite us as brothers. Being a brother of this fraternity is so much more than being able to have a bunch of drinking buddies. It's about having an instant connection with anyone else you meet who wears the same letters as you. It's an instant ice breaker -- if you're looking for someone to rely on, you know that anyone you meet from the same Fraternity has the same values and ideals that you do; that they are someone you can count on. I'm trying to stress to my brothers how important this connection is.

The issue that is being faced is that every brother in the Chapter right now joined because of the drinking club aspect. They joined because it was full of "cool guys." That might be true, but membership in an organization like this should be deeper than that. Because nobody understands that the values are the basis of our organization, nobody is willing to commit time to bettering it. It's a little disheartening that we have been trying to convince brothers to break away from what we've been doing to try and become what our national organization expected us to be when they colonized here.

Some brothers are telling us that they don't feel like they get enough out of the Fraternity to justify doing the work that is being asked of them. In the past, the Fraternity has always had a lack of programming, but because brothers weren't really being asked to work at all, there was no reason for them to feel like they should quit. Now, they are being asked to contribute a bit of their time for the sake of having a better end product when all is said and done, and some people seem to be caught off guard by that. Some brothers have even dropped because of their familiarity with not actually having to commit time to this Fraternity; to them, it's just another school club. That's not to say that they are bad people -- I consider them my friends and get along with them -- but I think it's fair to say that they don't really understand what it is they got involved in when they pledged this Fraternity.

We have to work with what we have. Nationals has our backs, and while our ultimate goal is to become a healthy, thriving Chapter again, everyone understands that it is a process, and it might seem like you have been going backwards a bit when you have really been going forward. It may be true that we are asking to make a blind leap of faith -- to reaffirm a commitment to a Chapter that probably hasn't provided them with much in the past -- with the promise of good things ahead. It's a tough sell when the previous culture is so deeply rooted, but we are doing our best. The group of us are committed are dong everything we can, and the new members that are coming into the Fraternity will definitely understand the true meaning of what we are all about. If we get the nucleus in place to complete this transition in cultures -- and I really think we are on our way to accomplishing that goal -- this will be a success.

We almost had the plug pulled on us at the end of last year. Now, we are really on the cusp of making this work, and we're raising the eyebrows of many people from Nationals, because our Chapter has existed for years and never shown this kind of promise to actually become what it was intended to be.

It saddens me that brothers are dropping because of the change. I partly feel bad for perhaps being the impetus that made them give it up. I don't want any of my brothers to drop out. At the same time, I want what is best for this Chapter's long-term health and sustainability, and in order to do that, the brothers that we have need to be committed to accomplishing the task at hand. It's a tough fact of life, and that's why our success is sort of bittersweet. Still, I'm proud of everyone who has come through and really done their best to make this happen. It can and will happen. This Chapter has always been deemed "unsaveable," and we're changing that. We're righting a new page in the history of our Fraternity, and that's really something special.

[DubaiSis]

That's interesting, sad and pretty much expected. If you have a core group of guys who are on board and are willing to really put together a fraternity, then saying goodbye to these other guys is just going to have to be part of the process. At the end of the year you may be net zero between new members and disaffiliated members, but if these new guys are on board with your plan, you'll be in much better shape for next year. Hopefully it won't end up that harsh and you can start to make progress more quickly.

And yes, it would be great if you could actually learn something from your fraternity while you're in college. I'm glad your fraternity headquarters is aware of what you're doing and is supporting you. They should have plenty of resources and expertise to help you - they just have to know you're worth helping.

[Gusteau]

*applause*

You're their ideologically, but remember not to be discouraged if things don't work out. Don't worry about losing brothers, while regrettable from a numbers standpoint you are dropping the dead weight that you don't need dragging your chapter down. You have a long road ahead of you with many ups and downs, you will have successes as well as failures. Turning a chapter around is incredibly draining and is not likely to happen in one year, one exec term, whatever. Keep fighting regardless, it will be the most worthwhile experience of your college life.

[ree-Xi]

Pardon the lane swerve, but are there chapters within an hour's or so drive, or younger (under 30) alumni who you might invite along to help foster/demonstrate the brotherhood component?

Sometimes, just seeing other guys in the fraternity being close, having each others' backs, interacting, and sharing the benefits of a "successful" chapter (regarding programming, keeping up with your HQ/IHQ policies, participation, etc.) can have the "hey, I want to have that too" effect.

I don't know if your organization has "road trip" rules or anything, but hosting a get together with other chapters and alums (where drinking isn't the primary activity) with members who are really gung-ho about your Fraternity and each other, might rub off.

Just a thought. And to reiterate what others have suggested - cross-participation in other clubs or orgs, and wearing your letters everywhere helps plant that recognition seed. Especially since you guys are a smaller chapter, where I am guessing most of you are holding an executive position, it's a great way to introduce yourself as "I'm (title) of ABC Fraternity".\

Thanks for sharing your story! It's refreshing to hear a story about a Fraternity rebuilding themselves.
Good luck!

[DeltNick]

There's a Chapter within 20 minutes from here that agreed to provide assistance to us a few days ago when I contacted their president. They're a successful Chapter and I'm sure they'll be able to provide a lot of help.

[DeltNick]

Our Fall rush is over. We gave bids to six people at a nice dinner we all had at a restaurant nearby (as we watched the Phillies beat the Dodgers). And honestly, I could not be happier with our performance. One of them has already signed a bid card and become a pledge, three more are heavily leaning towards signing (in my opinion from talking with them), and the last two are about 50/50 (they like us and understand what we are, but they aren't yet sure that they want to be a part of Greek Life).

Even if only four of the six sign, I consider it a huge success for us. As a chapter, we are currently at nine active brothers -- down from the 15 we started with (two have dropped, the other four have not paid dues by the deadline and are considered inactive until they pay). Last year, I was a part of a two-person pledge class, and both of us are taking an active role in reshaping the Fraternity this year. If the new pledges come in and take ownership of the Chapter the way that we have been doing, it should have an even greater effect.

Look, we all understood from the start that this was going to be a battle. It's not a one year process. Our National organization isn't entirely concerned with the numbers and making quota; they just wanted to see progress. Our Chapter has stagnated into a drinking club over the past couple of years, and Nationals wanted to see a change in philosophy. They wanted to see a reason to keep our Chapter (which happens to be one of the oldest in our Fraternity) alive. We showed them that, even though we are small, there is a group of committed brothers here who are wholly devoted to the Fraternity and to rebuilding the Chapter.

Even now, the hard work is beginning to pay off. Because we have shown such great progress in terms of rebranding the Chapter's image and changing the philosophy of the brothers, our Nationals and local housing corporation have agreed to help us find and acquire a brand new house, starting next year. Also, our National Fraternity hosts a leadership retreat every year at the university where it was founded. The retreat only accepts 20 brothers every year. With the support of the alumni from Nationals who have been overseeing us and keeping an eye on our turnaround, we are sending two brothers (myself and our secretary) to this retreat. Acceptance in this program is one of the higher honors within our Fraternity, and to have 10 percent of the camp represented by our Chapter is a huge moment in our history.

It's not over yet. We need to build on our success, not get complacent, and keep fighting until the Chapter is thriving and doesn't need to be closely monitored by Nationals on a day-to-day basis. Still, I know we are on the right path. I'm proud of all of my brothers who have stood together and united to defend our charter and keep our Chapter alive. Also, seeing so many National alumni and brothers from other Chapters step up to provide assistance to us along the way really opened my eyes to the true meaning of our brotherhood. It's not something that you can truly appreciate it until you have experienced the selflessness that brothers demonstrate for each other.

It really is a new beginning for us. Thank you to everyone on this forum for your helpful advice. I'll be sure to keep checking in, especially once spring rush starts.

[lucgreek]

Make sure you have guys hanging out with or inviting the people that have not signed. The "I'm not sure if I want to be a part of Greek Life" line is a bunch of BS. If the guys hang out with you and like the people they're around, you'll easily be able to get them.

[DeltNick]

Four of the six accepted their bids, including one person who was literally the first person I met during freshman year and is also one of my closest friends. I couldn't be happier with how our fall rush worked out.

[sigtau305]

Originally Posted by DeltNick

Four of the six accepted their bids, including one person who was literally the first person I met during freshman year and is also one of my closest friends. I couldn't be happier with how our fall rush worked out.

Good Job.