Closing chapters/revitalizing chapters

[AnchorAlumna]

It has certainly worked for our sorority.
But you have to remember....that one professional is going to HAVE to move on, sooner or later. It's got to come from the local members. They're the ones who will be there now and several years from now.

[TKEmanKM]

Oh that I understand. As I said I believe that there needs to be a high amount of collaboration among staff, volunteers, and alumni to ensure viability. What I am noticing is that many of the "more successful" chapters that I have worked with from other organizations have staff members that stay longer than just a day. I am not saying that success is correlated by a long visitation, but I do believe that it helps. I know we do what we can, I am just wondering if there is an aspect that we can change to ensure growth and viability.

[FSUZeta]

Originally Posted by AnchorAlumna

It has certainly worked for our sorority.
But you have to remember....that one professional is going to HAVE to move on, sooner or later. It's got to come from the local members. They're the ones who will be there now and several years from now.

^I agree with my panhellenic sister^

While the desire to change the direction the chapter is headed ultimately lies with the current chapter members, often traveling leadership consultants (TLCs) can help get the chapter started in the right direction. They typically stay for a couple of days to a couple of weeks and then are a ready source of contact via email or phone conversations after the visit is over. I have often wondered why fraternities don't model traveling graduate member programs after the NPC sororities programs-we seem to have it down pat. Not that we never have to close a chapter-but I do feel that with intervention from IO, those closures are significantly less than they would be otherwise. I don't see how problems that could lead to a chapter's closure could be addressed and remedied in a few hours.

[Cheerio]

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

^I agree with my panhellenic sister^

While the desire to change the direction the chapter is headed ultimately lies with the current chapter members, often traveling leadership consultants (TLCs) can help get the chapter started in the right direction. They typically stay for a couple of days to a couple of weeks and then are a ready source of contact via email or phone conversations after the visit is over. I have often wondered why fraternities don't model traveling graduate member programs after the NPC sororities programs-we seem to have it down pat. Not that we never have to close a chapter-but I do feel that with intervention from IO, those closures are significantly less than they would be otherwise. I don't see how problems that could lead to a chapter's closure could be addressed and remedied in a few hours.

bumping

[TKEmanKM]

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

^I agree with my panhellenic sister^

While the desire to change the direction the chapter is headed ultimately lies with the current chapter members, often traveling leadership consultants (TLCs) can help get the chapter started in the right direction. They typically stay for a couple of days to a couple of weeks and then are a ready source of contact via email or phone conversations after the visit is over. I have often wondered why fraternities don't model traveling graduate member programs after the NPC sororities programs-we seem to have it down pat. Not that we never have to close a chapter-but I do feel that with intervention from IO, those closures are significantly less than they would be otherwise. I don't see how problems that could lead to a chapter's closure could be addressed and remedied in a few hours.

I agree with your assessment. There are many things that Panhellenic does that NIC Fraternities could do, albeit that they would have to be adapted for men's groups. There are many chapters, not even in my organization that if they were healthy and vibrant would contribute to the overall health of the Fraternity and Sorority community but those chapters can't do that if all they are worried about is their survival.