Idea's For VERY Small Chapters

[33girl]

Originally posted by LatinaAlumna
I'm not sure if this can be done in NPC sororities, but can you create a "city-wide" or regional chapter with other schools in your area?

If not, can some sisters from neighboring chapters come to your school to help with your events and activities? Perhaps if ladies on your campus see the support you have from your sister chapters, they might be inclined to ask for more information.

I think that most NPCs have something in their bylaws along the lines of to be active in a chapter, you have to be a fully matriculated full-time student, and the chapter has to be tied to one school. The nearby sisters could definitely come and help though.

And Jocelyn is right - as long as all the sororities are around the same size, a national will rarely pull a chapter, even if they're one of the bigger sororities. The maintaining similar size is the main thing.

[PhoenixAzul]

My chapter has been and is consistently under 30 members. At one point and time, there were only 6 girls. But slowly, we controlled our growth to bring in 1) quality members 2) only as many girls as we could handle. It's easy to invite a ton of people and pledge a ton of people, but if they all go by the wayside in the next year, it was just a bunch of wasted money. Also, having a gigantic freshman class gives them a lot of pull in the org...and while freshmen are wonderful resources and bring a lot of energy...having too many people unseasoned in the ways/traditions/reputation upkeep of the chapter can cause a lot of problems.

So I guess what i'm advising is to grow slowly. Don't sacrifice the quality of members just for numbers. Take as many girls as can reasonably be handled.

What i've noticed over the past quarter is a lot more pre-rush events (this is one of the benefits of having a deferred rush!). Groups had movie nights, cookies and milk handouts, service tables, service projects, etc. IFC threw a pizza/wings/football party in the campus center and invited everyone on campus and signed a lot of guys up at that. Panhel had a ice cream social to which girls wore letters and met/talked to a lot of freshmen girls. Basically, free food is a motivator for all.

[Erik P Conard]

if a group gets a charter and for some reason the system seems
to "implode" then the HQ may indeed try to help the chapter out
of the quandary.
However, it is folly for a group hell-bent to stay small to seek a
charter from one of the major greek outfits. So, the small group
can, indeed, stay small. But better it be local.
And some schools are better set up for locals and less receptive
to the intrusion of the large organization.
But the once-60 now 15 member chapters are usually there due to the unwillingness to demonstrate what a good experience a
chapter can offer with the additional benefit of being national in
scope.
And, if the quality is really there, folks will come a-knockin' at the
door to get in...and then everybody wins.

[PsychTau]

Let's think of this situation like a founder would (waaayyy back when...)

What do the women on this campus need? (Obviously the founders of our orgs looked around on their campus and saw something missing...so they created it).

I think the two groups, along with the advisors and either some college officials or alums gather around and assess the campus. What type of women come to this college? What are they looking for? Are there a lot of transfers? Why? Are they getting what they want outside of the classroom? Has anyone asked them what they want? (This is where the school might be interested in a survey to gauge student wants/needs/ideas/etc. on all student activites topics).

I think that in situations like this you really need to have a good grasp on what the campus is like for the students, and you need it from more than one point of view. Once you have that background information, then you can begin to brainstorm ideas on addressing those needs.

Aside from that, I would make sure Greek life is being advertised by the school. Talk with the media relations department...next time they need to take pictures to update the school brochure/website/catalog/etc. make sure they ask a few Greek students to be in the pictures wearing letters. Get an even representation from each group. You don't necessarily have to have a Greek Life brochure...but if women see that picture it will prompt them to ask more questions.

The other thing to consider is that the groups have to be consistent with their messages. If they are telling PNMs that membership offers this and this and this....they better actually be doing this and this and this. Women on campus can quickly see if a group is being "fake" or misrepresenting itself just to pull in members. Advise them to not make false promises.

Let us know how things are going.

PsychTau

[adpiucf]

Fabulous idea!

I absolutely recommend surveying your current female students and doing a separate survey with your current female Greeks. What do female college students want out of their extracurricular experience? What is missing? How visible are the Greeks on campus?

I attended a 2-day marketing seminar last week, and when we talked about surveys, they told us that if you are surveying someone:
1) Offer them an incentive to take the survey (in your case, food is a great motivator; maybe you can give out candy that has your Greek Life website URL attached to it somehow)
2) Make sure you give no more than 5-6 questions. (Make sure you find out their year in school and capture their email addresses. Note their gender, too.)
3) Email them the results of the survey. You might also submit a letter to the editor with the results of the all-student (Non Greek) survey.

I also agree that in order to be successful, relations need to develop between the two exisiting chapters. Try planning a sisterhood social with the two, or a four way social with the fraternities.

[AEPhiSierra]

Erik save your commentary for when you actually know what you're talking about.

I am in a chapter of under 30 members which was founded with less than 30 members and we are by no means an embarassment to our organization. We are small because we are at a commuter campus with 8 sororities to provide a place for all members of our very diverse student population (good luck finding a school more diverse than Brooklyn College!) We are definitely not cost ineffective either. We are unhoused and have never asked for any extra resources from our national. We have never struggled financially and our national has never even hinted that we are drain on their finances. Our chapter GPA is over a 3.0, at least half our members have academic scholarships and/or in one of the campus honor programs.

I would have to question what your greek experience is really about if you can say "regardless of sisterhood or brotherhood". Sisterhood is what my organization is all about. Since my chapter is small I have been afforded the opportunity to be close with every sister who has been active at the same time as me and have met many who were active before my time. I have been through births, weddings and deaths with my sisters because they are my second family. I would not want to be a part of an organization that would dump my chapter simply because we were not at some insignicant number that was arbitrarily decided as the number required for sufficient sisterhood.

What is unconscionable to me is how someone can be so pompous about matters they know so little about.

Originally posted by Erik P Conard
it is hard for me to understand why groups retain their charter
when their numbers go below the requirements FOR a charter.
I'd be a real embarrassment to be, say, under 30 when it takes
that many to even get a charter.
And, operating a house is totally out of the question.
HOWEVER...consider this:
This is where locals might thrive. But as a national, this group is
a drag, cost ineffective, regardless of sisterhood or brotherhood,
where is the pride, the due diligence?
It is not a sin to be a small chapter but it is unconscionable to remain one....perhaps you should go local...

[adpiucf]

While I am a typically a proponent of larger chapters, I agree whole-heartedly with AEPhiSierra. If nationals is satisfied and if a chapter is in the black, its membership is happy and they are excelling with GPA and campus leadership/participation, then there's no cause for concern.

You have to take a step back, too, and realize that the original poster's campus is very small. Greek Life only makes up a small percentage of a college campus to start.

Let's try to assist the original poster with her question and avoid talking about things like that are neither here nor there. It is simply irrelevant, and doesn't help anyone.

[Little E]

I totally agree with AEPhiSierra.
I am from a small, under 30 chapter. We are not cost ineffective. We also have a house, but still are not a burden to our organization. Small groups have a lot to offer. I could not/would not have been part of a 200 person chapter. It just would not have been the right feel to me (I make that statement without having ever been part of an org that size, so who knows, maybe it is better than my image) Yes, National GLOs are a business. But size is not the only factor that is to be looked at.

Websites and surveys are a great idea. Maybe the adviors can get together and chat then get the execs to sit down and really talk face to face and work out the drama. There will always be some, but an open discussion with the two groups about the issues they face TOGETHER might help them overcome some of the pettiness.

[Rudey]

When AEPhi decides to target
community colleges and to
get big - real big - big I am then
you will understand him better.
Today I will have a Mozza e Pom
sandwich with tomato basil soup I think.
Wouldn't it be better if the world
was made of hot dogs? Maybe
not for me since I am a vegetarian
and hate tofu dogs. Green eggs
and ham.

Originally posted by AEPhiSierra
Erik save your commentary for when you actually know what you're talking about.

I am in a chapter of under 30 members which was founded with less than 30 members and we are by no means an embarassment to our organization. We are small because we are at a commuter campus with 8 sororities to provide a place for all members of our very diverse student population (good luck finding a school more diverse than Brooklyn College!) We are definitely not cost ineffective either. We are unhoused and have never asked for any extra resources from our national. We have never struggled financially and our national has never even hinted that we are drain on their finances. Our chapter GPA is over a 3.0, at least half our members have academic scholarships and/or in one of the campus honor programs.

I would have to question what your greek experience is really about if you can say "regardless of sisterhood or brotherhood". Sisterhood is what my organization is all about. Since my chapter is small I have been afforded the opportunity to be close with every sister who has been active at the same time as me and have met many who were active before my time. I have been through births, weddings and deaths with my sisters because they are my second family. I would not want to be a part of an organization that would dump my chapter simply because we were not at some insignicant number that was arbitrarily decided as the number required for sufficient sisterhood.

What is unconscionable to me is how someone can be so pompous about matters they know so little about.

[shadokat]

Not to play devil's advocate here, because I come from a chapter of 50, but if you do an honest assessment of how much $$ it takes to run a chapter in terms of the HQs, and then how much each chapter brings in revenue wise, I'd be willing to bet that the # of women or men it takes to break even is somewhere around 40.

[futuregreek]

The OP didn't ask for us to be judgemental and criticize her chapter, she asked for advice, so I'm going to cosign the other ideas. Food = good idea. And the survey is a FANTASTIC idea.

[Rudey]

Originally posted by shadokat
Not to play devil's advocate here, because I come from a chapter of 50, but if you do an honest assessment of how much $$ it takes to run a chapter in terms of the HQs, and then how much each chapter brings in revenue wise, I'd be willing to bet that the # of women or men it takes to break even is somewhere around 40.

You ran the numbers in your head to get 40?

-Rudey

[Buttonz]

We currently have 14 actives, and that is the largest we have had since I've been active. Workign together ist he key, even if it's hard.

[Erik P Conard]

Yep, after havin' read some replies and havin' assessed the
profile of this site, it is not hard at all to figure why so many
of the chapters are small. Yep, even a blind hog'll pick up
an acorn or two ever' once 'n a while.
Yep, now it is clear. Thanks for elucidating, er, making it more
understandable for us (pompous) rustics out here in the hinterlands. Sometimes one has to live a long time to clear the
smoke screens. Have fun, winners! Potrzebie.

[Rudey]

When I was but a boy
my mother said whatever
will be, will be. I love the
movie The Heathers but I
do not like thee who went
to community college if
they write like this...see?