Need help organizing my sorority

[KSUViolet06]

Okay, well about drawing in new members:

*Do you have any new members/pledges right now? How many? Try asking them why they chose GDPi. Try giving them a survey asking them what they like about the sorority and the things they feel like the sorority is lacking and what needs to be improved. They are your BEST source of feedback about the sorority.

*Tell us what a semester in the life of a GDPi sister is like. What events do you have regularly? How often do you have meetings/socials/service activities?

[GammaDelt]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

Okay, well about drawing in new members:

*Do you have any new members/pledges right now? How many? Try asking them why they chose GDPi. Try giving them a survey asking them what they like about the sorority and the things they feel like the sorority is lacking and what needs to be improved. They are your BEST source of feedback about the sorority.

*Tell us what a semester in the life of a GDPi sister is like. What events do you have regularly? How often do you have meetings/socials/service activities?

Well, for our Fall 2007 pledge class we initiated 8 girls. Then we initiated 2 pledges in the spring. So right now we have about 14 members, but we're losing 4 seniors, and a freshman because she's transferring.

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

*Tell us what a semester in the life of a GDPi sister is like. What events do you have regularly? How often do you have meetings/socials/service activities?

Let's see...we have meetings every Sunday. We have 2 frat parties during rush, then 1 to 2 more frat parties a semester. For service, how many events we have depends on what is available. This semester we had 3 service events - we attended Take Back the Night (a rally to raise awareness about domestic violence), we had a dinner to raise money for Tibetan women who are abused by their husbands, and we were supposed to have a tea party social at Longview home for the elderly, but that fell through because of difficulties communication between the service coordinator of GDPi and the social coordinator of Longview. We have lots of social events, too. We had sushi/Saki bombing night, had our pledge initiation dinner, had our senior picnic, and our traditional midnight at manos diner run so we can all be together one last time. All this in addition to the 4 rush events, and 4 frat parties. So basically, 6 events for Rush, 8 pledging events (which take place as an entire sorority, not just the pledge class), and 6-7 other events (service and socials).

[KSUViolet06]

*I'd suggest giving a survey to all of the newest initiates. Ask them to evaluate the pledging events, socials, and service projects, and provide suggestions for improvement.

*As far as planning, to avoid event plans "falling through"- get in contact with the places you're interested in doing service with at least a semester in advance. For example, if you want to do a service project at the local shelter in April, that needs to be planned at the end of FALL semester.

[OPhiAGinger]

Can you describe the structure of your rush events? How do PNMs hear about you, since you are not recognized? Where have you been having events? How formal are they? Do all PNMs come to all events, or do you selectively invite only the ones you are most interested in having as members?

And, another track, what are your requirements of your members once they are in?

[GammaDelt]

Originally Posted by OPhiAGinger

Can you describe the structure of your rush events? How do PNMs hear about you, since you are not recognized? Where have you been having events? How formal are they? Do all PNMs come to all events, or do you selectively invite only the ones you are most interested in having as members?

And, another track, what are your requirements of your members once they are in?

We advertise with flyers in all the dorm bathrooms on campus, and facebook events. anyone is welcome to come to any of the rush events - we keep these 6 open in case someone who is interested in pledging can't make it to some of them. Unfortunately, this allows for anyone to come to the events, which means we get alot of girls who just come for the alcohol. I am totally aware this is a good reason why our membership is down - alot of girls are driven away by the partiers that come to Rush, but most of my sisters are adamant about having alcohol - so any suggestions on how to avoid this would be great.
We structure our Rush over a period of 2 weeks, with 6 events, 3 events a week. Our events are generally just a social, like Cosmos and Sex and the City ( i know - we should not have alcohol at our rush events because it gives the wrong idea, but most of the sisters insist because they feel like no one will come if we don't have it.) Anyway, we have 2 wine and cheese meet and greets, two other events like cosmos and sex and the city, or champagne and charades, plus a frat party each week. This year, we had all our rush events in an apartment where 4 senior members lived. Our events are not too formal - their is a brief informational section in the beginning, and the rest if getting to know us. After Rush, we blackball/give bids, invite our bids to invitational where they fill our a questionnaire on why they want to join the sorority, and then we invite those girls who we feel want to pledge for the right reasons to Acceptance night. The pledging.

Unfortunately, as we're losing our house this year bc the seniors are graduating, we are running into a problem for rush. We are either going to try and co-rush with the (one) frat on campus, and if that doesn't work out, we're going to have off campus rush events like bowling. The co-rush with the frat could be a bad idea, though, because that's, again, drawing girls in may think our sorority is only about drinking.

[GammaDelt]

OphiAginger:
I'm not sure what you mean by requirements. could you be more specific?

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by GammaDelt

OphiAginger:
I'm not sure what you mean by requirements. could you be more specific?

I think she means what is required of the pledges in order to get initiated?

Also, what is required of ACTIVE sisters once they're initiated?

[KSUViolet06]

*Also, I would advise against the co-rushing with a fraternity. As you said, it will most likely draw in girls who will think that EVERY event in your sorority is about hanging out with _________ fraternity and drinking.

*Another important point, getting rid of alcohol at rush will help some, because you KNOW that girls aren't there for the booze and that they're genuinely interested in getting to know you guys.

[OPhiAGinger]

You said it yourself: providing alcohol at rush events motivates girls who aren't interested in GammaDelt to attend your events. And the presence of those party girls may deter the girls who you really want to attract. So you're paying good money to buy alcohol for people who may be driving away your real target demographic. Hmmm... Not a smart decision.

What's more, there is a HUGE risk management issue here. Assuming the majority of pnms are under the legal drinking age, you are breaking the law by serving them alcohol! If someone gets in an accident on the way home from a rush event where alcohol was served, every single one of your current active members could be sued for big bucks. Not only will this destroy the sorority, it would likely destroy yours lives on an individal basis. Go back to your sisters with that kind of cost benefit analysis, and there can only be one decision: drop the alcohol from rush. (I know you are already on board with this, but I'm giving you debate points to take back to your sisters so they can understand, too.)

I like the getting-to-know-you rush events you described. They sound like they really provide a great opportunity for the pnms to know the sisters and vice versa over an extended period of time. But one thing is missing: service. If this is central to your sorority's culture, you should incorporate it into the rush activities, too. So maybe you arrange to plant flowers at a local nursing home, or teach a Brownie troop how to make paper mache masks, or serve a meal at a soup kitchen. You do it as a group and you follow up with a casual dinner as a group. That sends a clear message about what is important to the sorority, and lets you see whether the pnms embrace that kind of thing. (Bonus -- you don't need a "house" for this kind of rush activity!)

For more social-based rush activities without a home base, you're on the right track by thinking of venues where you can all be together doing a common activity. Bowling is good. Ice skating or roller skating is also good. One of those paint-on pottery places would be fun for a group, but it can be pricey when you add up the cost of the materials for all the sisters and your pnm guests. If any of your sisters are in an apartment complex that has a clubhouse, you may be able to reserve that for little or no $$ and have a poker party or something similar.

KSUViolet06 was right in what I meant by requirements. What do your members need to do to ensure they remain in good status with the sorority? Are there clear expectations about meeting attendance, event participation, paying dues and meeting other financial obligations, etc? Do you ever have anyone drop out after they are initiated? If so, why do you think that is?

[WannaB3]

yes, thats exactly what I'm doing.