Creating Enthusiasm in Your Chapter

[Bella796]

I think all the above are great ideas. When I was on exec it was hard to make people interested in things but I sort of found fun ways to do things.

Meetings- I would do cute things like place some sort of gift under a random seat and at the end of chapter everyone would check to see if they won. Or I would bring in a bowl and tell people that they can bring in a $1 and write their name on it. Someone would pull a name from the bar and they would win the money. You had to be there to get the prize so it was cool. I also did a survey to see what they wanted to learn. I found out that they wanted to learn more about other sororities so I would tell them we were learning a sorority of the week and then quiz them the following chapter. We also had a journal that someone would write something in it about their experiences in and who they wanted to thank for the journal and it would be passed ot that person and then passed on. It is a great tradition and it is fun to look back at the journals.

2. Philanthropies- I'm not sure what yours are but I would actually get members of the philantrhopy to come in with video's and even guests. The girls would be responsible for all aspects of the philanthropy day so that nearly everyone had a role. People like ownership of things. We sort of played a large role in the whole process b.c as a chapter we all chose what wish we wanted to grant. We would meet the family, have dinner with the family and when we raised the money follow up with them. It became something they were really proud of and they could see the difference they were making.

I think in general you need to remind people that what they put into the sorority is what they get out of it. I think that maybe you should ask the chapter what they would want and what they would change. Remind them that they chose to join your organization not just for the parties but b.c of the whole package. Maybe you can even resite something from ritual about sisterhood, doing good and being responsible adults and women. That usually worked for me.

I hope this helps and things get better. Things tend to peak after bid day and there is fresh blood and new friendships are formed.

[AGDee]

I have always found that the more involved the members are in planning the events, the more excited they are about the event. They need to feel like they own it. Make sure that it's not just a couple members planning everything and then telling everybody that they "have" to be there.

I don't think they have to be "excited" about the meetings themselves but having them plan little fun things to do at the end of a meeting may make them grumble less.

I just thought of this one and have never seen it used in a sorority situation but my kids' school uses "positive action" tickets. When someone is caught doing something good (thoughtful, kind, generous, polite, etc) they get a positive action ticket. Then they can use them in auctions twice a year. You could do something like that for participation with the tickets themselves being raffle tickets for things that cost no money ... like "1 free casual dress meeting" where they can dress casually for a formal meeting or other things that might motivate them a little bit more.

[ree-Xi]

Is it mandatory that every member serve on at least one committee?

If so, you can have a different committee plan a treat at the end of the meeting. That way, each member gets to be involved in planning something (preferably relating to their committee), and at each meeting, there will be some sort of "surprise".

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Bella796

Meetings- I would do cute things like place some sort of gift under a random seat and at the end of chapter everyone would check to see if they won. Or I would bring in a bowl and tell people that they can bring in a $1 and write their name on it. Someone would pull a name from the bar and they would win the money. You had to be there to get the prize so it was cool. I also did a survey to see what they wanted to learn. I found out that they wanted to learn more about other sororities so I would tell them we were learning a sorority of the week and then quiz them the following chapter. We also had a journal that someone would write something in it about their experiences in and who they wanted to thank for the journal and it would be passed ot that person and then passed on. It is a great tradition and it is fun to look back at the journals.

These are all such awesome ideas!!

You do have to conduct the meetings in a businesslike manner (esp if you have a lot of stuff that needs to get done) but adding stuff to make it less cut & dried doesn't hurt and makes meetings enjoyable.