Small town fraternity in need of help

[EE-BO]

Originally Posted by one800thekiller

Any kind of suggestions at all would be greatly appreciated.
Keep in mind though, it is a small campus...

This is a tough one for me because I come from a very large southern campus where fraternities and sororities are very socially driven, but here goes and I hope I can help.

As you said- your college has 700 students. You indicate there are 2, soon to be 3, fraternities- but according to your school's website, your fraternity is the only one recognized by the college. This is a big plus for you.

Before I go further, here is a link to the list of student organizations at Alderson-Broaddus. As the OP's profile indicates, he is a member of Phi Delta Sigma- the only fraternity recognized by the university (see the Panhellenic Council link in the below link),

http://www.ab.edu/current_students/s..._organizations

In looking through the various GLOs [GLO=Greek Letter Organization] at your campus (not all of them under the scope of Panhellenic Council), I noted that all but one sorority has a specific designated purpose that is not purely socially driven. It would appear that Greek life at your campus is driven more by philanthropic activities or activities based on a student's major- nursing and business to give two specific examples.

The link for your organization indicates that service to the community and the promotion Christian values are two primary aims of your organization. And so I offer the following suggestions in light of that,

1. How much are the dues for your organization? What is that money used for? In an organization such as yours I would imagine the most attractive option is to have the majority of dues be donated to charity with only a small portion- if any- dedicated to a dinner or other basic social event for members every semster/year.

2. How large are the 2 non-recognized fraternities at your campus? What kind of dues do they charge? What do they spend the money on? Why are they not recognized? Do you see any comparability in their mission compared to yours that would make them "competition" for you? Do you have any interest in realigning your goals and purpose to compete with them?

3. Your campus has active church-based organizations. What could your organization offer to individuals in these groups in terms of service and promotion of Christian values that they are not already getting? Could your group perhaps seek to enhance that experience by offering additional philanthropic activities and occasional social events? Your goals as stated at the college website are very much in line with what church groups offer- and the University of Georgia is a prime example of a campus with a very strong social greek system where a lot of GLO-worthy individuals are instead involved in church groups because the latter fulfill their personal goals and also provide social contacts for friends and potential spouses. The 2 colleges are not comparable, but just keep this in mind. You need to find a way to offer something extra and different that would make people want to belong to your group as well as any church groups.

4. Would you consider going co-ed? Since your organization is service-driven, accepting male and female members seems a logical option. Sure it is more complex than that, but consider the option.

5. Go for friend blocks. We do this at big Greek campuses too. Specifically- when you rush a guy, if he has a few solid friends who would be good candidates- try and get all of them at once. It brings you several members at once and it is very appealing to a candidate to know he could join a group at the same time as people he already considers good friends. Get yourself 2-3 blocks of 2-3 guys who are friends- and then all of a sudden you have over 10 members.

I hope this helps, and please do post any more details and answers to the above questions to the degree you feel comfortable. The more information is out there on the basics of your situation (meaning don't feel pressured to give specifics you think wise to not advertise on the internet)- the more people can help.

[one800thekiller]

Dues are almost nothing at all, enough for us to provide materials for the pledging process with very little left over if any at all.

One fraternity is actually Phi Mu Alpha, but to be quite honest they are falling apart.- The other is a new Local fraternity that can't even start pledging until second semester(assuming they have the OK from pan-hel)

The college does have a large church base, but the majority of the church crowd has a very negative view on the greeks on campus.

As far as going Co-Ed...a good bit of our fraternity is still alumni driven...with this is mind, making such a large change would be nearly impossible.
On the same note, two of the sororities on campus were actually started by our fraternity, so to create a rivalry between our sister organizations...just wouldn't work

The friend block seems simple enough, and i'm working on that this semester alot....before my time we kind of narrowed our prospectives, and i guess it just takes time to broaden them again.



I hope this helps

Thanks,

[lucgreek]

Originally Posted by one800thekiller

One fraternity is actually Phi Mu Alpha, but to be quite honest they are falling apart.- The other is a new Local fraternity that can't even start pledging until second semester(assuming they have the OK from pan-hel)

Why would Panhel be able to decide when you can/can't rush? I'd be pretty pissed if the opposite gender council was tossing orders at me.

[EE-BO]

Originally Posted by one800thekiller

Dues are almost nothing at all, enough for us to provide materials for the pledging process with very little left over if any at all.

One fraternity is actually Phi Mu Alpha, but to be quite honest they are falling apart.- The other is a new Local fraternity that can't even start pledging until second semester(assuming they have the OK from pan-hel)

The college does have a large church base, but the majority of the church crowd has a very negative view on the greeks on campus.

As far as going Co-Ed...a good bit of our fraternity is still alumni driven...with this is mind, making such a large change would be nearly impossible.
On the same note, two of the sororities on campus were actually started by our fraternity, so to create a rivalry between our sister organizations...just wouldn't work

The friend block seems simple enough, and i'm working on that this semester alot....before my time we kind of narrowed our prospectives, and i guess it just takes time to broaden them again.

Thank you for the additional info. This helps me offer more suggestions. I still have not figured out the multi-quote thing, so below is my reply in the order of your comments above,

1. Good deal on the dues. In the situation you present, I would think low dues are a good thing. My only suggestion would be to see if you could get away with adding $20 a semester or so to cover a small social event- even just dinner or bowling. Something formally organized for chapter members.

2. As to what you say about the other fraternities- this is where your status as an approved organization can help. I would suggest advertising on campus to the extent allowed, and even see if you can have a representative present during student orientation to seek members. If nothing else, maybe you guys could volunteer to help new students move into the dorms. As a recognized student organization, that could be your chance to do a little soft selling or hand out brocheres as you help freshmen move in. Your status as the only recognized fraternity can work to your benefit- find out every way you can use that to access students through the college in ways your competition cannot.

3. On the church member issue, I am surprised that church group members are not Greek-friendly since it appears that all your approved Greek organizations are either service or academics driven. I would suggest giving much thought as to why that animosity exists, and whether you would be better off moving in a new direction or finding a way to make yourself more appealing to members of church groups who- on paper at least- should be at least supportive of your mission.

4. Cool on the co-ed side. This is why I asked before firmly suggesting it. The reasons you list are very good ones to remain a male fraternal organization. Based on what you say it seems clear maintaining your current position will be better than trying to go co-ed.

5. Final suggestion- when you engage in service projects, try to get some press- be it the student or local town paper. Individual modesty is, I think, key to performing community service with the right motives- but it never hurts to make sure the organization as a whole gets some attention as that can be inspirational not only to potential members but to the community at large to get involved in the ideals you espouse.

Hope these additional ideas are helpful to you and best of luck.