Small club's growing again?

[ree-Xi]

Originally Posted by BeeVee

My experience may be a little different because I go to a small, private, Christian school in Texas. We don't technically have sororites (because we are a Christian school, we don't believe in having clubs of the panhellenic variety), but we do have "social clubs" that work in the same way. Our process is also kinda different, as well. We only have pledging in the fall (not sure if this is different, but just though I should mention it) and we have two Spring rushes and four Fall rushes. The Spring rushes are basically a way for girls to see if they really do want to pledge and to figure out which club they feel is best fit for them. The Fall rushes are for you to get yourself known with the club you want, etc.

My club is very small and have been told by our sponsors that this year is make or break it for us. I just pledged last year and it's been a very terrifying semester so far trying to get girls to quit being seduced by the "big club syndrome." We have thrown out our constitution in order to firgure out the best system of operations to make next year and many more years happen for our club. Our club has been around since 1920 and has never once disbanded, I would hate for that to happen now.

What I want to know is maybe personal stories about how you made the club get bigger again? Or what happened if you had to disband? Another question would be what are rush ideas that made you interested in a club, regardless of it's size? If you are a small club, what are some rush ideas that have worked or haven't worked in the past? I am planning to be rush coordinator this year and am just trying to get the best idea of how to plan rushes for the club. I know there are lots of other posts about the subject of rush ideas and the like, but I wanted answers more specifically aimed toward small clubs and/or clubs that have grown significantly and what helped make that happen.

Thanks, I really appreciate it!

I'm not sure if tossing your constitution out the window is going to help, given that you've been around for 90 years, something must have been working.

Are girls leaving your club and going to another? Can you talk to alumnae for ideas and support? Though you aren't a sorority, you hold recruitment, so perhaps you should do a search here. There is a ton of great information. There is also a book, called "I Heart Recruitment", which many people have recommended.

My chapter of Gamma Sigma Sigma disbanded shortly after I graduated. We had dwindling numbers and finally, people just stopped caring. It was heart breaking, and we did everything we could.

What have you tried in the past/recently to boost numbers? Are people pledging, but dropping out? Perhaps looking at what was happening when your numbers started to go down is a good place to start.