Alabama Sorority Costs...Can anyone help?

[HQWest]

I can totally understand the frustration from the moms on here. I know how this can come about where the Panhellenic didn't put the dues into the handbook. They don't want someone to make the costs their deciding factor or to judge one sorority as better than another based on the dues.

Aside from that, one of the problems these very large chapters have is that they are dealing with really big budgets and a membership that is constantly in flux. They could be told as late as pref night that well quota will be 60 + or - 20. They don't want to write a budget and then change what they said to higher - and then NMs feel misled, and they don't want to put to change it to lower later and has someone make their choice based on what they saw in the handbook.

Its hard enough in a strong chapter where people want to take advantage of the house, but its even harder when you have to spread costs of the house to unhoused members, to encourage people to stay in the house. On our campus dues are actually pretty close to the same, but some chapters are constantly having to use a crystal ball to predict how many women will decide not to initiate or how many will resign before senior year. (All of a sudden I can see how bed quota sounds like a good idea....) We try to provide an estimate before recruitment.

The finance director should sit down at the first new member meeting and lay out 1) what the dues are 2) what they cover 3) estimated costs of everything they don't cover 4) how much is due before initiation 5) how much is due by the end of the semester 6) what the policy on the payment plan or a promise note is.
If the exact amount of dues is not available - because of a crazy recruitment or not blessed by the international office - a list from last years amounts should be available.

[AZTheta]

Originally Posted by HQWest

I can totally understand the frustration from the moms on here. I know how this can come about where the Panhellenic didn't put the dues into the handbook. They don't want someone to make the costs their deciding factor or to judge one sorority as better than another based on the dues.

Aside from that, one of the problems these very large chapters have is that they are dealing with really big budgets and a membership that is constantly in flux. They could be told as late as pref night that well quota will be 60 + or - 20. They don't want to write a budget and then change what they said to higher - and then NMs feel misled, and they don't want to put to change it to lower later and has someone make their choice based on what they saw in the handbook.

Its hard enough in a strong chapter where people want to take advantage of the house, but its even harder when you have to spread costs of the house to unhoused members, to encourage people to stay in the house. On our campus dues are actually pretty close to the same, but some chapters are constantly having to use a crystal ball to predict how many women will decide not to initiate or how many will resign before senior year. (All of a sudden I can see how bed quota sounds like a good idea....) We try to provide an estimate before recruitment.

The finance director should sit down at the first new member meeting and lay out 1) what the dues are 2) what they cover 3) estimated costs of everything they don't cover 4) how much is due before initiation 5) how much is due by the end of the semester 6) what the policy on the payment plan or a promise note is.
If the exact amount of dues is not available - because of a crazy recruitment or not blessed by the international office - a list from last years amounts should be available.

HQWest, you nailed it. This is the problem with quoting costs! I'd bold everything you wrote, but that would defeat the purpose, so I'm just quoting your entire post and saying "ditto." It is SO HARD to figure out financials, and at best it is an estimate because there are so many variables from year to year.