Jewel Degree

[Zillini]

Not sure how I missed this thread up to now, but I'd like to add my 2 cents on several different topics that have been discussed.

First, it is my understanding that an advisor or approved alum chaperone must be present at every ADPi social function. I believe the approval for chaperones must come from the PD. The name of the attendee must be listed on the Social Event Planning form. If there is no one present and something horrible happens, our insurance company can deny coverage because of this.

Second, the official chaperone or advisor must be paid for to attend, but not her date. She can cover his cost, but if it's financially feasible it's a nice gesture to say "Thanks for taking your time to come help us out". Also, if financially feasible it's nice to cover any other advisor that is in attendance but not mandatory.

Third, the only alums that may attend a social function are advisors, approved chaperones and International Officers. Again our insurance does not cover them nor do we have any "authority" over them. Meaning, we can't call them into standards in the event of a problem.

The only exceptions are for specifically designated alum functions and must be spelled out on the Social Event Planning form. This may include events such as Parents Weekends, Homecoming Parties and Founder's Day celebrations. Though honestly, many folks may question whether it's appropriate to have a Founder's Day celebration where alcohol is available. Founder's Day should be a celebration of our heritage and the ideals our organization was based on. (FYI - this is not coming from me, rather the response I heard from an International Officer and DLC facillitator when the question was asked.)

Third, as already said the social budget is specifically limited to 25%. Members cannot be additionally charged for any known expense or one that should have been anticipated. All of those expenses should be factored into the budget and thus dues. I finally put a stop to the almost weekly "Everybody has to bring $1 to get into Chapter for XYZ reason/philanthropy." Now we add an extra $10-$15 to dues to cover these anticipated expenses. (BTW - I'm also the Financial Advisor)

There are a couple of exceptions though. Obviously any year where a major unknown expense(s) occurs then members can be assessed an additional fee. As I said though, this should be a rarity and it cannot be for a social. Members should be allowed to vote on these assessments, but sometimes that's not feasible if you know they will vote it down and the money is required to pay something like the electricity bill or Panhellenic dues. However if a vote is taken and it's voted down, the Chapter's only other option is to pay for that mandatory expense out the Social Budget because honestly those are the only "discretionary" funds a Chapter has. (Note, in my experience threatening to cut the Social Budget is usually a pretty good way to get members to change their minds, whether it be for an assessment or a dues increase.)

But a member's guest/date can be assessed for a social because our dues technically only cover our members. It is then up to the member to determine how she wishes to pay for it, whether out of her own pocket or ask the guest. A bonus here is it also provides a more accurate number of how many will attend. Again though, if this becomes a yearly thing the Chapter should really consider budgetting it in. At some point the CFD may even require it.

Fourth, security is mandatory at every social function. It is also strongly recommended that we provide our own even if the hotel/bar/whatever provides it. The reason being is those folks work for the establishment and not us. I have seen situations where the security's only interest was to make sure no damage was done to the property and no fights broke out. They couldn't care less about our risk management procedures such as guests needing to sign in, id's checked, wristbands distributed and enforced by the bartender. With our own paid for and contracted security we set the rules.

[HBADPi]

I have to agree with adpiucf, inviting your advisors to formals is a very simple way to say thank you. Plus not to get technical but in the Risk Managment manual it specifically states "Advisors should not be expected to pay any fees for attending the event."

Adelphean- how does your chapter do VLS and Convention? Do you expect your advisors to pay their way for those as well?

[FirstAndFinest]

Originally posted by HBADPi
Plus not to get technical but in the Risk Managment manual it specifically states "Advisors should not be expected to pay any fees for attending the event."
Adelphean- how does your chapter do VLS and Convention? Do you expect your advisors to pay their way for those as well?

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction w/ the RM manual.

I think maybe we'll try going to the Christmas semi-formal first. Then they can't use the "its the seniors' last formal." (yep, heard that one)

[FirstAndFinest]

The Garden State Alumnae celebrated Founders' Day on Sunday - our first one!! We had nine alums attend, four of whom then received Jewel Degree.

Now I'm cleaning out my Jewel Box and restocking it for next Spring...

[HBADPi]

Originally posted by FirstAndFinest
Thanks for pointing me in the right direction w/ the RM manual.

I think maybe we'll try going to the Christmas semi-formal first. Then they can't use the "its the seniors' last formal." (yep, heard that one)

No problem! Good luck with your ladies, as always I'm here if you need to vent.

Not to continue off topic, but I just recently read the RM manual and was suprised to see that it does not mention anywhere that an advisor must be present. I was under the impression (as we talked about before) that for RM an advisor must be present. Does anyone know?

[adpiucf]

I don't know, but that was written into our chapter bylaws. You can email the communications coordinator at EO; if it is not an explicit rule, then it sounds like grounds for an amendment proposal at the next Convention.

[FirstAndFinest]

I actually LOL at the thought of proposing that to my girls for their bylaw revisions!!

I probably shoulda selected 'cause there will be a WHOLE lotta if we bring that up!!!

[Adelphean]

We send one sometimes, two advisors to both of these events. But I think you all are missing my point. No, advisors' should not have to pay to go to formal, but their dates should. And I'm not sure what type formals you all had at your schools, but at mine, 9 times out of 10 we had to pay for ourselves AND our dates simply b/c the budget was not large enough to support two fully-funded formals (plus date parties and mixers). So, while I agree that advisors should be able to attend completely for free I do not agree that their dates should go free. I see absolutely NO reason why dates should attend for free.
And in my complete honest opinion, I don't see any reason for an advisor to bring a date. THEIR formals are over, as are mine. As an Alumnae president I would never dream of bringing a date to a formal I was invited to and not paying for him. The dues' paying members of a chapter work hard for their money. Why expect them to shell out extra for dates when their advisors won't or don't have to.


-Lindsay


>quoted<
>HBADPi
>I have to agree with adpiucf, inviting your advisors to formals is >a very simple way to say thank you. Plus not to get technical >but in the Risk Managment manual it specifically states "Advisors >should not be expected to pay any fees for attending the >event."

>Adelphean- how does your chapter do VLS and Convention? Do >you expect your advisors to pay their way for those as well?

[adpiucf]

Adelphean, what years were you in school? If the chapter is making members pay for their own formal, then it is not a chapter sanctioned event-- it should have been in your budget.

HB-- correct me if I'm wrong b/c I've been out of the loop for 2 years on the manuals, but the social budget may be max 25% of total chapter budget, and chapters are limited to a set number of social functions, which must be approved via social form, have security present, etc. Isn't there some measure that official social functions must be paid out of the chapter budget?

Adelphean-- not picking on your chapter; just want to understand if I've misinterpreted a past policy. I've yet to see a chapter that operates at 100% compliance; it's not a matter of following the rules; it is getting caught that gets them up to speed!

[HBADPi]

Originally posted by adpiucf
Adelphean, what years were you in school? If the chapter is making members pay for their own formal, then it is not a chapter sanctioned event-- it should have been in your budget.

HB-- correct me if I'm wrong b/c I've been out of the loop for 2 years on the manuals, but the social budget may be max 25% of total chapter budget, and chapters are limited to a set number of social functions, which must be approved via social form, have security present, etc. Isn't there some measure that official social functions must be paid out of the chapter budget?

Adelphean-- not picking on your chapter; just want to understand if I've misinterpreted a past policy. I've yet to see a chapter that operates at 100% compliance; it's not a matter of following the rules; it is getting caught that gets them up to speed!

Because I was accused of acting like a "know-it-all" recently, I want to make sure its understood that I am only stating what I know to the best of my abilities when it comes to policy. To be honest, I checked the manuals I have and I couldnt come up with anything that said there was a set limit on events. But adpiucf you are right that social budget can not be more than 25% and an ADPi sponsored event is one that is paid for solely by ADPi. Exec board approval and social forms are a must, we always hire security guards but I'm not 100% sure if that is mandated. (As a side note we had the BEST security officer at the last formal and I'm hoping we can hire him for the rest of our events from here on out).

[adpiucf]

Thanks HB! I wouldn't say you're a know-it-all-- you're in a position that gives you better access to most current information! I'd think that I'd ask an adviser or director to confirm something for me before I'd go quizzing members about policies! LOL. If I did everything that way, I'd probably get 100 different answers!

[Adelphean]

I pledged in 02. I'm currently an alumna and am president of the alumnae association. I've had to pay for myself at formal before, and I'm not quite sure what or how they do it now, but Beta Beta has always had a funny way of doing things. And we always had security guards at formals, but it's a waste of chapter money. They are there to X your hand and turn their back if they see anything going on. WASTE OF MONEY.

[ADqtPiMel]

We've never had an adviser at formal.

This year, we were told by the LC that we should be charging everyone to attend formal. We of course were all sorts of confused about it, but excited to save some money. Then later, we got reamed by the PD because charging members to attend formal isn't allowed. So it sounds like there is some confusion all around!

[FirstAndFinest]

The Social Budget must be less than 25% and net income must be more than 5% ( those are what my girls know as the "magical numbers" we must hit, financially speaking). The cost of sending a MEMBER to formal and parties (including dinner, DJ, transportation & security but NOT including booze or favors) must be covered in a chapter's dues, however the cost for a member's date and the cost for any favors must be paid in addition to dues, via Pass Thru procedures - as these are optional items.

[HBADPi]

Originally posted by FirstAndFinest
The Social Budget must be less than 25% and net income must be more than 5% ( those are what my girls know as the "magical numbers" we must hit, financially speaking). The cost of sending a MEMBER to formal and parties (including dinner, DJ, transportation & security but NOT including booze or favors) must be covered in a chapter's dues, however the cost for a member's date and the cost for any favors must be paid in addition to dues, via Pass Thru procedures - as these are optional items.

Thanks F&F!!