Recruitment Methods

[33girl]

Originally Posted by arvid1978

I want to note that this entire thread started because the Original Poster asked about how to get their name out there. I provided a couple examples of what has worked extremely well for several chapters and what is being taught at Membership Academy.

No, you provided a table tent design. She wanted something with a little more meat to it (which elicampbell and I provided for her in the other thread).

I find "best practice" to be just as annoying, if not more so, than "values based." Alpha Phi Omega is a national co-ed service fraternity. Our motto is be a leader, be a friend, be of service. That says it all. Why corporatespeak it up? Not that all GLOs aren't guilty of the same crap...

[naraht]

"Corporatespeak" describes a great deal of the changes that I've seen in the last 5 years starting with the torch...

[elicampbell]

I agree in the "corporatespeak" comments. IMO the motto sums up Alpha Phi Omega.

[33girl]

If you ever look at the "mission statements" that GLOs (of all types) seem insistent on having these days, they're ridiculously interchangeable. It would be funny except I know that money that could have gone to member scholarships or philanthropies was wasted on it.

If you can't find inspiration in your motto and your ritual as your founders created them, some high-priced PR firm is not going to help you.

[naraht]

It seems at some Greek Life websites, it terms of mottos it is "Leadership, Service, Scholarship, (gender appropriate sibling)-hood"- pick 3

[Senusret I]

You guys!!! How did I miss this thread?!?!?!

[Senusret I]

Originally Posted by kaitapoul

Hello brothers,

Our chapter is in a dire need of a good recruitment. Half of our chapter graduates this year and we are in need of recruitment advertising ideas. We have our events planned (we're doing a good mix of fellowship, service and info meetings), we are just struggling on getting our name out there.

Any suggestions on how to reach out to our students or even other social GLOs would be greatly appreciated!

My suggestions:

1) Send a nice letter at the beginning of the semester to the social GLOs that says you wish them a happy new school year and reminds them that they are welcome to come to your events as well, or that you can do joint service projects sometimes.

2) Ask every brother to commit to making an announcement at the beginning or end of at least one of their classes - you could ask the professor and say "Hey, can I make an announcement about a service project?" and it would be one of the service projects you're doing for rush.

Originally Posted by elicampbell

Brother,

I am the recruitment advisor for my APO chapter. The chapter is a smaller chapter. I use a modified version of IFC Recruitment. Being a member of an IFC organization, I know IFC recruitment.

Remember the three core values,BE A LEADER (show the chapter you want new members in your chapter) BE a FRIEND, (Make friends and invite your friends to events. Introduce your new friends to your brothers.) BE OF SERVICE (Introduce your new friends to APO, Service project is a good way. Ask the pnm if he/she wants a bid.) I encourage my chapter to wear letters on campus, and be an active member of at least two or more organizations on campus.

I know that members of the national board like the Phired Up books.

I hope this helps.

Yayyyy for double-Greeks

Originally Posted by arvid1978

Another one of my chapters redesigned it like this:

THIS is awesome. The first one was not.

Originally Posted by 33girl

I don't think we should downplay them - i.e. I don't think it would have hurt for those posters to have them on there somewhere - BUT you can't just put up a poster that says "Rush APO" (pretend those are Greek letters) with no explanation of what APO is. There is a happy medium. We're not a social fraternity, but we're not a club you can take lightly, either. Taking the Greek letters out of the equation completely can further that sort of lightmindedness towards APO.



I would NOT rush in a manner that attempts to attract these people. You end up with a chapter full of bitter anti-Greeks, and that's the last thing you want. Not just in APO, but any organization with a social component. It all depends what you mean by "turned off." "It's ok for others, it's just not my cup of tea" is one thing, "they are a bunch of stuck up a-holes and should all be disbanded" is another.

I agree wholeheartedly with this.

Originally Posted by naraht

I don't particularly think that this argument is helping the Original Poster, but I think to give more complete advice, we need a better feeling for the campus. What will help at Auburn may not help at Stanford or vice versa

Even general descriptions will help (If you don't feel comfortable indicating the school, indicating what sports conference that your school plays in will tell us 90% of what we need to know)

That's a really good point.

Originally Posted by DubaiSis

As a person who is not a member of a service fraternity, I am more drawn to the bottom of the two posters. Without the "National Co-ed Service Fraternity" part, it sounds a little religion'y. Or stated another way, it doesn't tell the reader who you are or what you do. I really think I would be compelled to ask for more information from the bottom poster.

Yeah, the religious part was exactly what I was thinking!

Originally Posted by arvid1978

Then again, what do I know? I've only been an alumni volunteer directly working with hundreds of APO students on multiple campuses for 8 years, watching as attitudes evolve and shift over time as the landscape of college changes. .

Watch how you talk to people, Brother.

Originally Posted by 33girl

As far as the bolded...whew, pot, meet kettle. For a volunteer to reinforce asinine stereotypes on here is just really messed up and drives away social Greeks who could be great members. A less "values based" (ugh, can we stop with the buzzwords) action I cannot think of.

Amen. Amen. And Amen again.

Arvid's entire diatribe reads like someone who has sipped the National Volunteer Conference Kool-Aid.

[elicampbell]

Originally Posted by Senusret I

My suggestions:

Arvid's entire diatribe reads like someone who has sipped the National Volunteer Conference Kool-Aid.

Like this Comment! I bring my own drinks so this will not happen to me.

[kaitapoul]

Oh, wow. I go on vacation and come back to such a lively thread.

Originally Posted by naraht

I don't particularly think that this argument is helping the Original Poster, but I think to give more complete advice, we need a better feeling for the campus. What will help at Auburn may not help at Stanford or vice versa

Even general descriptions will help (If you don't feel comfortable indicating the school, indicating what sports conference that your school plays in will tell us 90% of what we need to know)

We're a Big East School for athletics. Our men's basketball previously coached at an SEC school, in state.

We currently have around 22 actives, but like I said, 10 or 12 of us graduate this year. We are trying to rebuild, essentially because our previous leadership didn't have the best reputation (simply put).

Originally Posted by arvid1978

Come up with a values-based table tent design that puts LFS at the front and center instead of the name. Having a values-driven advertisement instead of the usual "Rush APhiO" advertisements that chapters usually do tends to attract people who are genuinely looking for something like us, whereas greek-lettered driven advertisement tends to attract those who don't understand how we are different than the socials or want a set of cheap letters. Come up with that design and hit every possible location you can on campus with those table tents and posters.

I'm a big proponent of not using the greek letters in our advertising and using the torch logo or spelling out the name instead. It looks less "fratty" and appeals to those who are not looking for an IFC/NPC/NPHC/NAFLO experience because they're either a member of one of those groups already or they are turned off by social greek life. Prospective members don't know how or why we are not like those groups, and it is up to us to sell them as to why. If you're wanting to differentiate yourself from the herd of GLOs, why recruit in the exact same manner as them?

I know there are those here who disagree with not using the greek letters and that we should be able to sell our fraternity by the letters alone. Frankly, if APO was a household name on campus and everybody knew who we are, what we do and why we're different than the socials, we wouldn't need to recruit because they would be beating down the doors of the chapter office to pledge.

I designed our shirts for rush this semester (which is the first time in a while that we've even had shirts). On the front is says "Be a Bro. Rush A-Phi-O" with a fleur de lis on the front. On the back it says "Alpha Phi Omega: Be a Leader, Be a Friend, Be of Service. Ask me about rush or check us out on Facebook Alpha Phi Omega - Chapter Chapter."

Our PR person is really trying to stress our values, so I agree with this, however we are trying to find a happy medium with our letters and the values. Obviously we are service fraternity and that is what we do, so it's important for us to stress that.

I really like the idea that Senusret I had about emailing the socials...I'll have to look into that. We do have a few people that are in socials as well as with us, and we are hoping to maybe team up with those fraternities/sororities to do service projects.

Another issue we have is reaching our to our minority peers on campus. Do you have any suggestions on how to recruit a more diverse population? We are an extremely urban campus, and our lack of diversity is disheartening.

[Senusret I]

Originally Posted by kaitapoul

Oh, wow. I go on vacation and come back to such a lively thread.



We're a Big East School for athletics. Our men's basketball previously coached at an SEC school, in state.

We currently have around 22 actives, but like I said, 10 or 12 of us graduate this year. We are trying to rebuild, essentially because our previous leadership didn't have the best reputation (simply put).



I designed our shirts for rush this semester (which is the first time in a while that we've even had shirts). On the front is says "Be a Bro. Rush A-Phi-O" with a fleur de lis on the front. On the back it says "Alpha Phi Omega: Be a Leader, Be a Friend, Be of Service. Ask me about rush or check us out on Facebook Alpha Phi Omega - Chapter Chapter."

Our PR person is really trying to stress our values, so I agree with this, however we are trying to find a happy medium with our letters and the values. Obviously we are service fraternity and that is what we do, so it's important for us to stress that.

I really like the idea that Senusret I had about emailing the socials...I'll have to look into that. We do have a few people that are in socials as well as with us, and we are hoping to maybe team up with those fraternities/sororities to do service projects.

Another issue we have is reaching our to our minority peers on campus. Do you have any suggestions on how to recruit a more diverse population? We are an extremely urban campus, and our lack of diversity is disheartening.

Hey hey hey! I pledged at a Big East chapter, too! (Mu Alpha - Georgetown)

Our chapter has also been concerned with ensuring that minority populations are aware of the chapter, too. Here are some things we've done:

- Had rush/recruitment events at The Black House.

- Co-sponsored service projects majority-minority clubs/organizations

And although APO is not a multicultural fraternity, you can create rush fliers which highlight the fraternity's diversity. At Mu Alpha, it's a big deal to have fliers with Bill Clinton, because he's a Mu Alpha initiate. Why not create a series of fliers to hang around campus?

Here is a list of African American brothers you might want to include in your advertisements:

Michelle Obama
Melody Barnes (White House Domestic Policy Advisor)
St. Claire Bourne (African American Documentary filmmaker)
Rashid Darden (Author - jk jk haaaaa that's me)
H. Patrick Swygert (Former President of Howard University)
Togo West (Former Secretary of the Army, Former Secretary of Veteran's Affairs)
Mike Garrett
Bob Love
Sid Williams (husband of Maxine Waters - not sure if he is black though)
Samuel Pierce (Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development)
Howard Thurman
and
Martin Luther King, SENIOR

Pick a few of these to go with other brothers on your fliers. If nothing else, it's positive public relations.

Good luck!

[naraht]

Originally Posted by kaitapoul

Oh, wow. I go on vacation and come back to such a lively thread.



We're a Big East School for athletics. Our men's basketball previously coached at an SEC school, in state.

Hmm. Cool Puzzle, only two schools in the Big East are in the same state as an SEC school and it looks like the University of South Florida basketball coach has never coached at any other Florida college. See below for commentary specific to your school.

Originally Posted by kaitapoul

We currently have around 22 actives, but like I said, 10 or 12 of us graduate this year. We are trying to rebuild, essentially because our previous leadership didn't have the best reputation (simply put).



I designed our shirts for rush this semester (which is the first time in a while that we've even had shirts). On the front is says "Be a Bro. Rush A-Phi-O" with a fleur de lis on the front. On the back it says "Alpha Phi Omega: Be a Leader, Be a Friend, Be of Service. Ask me about rush or check us out on Facebook Alpha Phi Omega - Chapter Chapter."

Our PR person is really trying to stress our values, so I agree with this, however we are trying to find a happy medium with our letters and the values. Obviously we are service fraternity and that is what we do, so it's important for us to stress that.

I really like the idea that Senusret I had about emailing the socials...I'll have to look into that. We do have a few people that are in socials as well as with us, and we are hoping to maybe team up with those fraternities/sororities to do service projects.

Another issue we have is reaching our to our minority peers on campus. Do you have any suggestions on how to recruit a more diverse population? We are an extremely urban campus, and our lack of diversity is disheartening.

Unfortunately, there is nothing to indicate that a woman should be checking it out. A woman may see it on the back of a man and think it is only a fraternity.

I've found that some socials have their service programs organized enough that they can really partner with APO, but others are just happy to find someone organized enough in service for them to be able to use to get the required service. I'm not sure how to find that out in advance, but something to keep in mind with flexibility in how to contact them...

As for minority issues, if you are where I *think* you are, there is an extension effort at the Primary HBCU for your state which is *most* of the way from your campus to the campus that your basketball coach used to coach at. Perhaps you can invite them to campus for rush events?

There are some chapters that have turned school rivalries into service projects, I *definitely* think you could pull it off with the school where your coach used to be.


Speaking of which, for "safety"'s sake I'd make sure that you have Gold be the primary color of the t-shirt. Wouldn't want people on campus to think you are wearing Wildcat blue.

[kaitapoul]

Originally Posted by Senusret I

Hey hey hey! I pledged at a Big East chapter, too! (Mu Alpha - Georgetown)

- Co-sponsored service projects majority-minority clubs/organizations

And although APO is not a multicultural fraternity, you can create rush fliers which highlight the fraternity's diversity. At Mu Alpha, it's a big deal to have fliers with Bill Clinton, because he's a Mu Alpha initiate. Why not create a series of fliers to hang around campus?

Here is a list of African American brothers you might want to include in your advertisements:

Michelle Obama
Melody Barnes (White House Domestic Policy Advisor)
St. Claire Bourne (African American Documentary filmmaker)
Rashid Darden (Author - jk jk haaaaa that's me)
H. Patrick Swygert (Former President of Howard University)
Togo West (Former Secretary of the Army, Former Secretary of Veteran's Affairs)
Mike Garrett
Bob Love
Sid Williams (husband of Maxine Waters - not sure if he is black though)
Samuel Pierce (Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development)
Howard Thurman
and
Martin Luther King, SENIOR

Pick a few of these to go with other brothers on your fliers. If nothing else, it's positive public relations.

Good luck!

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll pass them along to the appropriate people.

Originally Posted by naraht

Unfortunately, there is nothing to indicate that a woman should be checking it out. A woman may see it on the back of a man and think it is only a fraternity.

I've found that some socials have their service programs organized enough that they can really partner with APO, but others are just happy to find someone organized enough in service for them to be able to use to get the required service. I'm not sure how to find that out in advance, but something to keep in mind with flexibility in how to contact them...

As for minority issues, if you are where I *think* you are, there is an extension effort at the Primary HBCU for your state which is *most* of the way from your campus to the campus that your basketball coach used to coach at. Perhaps you can invite them to campus for rush events?

There are some chapters that have turned school rivalries into service projects, I *definitely* think you could pull it off with the school where your coach used to be.


Speaking of which, for "safety"'s sake I'd make sure that you have Gold be the primary color of the t-shirt. Wouldn't want people on campus to think you are wearing Wildcat blue.

As far as our shirts go, we actually sort of went with the opposite of what you are saying, color wise. We have a bright blue (kinda like the skype shade of blue) to stand out against all of the school colors on our campus. The font and design of the shirt is actually pretty girly, and a majority of us are females. But I see you're point...we didn't include the word fraternity because we didn't want people to be turned off, but we left the word bro. It's definitely something for us to look into for next recruitment.

We have been in contact with the expansion chapter at our HBCU and we plan on working closely with them in the future, with events etc since it's not to far away. We are very excited for them to be joining us!

Planning a rivalry service event is very plausible. I'm really close with brothers at the rivalry, since that's where I grew up, so coordinating it should be easier. (Minus the fact that they have 100+ in their chapter and we've got 20 haha....I think we'd make it a campus wide event of course).

Thanks for the suggestions, friends!

[naraht]

Originally Posted by kaitapoul

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll pass them along to the appropriate people.

Remember that it is MLK, Senior *not* Junior. I still run into chapters making the mistake. Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..._Omega_members for more info (though for some reason that author is missing. )

Originally Posted by kaitapoul

As far as our shirts go, we actually sort of went with the opposite of what you are saying, color wise. We have a bright blue (kinda like the skype shade of blue) to stand out against all of the school colors on our campus. The font and design of the shirt is actually pretty girly, and a majority of us are females. But I see you're point...we didn't include the word fraternity because we didn't want people to be turned off, but we left the word bro. It's definitely something for us to look into for next recruitment.

You can always go with really obvious
*SEX* We have both of them!
I'm sure other brothers have seen better...

My chapter didn't have to worry about our school colors, it was a plaid. (I'm not kidding)

Originally Posted by kaitapoul

We have been in contact with the expansion chapter at our HBCU and we plan on working closely with them in the future, with events etc since it's not to far away. We are very excited for them to be joining us!

Planning a rivalry service event is very plausible. I'm really close with brothers at the rivalry, since that's where I grew up, so coordinating it should be easier. (Minus the fact that they have 100+ in their chapter and we've got 20 haha....I think we'd make it a campus wide event of course).

Thanks for the suggestions, friends!

Cool on the HBCU. Note, the distance from you to your HBCU will get me to 9 chapters (2 in VA, 2 in MD, and 5 in DC)


Ideally, you get to the point where the chapters award a trophy at halftime of the basketball game. (Are you guaranteed at least one basketball game a year?)

Blood battles are good...


Do you want to do the reveal for what your chapter is since I have apparently guessed?

Randy

[kaitapoul]

lol, it's not that big of a secret. After all it's in my user name. Delta Theta at UL.

We are guaranteed at least two basketball games a year (one ladies and one mens)...both I think are away games for us.

You've definitely provided lots of ideas and thoughts for us to take into consideration. Thanks!

[naraht]

My *guess* is that UL and UK would end up with the same number of home games in the series. The relationship between UK and UL in that regard is very different in that regard than for example UK/EKU.