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-   -   The sorority cost/money/financial thread. (http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=135229)

KSUViolet06 09-05-2017 10:11 PM

The most important thread you will ever read!

Weaver D 09-06-2017 10:00 AM

From the "Dad" perspective, I really appreciated the financial obligation form my daughter received before she joined her sorority. It gave a complete break-down of all the expenses and my daughter and I were able to have an adult conversation about the "investment" she was about to make and how much she was willing to contribute to her lifelong commitment. The university she attends provided a pretty broad range of what students and parents can expect. After she accepted her bid, she received the 8-page legal contract again outlining her financial obligation and level of commitment. I made her read it and ask questions before I signed it. So glad the chapter included the parents as part of the awareness.

This is a challenge for the fraternity I advise at a much smaller campus (annual dues less than $1,000 for active members, around $1,200 for pledge year), but guys still pay late or not at all before suspended or they flunk out. We ask the men to share the info with their parents, but many don't for fear of parents not letting them join....different conversation for a different day. This fall, the chapter finally instituted a contract to help with the collections problem.

clemsongirl 09-06-2017 10:43 AM

The difference between how fraternities and sororities collect dues boggles me, honestly. My friends in IFC fraternities routinely complain about brothers not paying dues or being behind and then not having funds to do things, but in ADPi you've got 30 days to pay or your membership is revoked. No dodging the treasurer with us.

Weaver D 09-06-2017 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clemsongirl (Post 2440743)
The difference between how fraternities and sororities collect dues boggles me, honestly. My friends in IFC fraternities routinely complain about brothers not paying dues or being behind and then not having funds to do things, but in ADPi you've got 30 days to pay or your membership is revoked. No dodging the treasurer with us.

The chapter has always had the option to send paperwork to HQ to financially suspend a member, but they are hesitant to anger or ostracize a member because he "has financial problems" - they still don't get that running a chapter is like running a business and you need a positive cash flow to run the organization so they can do "stuff". I get the one off member that truly has a financial crisis, but for the most part, the dead beats are prioritizing buying beer over paying dues. Last year, I followed up with the president and treasurer at the first of the month with the AR report and banged my head against the wall when they say they don't have funds for anything...no duh! Only 1/2 of the chapter was current with dues. Very frustrating. I'm hoping the current officers learn from the mistakes of last year. Only 1 month in and only 3 guys owe from last year and so far most of the chapter is current.

NWguy 09-06-2017 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Weaver D (Post 2440754)
The chapter has always had the option to send paperwork to HQ to financially suspend a member, but they are hesitant to anger or ostracize a member because he "has financial problems" - they still don't get that running a chapter is like running a business and you need a positive cash flow to run the organization so they can do "stuff". I get the one off member that truly has a financial crisis, but for the most part, the dead beats are prioritizing buying beer over paying dues. Last year, I followed up with the president and treasurer at the first of the month with the AR report and banged my head against the wall when they say they don't have funds for anything...no duh! Only 1/2 of the chapter was current with dues. Very frustrating. I'm hoping the current officers learn from the mistakes of last year. Only 1 month in and only 3 guys owe from last year and so far most of the chapter is current.

Are chapters allowed to offer incentives for paying dues on time, or staying current, such as earning points (if the chapter has a point system)?

We had the option of paying monthly or quarterly, but even if you paid quarterly there was no discount - not that there should be, but I always paid quarterly to get it out of the way and I wouldn't have minded a little incentive.

Weaver D 09-06-2017 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NWguy (Post 2440764)
Are chapters allowed to offer incentives for paying dues on time, or staying current, such as earning points (if the chapter has a point system)?

We had the option of paying monthly or quarterly, but even if you paid quarterly there was no discount - not that there should be, but I always paid quarterly to get it out of the way and I wouldn't have minded a little incentive.

They can't really afford discounts because dues are so inexpensive ($450/semester). They won't raise dues because they don't want to price themselves "out of the market". It's pretty inexpensive to be Greek at this campus compared to the nearby SEC schools. Instead, they charge late fees which never get paid and/or they negotiate to remove the fees once the member eventually pays, thus letting the member really pays when they want with no penalty...again a frustration for me and those that do pay on time.

Titchou 09-06-2017 06:20 PM

Does your fraternity utilize an online billing and payment system? GreekBill and BillHighway are two popular ones. We use Greek Bill and it automatically generates the Honor Board paperwork when someone goes one minute past due. It takes the vp:finance out of of the line of sight because our members also pay directly to GreekBill. You might ask around your campus for options.

GreekOne 09-06-2017 07:59 PM

Greek Bill is Awful
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Titchou (Post 2440802)
Does your fraternity utilize an online billing and payment system? GreekBill and BillHighway are two popular ones. We use Greek Bill and it automatically generates the Honor Board paperwork when someone goes one minute past due. It takes the vp:finance out of of the line of sight because our members also pay directly to GreekBill. You might ask around your campus for options.

As a parent, I despise Greek Bill. This organization charges $37 handling fee per student. For a chapter with 200 members, that is $7400 in fees for just one year or semester (can't remember which). Multiply that times the hundreds of chapters around the country x all the groups using their services. They are making a mint! Back in our day all of this was handled by our chapter Treasurer.

I know that it streamlines the process of collecting dues and hounds those with emails that haven't paid. But, I would think that each NPC could develop their own version at a far less cost and alleviate some of the financial burden on each member.

Also, when I opted to pay my daughter's dues by semester, I got monthly reminders. When I questioned Greek Bill why I got an Oct notice for a bill that wasn't due until January, they said that is the way their system worked. I can't imagine if other organizations harassed you for payment before the due date. (Imagine getting a reminder about your mortgage every week until it was due--even though only due once a month!)

For those not using Greek Bill, be happy you are not!

Weaver D 09-06-2017 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Titchou (Post 2440802)
Does your fraternity utilize an online billing and payment system? GreekBill and BillHighway are two popular ones. We use Greek Bill and it automatically generates the Honor Board paperwork when someone goes one minute past due. It takes the vp:finance out of of the line of sight because our members also pay directly to GreekBill. You might ask around your campus for options.

The chapter uses Greek Bill. I'm not fond of it due to the fees but the chapter went that route. It's easy for me to use the reporting, but not sure if worth the expense.

QueenD 09-06-2017 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreekOne (Post 2440811)
As a parent, I despise Greek Bill. This organization charges $37 handling fee per student. For a chapter with 200 members, that is $7400 in fees for just one year or semester (can't remember which). Multiply that times the hundreds of chapters around the country x all the groups using their services. They are making a mint! Back in our day all of this was handled by our chapter Treasurer.

I know that it streamlines the process of collecting dues and hounds those with emails that haven't paid. But, I would think that each NPC could develop their own version at a far less cost and alleviate some of the financial burden on each member.

Also, when I opted to pay my daughter's dues by semester, I got monthly reminders. When I questioned Greek Bill why I got an Oct notice for a bill that wasn't due until January, they said that is the way their system worked. I can't imagine if other organizations harassed you for payment before the due date. (Imagine getting a reminder about your mortgage every week until it was due--even though only due once a month!)

For those not using Greek Bill, be happy you are not!

A $37 handling fee per student is a bargain when you compare it to trying to keep track of this stuff on paper. Someone has to pay it, as comprehensive accounting software that does this stuff for hundreds of accounts isn't gong to be free. $7400 / semester is a bargain for all these tools do for a chapter. It's either going to be called out as a regular charge for the billing system or buried somewhere in the general chapter dues.

Titchou 09-06-2017 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by QueenD (Post 2440827)
A $37 handling fee per student is a bargain when you compare it to trying to keep track of this stuff on paper. Someone has to pay it, as comprehensive accounting software that does this stuff for hundreds of accounts isn't gong to be free. $7400 / semester is a bargain for all these tools do for a chapter. It's either going to be called out as a regular charge for the billing system or buried somewhere in the general chapter dues.

Absolutely! And a real benefit is that it relieves the chapter vp:finance from the wrath of the members. It's simply the system and the vendor runs it. Very similar to billing systems for high schools - School Admin/Smart Tuition/etc. And also very much like MC/Visa. With credit cards the merchant pays the fee for the transaction and imbeds that in the cost of the merchandise. At least GreekBill shows it up front. It's a bargain!

OleMissGlitter 09-07-2017 05:31 PM

I wish there would have been GreekBill around when I was a collegian! My BFF and roommate was Chapter Treasurer. It was tough on her. She had to hound sisters and call them to Standards when they didn't pay their bills. The billing companies take the sisterhood part out of being in a sorority for sure. However, they help with the "Business" side since so many parts of a sorority/fraternity are run and handled like a business. I can't imagine what the fees are like for a chapter at Ole Miss where some average 500 members! But in the long run, it's probably worth it. It also means the financial adviser doesn't have to spend as much time writing reports and the like.

DoctorD 09-07-2017 06:55 PM

Slight lane swerve, but not.... one of our chapters did a presentation last year about how much money they would have in the budget for fun things if everyone in the chapter did electronic funds transfer rather than credit card payments in OmegaFi... and then they rewarded their members last year with a "free" formal if they made the switch at any point during the year.

GreekOne 09-07-2017 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DoctorD (Post 2440910)
Slight lane swerve, but not.... one of our chapters did a presentation last year about how much money they would have in the budget for fun things if everyone in the chapter did electronic funds transfer rather than credit card payments in OmegaFi... and then they rewarded their members last year with a "free" formal if they made the switch at any point during the year.

This is a much better option...rewarding members for saving the chapter a processing fee vs. forcing them to pay a premium for a billing service. This is all about positioning and "sales". The way that Greek Bill is positioned, it leaves a poor taste in the mouth of the payer. Who wants to see a $37 processing fee added to their bill?? No one. Imbed the cost into something else so it is invisible. Or reward those who pay with electronic transfer before the deadline with a $37 discount! Throw a free formal with the $7000! Fabulous idea! For those that pay after the deadline, tack on the $37 fee.

Groups using Greek Bill should be more creative and consider how this is perceived to those who are already shelling out thousands of dollars for membership.

NewGreekmom2 09-07-2017 08:34 PM

My daughter's sorority uses billhighway and it is okay but not great. I have to say I really like that her sorority fee is all inclusive. It literally covers everything and we have not paid one dime more for anything other than specific clothing for events. All t-shirts, sisterhoods, crafting supplies, mixers, formals including date's ticket, gas to specific functions, etc... some of her friends in other sororities complain that their tshirt order or events get canceled because girls don't have the extra money at the time. At least this way they can budget as an organization and parents have a clear financial cost.


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