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  #1  
Old 02-22-2002, 06:56 PM
AuroraStar AuroraStar is offline
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Encouraging Attendance

My chapter is currently having a problem getting people to come to our events (all events... social, philanthropy, meetings, etc, etc). We're trying to figure out a postive way to encourage our sisters to come to our events. Currently we have both a fining and a point system, but obviously this is no longer working. The girls are unhappy with having to pay so much money in fines, and some of the fines are very hefty, but it really isn't a deterrant from skipping.
Our exec board, of which I'm a part of, is desperately trying to figure out away to make girls WANT to come to events. We don't really want to keep heaping on the fines. So I turn to you guys. Do any of your chapters have an especially good policy that really gets your people out? Even if the suggestions are on ways to amend our point or fining system, we just need ideas because right now we're at a loss.

Thanks very much.
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  #2  
Old 02-23-2002, 01:22 AM
UMgirl
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Im not really sure what you can do. We had the point and fine system to, but i think what kinda of helped was that our events were classed.
Our colors are red, buff (delicate shade of yellow, pinkish-yellow)), and green. So we had....

Red Events- Mandatory (such as intiation, house association meeting, chapter.)
Buff Events- Had to attend like 50% of them (new member ceremonies and events, etc)
Green Events- attend like 20% (Greek Week, movie nights, etc). Plus you always had to give and excuse note for why you couldnt attend an event at least a week in advance.

I think that kind of made it easier for us, we didnt feel like we had to attend everything and scramble around trying to get out of work, study groups, or previously planned stuff.
We just promoted our events and made them out to be fun and helpful to our sisterhood and gaining more girls.
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  #3  
Old 02-23-2002, 02:42 PM
GreekLetterGirl GreekLetterGirl is offline
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that color idea seems like a totally good idea may have to use that ...
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  #4  
Old 02-23-2002, 06:22 PM
AchtungBaby80 AchtungBaby80 is offline
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That color thing sounds like a great idea! My chapter really needs help with attendance, too...meeting attendance is fine, but it seems like no one really wants to get involved with anything else. I realise we're all busy, but it makes us look bad if all the other sororities have tons of people show up for stuff and we have, like, seven. You know? We only have 2 colors, though, but maybe we could figure out a way to work it...I think it's worth a shot.
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  #5  
Old 02-23-2002, 07:25 PM
DarDar216 DarDar216 is offline
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the color thing is a good idea, but i am not sure that it will actually encourage anyone to attend events. Maybe you need to reevaluate the events you are planning and when you are planning them. We always send around a sign up sheet for every event that we are having so that we know who to expect, therefore preventing disappointment with a bad showing. We also give our girls an option of their punishment. Unless it is a major absense, we giver either twenty dollars or twenty can goods. Cans are very easy to get and also go towards philanthropy.
Depending on how big your chapter is, you could make sure that more of your members are involved with planning events. Get their input so that what you are planning is what they are interested in. If no one wants to go to an event, maybe it is a sign that your social (or whoever plans things) is not taking into account what the chapter wants to do. You can plan as many things as you want, but if the members do not want to go, you will never be able to force them. If your members feel a sense of ownership about an event, they will come and bring their sisters to support them.
good luck.
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  #6  
Old 02-23-2002, 07:27 PM
Peaches-n-Cream Peaches-n-Cream is offline
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I think this subject might have been addressed in a previous post. Here are my suggestions. Figure out why so many sisters are missing events. Is it senior apathy? Is it the time that the events are scheduled? Maybe you can change when the events are held to determine when the most sisters are available to attend. Since fining isn't a deterent, maybe now you can have an amnesty or reimbursement program. If the sisters who have been previously fined attend two or three events, you can reimburse them for one missed event until they are even. Hopefully your chapter hasn't allocated those funds for anything.
My chapter didn't have a color classification system that UMgirl suggested (btw that is a great idea!), we did classify certain events as mandatory or optional. Each sister needed to attend a minimum number of events in order to remain in good standing and attend the formal.
Good luck! Unfortunately, this seems to be a problem that plagues many chapters.
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  #7  
Old 02-24-2002, 09:12 AM
BootyKBG BootyKBG is offline
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How involved are all the sisters in planning these event? I've noticed that the more involved EVERYONE gets in the planning, the more everyone will feel they've gotten out of the event. I don't know how large your group is, but we have a smaller number in my sorority (we're down to 11 girls, but that isn't bad for this campus) and since everyone has started taking on more responsibility the morale and attitude of the girls has improved.
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  #8  
Old 02-24-2002, 09:56 AM
HotDamGam HotDamGam is offline
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My chapter also used the color system (obviously) and we also used "crisis calendars" so that we weren't scheduling events on days when half the girls were busy. But BootyKBG has a point about getting people involved in the planning. I think this was discussed in the "Chapter Operations" Forum so you may want to check that out.

Last edited by HotDamGam; 02-24-2002 at 09:58 AM.
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  #9  
Old 02-24-2002, 03:32 PM
AXiD4Life AXiD4Life is offline
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Hello!

My chapter was having the EXACT same problems for awhile, and we finally, finally found a solution that worked.

We used to have a fining system, where if you didn't go to something you got a fine. It stopped working even if the fines were huge. So this is what we did. Instead of a point system, we switched to a merit system. You have to have a certain number of merit points to go to fun things like formal, date parties, etc. They earn points by going to things like philanthropies, exchanges, dressing nicely at meetings, etc. That way they can pick what they would like to do without pushing that "mandatory" button all the time. For us, the word mandatory was a total turn-off. It really helped and I hope it helps for you!
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  #10  
Old 02-24-2002, 05:02 PM
CrucialCrimson CrucialCrimson is offline
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When a fining system loses its teeth you should consider a reward system - door prizes, raffles, discounts on chapter events and activities. Depending on your bylaws, you may also want to preclude those with bad attendance from running for offices. The bottom line is if people aren't coming out they have lost the investment in the organization - sounds like a good retreat issue and you may need to revamp your committee and planning system. How is attendance at activities discussed or raised during the rush process??? I kind of expect 20-30% of the membership to flake up and not participate, but when it is larger than that it is a problem.
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  #11  
Old 02-24-2002, 08:15 PM
33girl 33girl is offline
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If all your members are fairly well off fines aren't really going to do jack. (to be blunt) If they aren't, well, you can't get blood from a turnip. Fines really do nothing other than put $$$ in the coffers - they don't teach responsibility, or why would so many adults be paying them on their credit cards?

The point system (either positive or negative based - there are examples of both on other threads) can work, but it has to have teeth in it. If sisters don't make the required amount of points or get too many points (depending if you are using + or - points) one semester they are on probation. If they don't make it 2 semesters in a row, they are OUT. Terminated. Period. Dead weight is not a positive contribution.
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  #12  
Old 02-24-2002, 09:18 PM
SAEalumnus SAEalumnus is offline
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My chapter has seen this kind of problem before and the cause is deeper than superficialities. People aren't showing up to events because they don't want to - because the chapter to them is a chore. To these people, being greek means going to parties, hanging out, drinking, etc., and probably not about self-improvement and leadership development. Additionally, if you are all supposed to be friends, why wouldn't these members want to spend time with friends, much less brothers/sisters? My suggestion is to have a chapter retreat as soon as possible. Do whatever it takes to get these people to show up, and then once they're there, get them to open up about what they want out of greek life. Maybe everyone will learn something new about everyone else. You'd be surprised what kind of positive effect this can have on a chapter.
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  #13  
Old 02-24-2002, 11:07 PM
AuroraStar AuroraStar is offline
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Thanks for the really great advice, everyone. We did have a preplanned retreat yesterday and it went really well. I think that morale was boosted a lot and we rediscovered how much fun we truly have together. Then after retreat, one of the fraternities has a dance contest that is HUGE on campus. Our team won third and crowd pleaser. But even better is that 80% of the chapter was there, decked out in letters, pink hair (one of our colors), and face paint. We were definitely the loudest sorority there. We still have work to do, but I think we're getting back to the right check. I REALLY like the merit system suggested above, and I'm definitely going to bring that up at our next exec meeting.
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  #14  
Old 02-24-2002, 11:26 PM
UMgirl
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Wink Re: HotDamnGam

I completely forgot about the Crisis Calemdar. Even though I wanted to kill it at times, it does come in handy.
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  #15  
Old 12-06-2007, 12:43 AM
SDT@CofC SDT@CofC is offline
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Question

I was just elected standards chair and my small chapter doesn't have an established points/standards system. Our biggest problem has been that nothing is actually in writing so sisters get confused which makes them bitter and angry.

Does anyone have a copy of their system that they could send me? I’d also like to know what works and what doesn’t for the systems.
Also, what do people do about bringing sister before standards?

Thanks for your help!
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