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  #31  
Old 09-14-2009, 08:43 AM
AOII Angel AOII Angel is offline
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Originally Posted by AGDee View Post
Alumna membership in our organizations is so much more than just assisting collegiate chapters. I am MUCH closer to women from my alumnae club than I ever was to my chapter sisters. We have gotten married together, had babies together, become single moms (divorced) together, cared for our sick parents.. the support system is amazing. It was an alumna sister who found a care giver for my mom when she needed one. Several alumnae were there for me at my mother's funeral. I went on a vacation with an alumna sister from another state who I met through being on our volunteer services team this year, because we are both single moms and needed some time away without our children, but who do you do that with when you're a single mom? Most of my friends at work, from grade school, college and who I've met through my kids activities are married and cannot do things like that. I've got a corp group of women and know that I can shoot an email to the club saying "Hey, this band is playing at the city festival next weekend and I want to go, who's interested?" The friendships I've made with sisters from all over the country through volunteering as an alumna are some of the strongest I've ever had.

I was a collegian for 4 years, I am an alumna for life (22 years so far). My life as an alumna has been rich and rewarding. I think the NPC groups are lacking in this area because we are too focused on the collegiate experience. The majority of our members are alumnae, not collegians.

I agree with those who have said that those hoping to live a collegiate experience that didn't happen would be very disappointed with AI. AI is the exception and not the rule and there is definitely an expectation for involvement. However, there is nothing is in the Alpha Gamma Delta Purpose (or any other NPC creeds, symphonies, etc.) that allude to the collegiate experience only! These are lifelong value systems for which we strive to meet. Being involved as an alumna doesn't necessarily have anything to do with collegiate chapters. It IS about sisterhood, philanthropy and living up to the ideals of the organization. It IS about support, friendship, genuine caring and sharing the bond of our ritual as we live our lives, for a lifetime.
Well said.
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  #32  
Old 09-14-2009, 01:31 PM
33girl 33girl is offline
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I thought of a good NPC vs NPHC point.

From what I have gathered, meetings for NPHC chapters - whether they be undergrad or grad - are conducted the same way. Well, as far as NPC goes, meetings for collegiate vs alum chapters are NIGHT AND DAY. (Or even more than that - Vineyard Vines and Ed Hardy. LOL.)

Plus it would be kind of hard to institute the same membership selection process for all alum chapters because some of them are basically 5 little old ladies meeting for lunch at the Dew Drop Inn 4 times a year. Some are huge and dynamic. If we told the 5 little old ladies they had to change, they'd tell us to F.O. and quit sending us their yearly dues.

Also, a PNAI's tie/sponsorship to a collegiate or alum chapter varies widely from group to group within NPC.

This probably sounds kinda scattered but I hope it adds something.
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  #33  
Old 09-14-2009, 02:11 PM
sigmadiva sigmadiva is offline
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Originally Posted by 33girl View Post
I thought of a good NPC vs NPHC point.

From what I have gathered, meetings for NPHC chapters - whether they be undergrad or grad - are conducted the same way. Well, as far as NPC goes, meetings for collegiate vs alum chapters are NIGHT AND DAY. (Or even more than that - Vineyard Vines and Ed Hardy. LOL.)

Plus it would be kind of hard to institute the same membership selection process for all alum chapters because some of them are basically 5 little old ladies meeting for lunch at the Dew Drop Inn 4 times a year. Some are huge and dynamic. If we told the 5 little old ladies they had to change, they'd tell us to F.O. and quit sending us their yearly dues.

Also, a PNAI's tie/sponsorship to a collegiate or alum chapter varies widely from group to group within NPC.

This probably sounds kinda scattered but I hope it adds something.
It's all about expectations - if you have an expectation that all chapters will conduct business in the same / similar manner, then they must.

Another difference that may exist between the NPC v. NPHC, is that there is just as much activity at the grad level than undergrad. In the NPHC the main financial resource for the org comes from the grad chapter. It is my understanding that this is different for NPC. In NPHC grad chapters we usually pay more in dues than undergrad, and the grad chapters tend to have more active financial members. I said that to say that if we had five old ladies who did not want to make a financial contribution, then they would probably not be missed.
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  #34  
Old 09-14-2009, 02:17 PM
tld221 tld221 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 33girl View Post
I thought of a good NPC vs NPHC point.

From what I have gathered, meetings for NPHC chapters - whether they be undergrad or grad - are conducted the same way. Well, as far as NPC goes, meetings for collegiate vs alum chapters are NIGHT AND DAY. (Or even more than that - Vineyard Vines and Ed Hardy. LOL.)

Plus it would be kind of hard to institute the same membership selection process for all alum chapters because some of them are basically 5 little old ladies meeting for lunch at the Dew Drop Inn 4 times a year. Some are huge and dynamic. If we told the 5 little old ladies they had to change, they'd tell us to F.O. and quit sending us their yearly dues.

Also, a PNAI's tie/sponsorship to a collegiate or alum chapter varies widely from group to group within NPC.

This probably sounds kinda scattered but I hope it adds something.
Has it always been this way for NPC alumnae chapters? Im sure there is just as much variety in NPHC alumnae chapters (from "5 little old ladies" meeting at the local diner or whathaveyou, to bigger chapters that meet in auditoriums and conference rooms), but the format, in regards to frequency (and related to running the business year-round) seems to be consistent. I'm just thinking that the amount of responsibility or duties an NPC alumnae chapter sets out to accomplish in a year may vary VASTLY if youre only meeting 4x a year (like, to bring it full circle, if AI happened more consistently or was more of a regularity, you'd have a need to meet more, or if you were holding events...?)

Or maybe yall have figured out a superawesome way to be efficient in your work to only have to meet 4x a year vs monthly. which i would personally enjoy.

This comes from someone who has no clue what an NPC meeting looks like, collegiate or alumnae.
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Do you know people? Have you interacted with them? Because this is pretty standard no-brainer stuff. -33girl
  #35  
Old 09-14-2009, 02:22 PM
AOII Angel AOII Angel is offline
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Originally Posted by tld221 View Post
Has it always been this way for NPC alumnae chapters? Im sure there is just as much variety in NPHC alumnae chapters (from "5 little old ladies" meeting at the local diner or whathaveyou, to bigger chapters that meet in auditoriums and conference rooms), but the format, in regards to frequency (and related to running the business year-round) seems to be consistent. I'm just thinking that the amount of responsibility or duties an NPC alumnae chapter sets out to accomplish in a year may vary VASTLY if youre only meeting 4x a year (like, to bring it full circle, if AI happened more consistently or was more of a regularity, you'd have a need to meet more, or if you were holding events...?)

Or maybe yall have figured out a superawesome way to be efficient in your work to only have to meet 4x a year vs monthly. which i would personally enjoy.

This comes from someone who has no clue what an NPC meeting looks like, collegiate or alumnae.
Many NPC alumnae chapters are moving away from business meetings all together and are having mostly social events. My chapter has an executive committee that keeps up with any of the needed business and we have two business meetings a year. Previously we had 7 meetings a year that were always fully business. We never got anything done because we always argued about the same things. There really isn't that much "business" that the average alumnae chapter has to deal with other than arranging philanthropy projects which our philanthropy chairman handles. The other main work we do is recruiting alumnae from our list of local sisters each fall. Other than that, we mainly concentrate on spending time together as sisters. Collegiate meetings are far different, but they have a far busier schedule.
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  #36  
Old 09-14-2009, 02:49 PM
tld221 tld221 is offline
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Originally Posted by AOII Angel View Post
Many NPC alumnae chapters are moving away from business meetings all together and are having mostly social events. My chapter has an executive committee that keeps up with any of the needed business and we have two business meetings a year. Previously we had 7 meetings a year that were always fully business. We never got anything done because we always argued about the same things. There really isn't that much "business" that the average alumnae chapter has to deal with other than arranging philanthropy projects which our philanthropy chairman handles. The other main work we do is recruiting alumnae from our list of local sisters each fall. Other than that, we mainly concentrate on spending time together as sisters. Collegiate meetings are far different, but they have a far busier schedule.
To the first point: is that intentionally, or do you think that other chapters (and organizations) are going the same route (meetings going from business to social)?

and to the second: if NPC alumnae chapters' focus is on reclamation/retention vs AI, i think thats a way better response to the "i don't get AI" argument. from what i gather, there is a hard transition from collegiate to alumnae (between both councils but especially) for NPC women, so if energy is spent on getting your members to go from PNM --> active collegiate --> active alumnae without missing a beat, then AI isn't as important.

i just wonder if that deters new alums - the day-and-night factor of how sorority business runs. going from weekly meetings and a packed calendar to meeting, potentially, a few times a year on business and hanging out every so often for social.
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Do you know people? Have you interacted with them? Because this is pretty standard no-brainer stuff. -33girl
  #37  
Old 09-15-2009, 10:44 AM
crescent&pearls crescent&pearls is offline
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Originally Posted by tld221 View Post
To the first point: is that intentionally, or do you think that other chapters (and organizations) are going the same route (meetings going from business to social)?

and to the second: if NPC alumnae chapters' focus is on reclamation/retention vs AI, i think thats a way better response to the "i don't get AI" argument. from what i gather, there is a hard transition from collegiate to alumnae (between both councils but especially) for NPC women, so if energy is spent on getting your members to go from PNM --> active collegiate --> active alumnae without missing a beat, then AI isn't as important.

i just wonder if that deters new alums - the day-and-night factor of how sorority business runs. going from weekly meetings and a packed calendar to meeting, potentially, a few times a year on business and hanging out every so often for social.
You've identified many of the challenges NPC alumnae orgs face as we evolve into our next era. Back in the days of hats and white gloves, NPC alumnae meetings were more business like. Today, much of the "business" in terms of operations management is managed at the National or International level by a network of both paid staffers and volunteers. Some volunteers may not be involved directly with an alumnae chapter at all! My sorority is offering training programs on line for advisors and other volunteers so that women who want to be involved, but are juggling family and career, or are geographically unable to travel often, can be involved from the convenience of their home or office.

So where does that leave traditional alumnae groups? For us, there's an increasing amount of flexibility to do what you want with the resources and interests of the individuals involved. Some groups do a lot of community service. Others focus on support for a nearby collegiate chapter, and some are just promoting sisterhood by getting together when you can. If a chapter has a candidate for AI, they can participate in those activities, but some alumnae chapters never participate in AI. It's never the focus of an alumnae groups' activities, in my experience.
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  #38  
Old 09-15-2009, 06:06 PM
SWTXBelle SWTXBelle is offline
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I do know Gamma Phi has announced they have "refined" their AI program - it will be interesting to see what that means.
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  #39  
Old 09-15-2009, 07:24 PM
AOII Angel AOII Angel is offline
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Originally Posted by tld221 View Post
To the first point: is that intentionally, or do you think that other chapters (and organizations) are going the same route (meetings going from business to social)?

and to the second: if NPC alumnae chapters' focus is on reclamation/retention vs AI, i think thats a way better response to the "i don't get AI" argument. from what i gather, there is a hard transition from collegiate to alumnae (between both councils but especially) for NPC women, so if energy is spent on getting your members to go from PNM --> active collegiate --> active alumnae without missing a beat, then AI isn't as important.

i just wonder if that deters new alums - the day-and-night factor of how sorority business runs. going from weekly meetings and a packed calendar to meeting, potentially, a few times a year on business and hanging out every so often for social.

I think it would deter new alums more if we had huge business meetings at our alumnae meetings. We are finding it harder to attract younger sisters to join our alumnae groups to that traditional formula. Having fun sisterhood activities seems to draw a larger group of young sisters, but they also tend to join other committee groups like our alumnae advisory committee for our local collegiate chapter. Things aren't compressed into one body anymore. We have an alumnae chapter, an Alumnae Advisory Committee and a Collegiate Chapter Corporation Board that you can join to be involved as an alumna. The thing that has chased more new alumnae away from my alumnae chapter has been long business meetings.
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  #40  
Old 09-16-2009, 03:48 PM
AGDee AGDee is offline
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The new grads are always totally shocked when they come to a "meeting" and it's social, not business. We are a social organization, sisterhood is the main goal. We do philanthropy. Some reporting is necessary, but certainly not to the extent that it was for collegians. We are different from the NPHC.

We have three different types of alumnae groups. Alumnae Chapters have specific requirements and are dedicated to assisting a specific collegiate chapter. Alumnae Clubs are primarily social (and that's what I choose to be in because I work hard for the Fraternity in my Volunteer Services Team position and need "just sisterhood" from my alumnae experience) and Junior Circles are affiliated with a chapter or club but are focused on women below the age of 35 (and are social in nature). Chapters have to have business meetings more often than Clubs. They have more extensive newsletters and a lot more to manage. All of the groups do some community service/philanthropy, but the main focus is most definitely social
  #41  
Old 09-16-2009, 07:00 PM
AOII Angel AOII Angel is offline
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Originally Posted by AGDee View Post
The new grads are always totally shocked when they come to a "meeting" and it's social, not business. We are a social organization, sisterhood is the main goal. We do philanthropy. Some reporting is necessary, but certainly not to the extent that it was for collegians. We are different from the NPHC.

We have three different types of alumnae groups. Alumnae Chapters have specific requirements and are dedicated to assisting a specific collegiate chapter. Alumnae Clubs are primarily social (and that's what I choose to be in because I work hard for the Fraternity in my Volunteer Services Team position and need "just sisterhood" from my alumnae experience) and Junior Circles are affiliated with a chapter or club but are focused on women below the age of 35 (and are social in nature). Chapters have to have business meetings more often than Clubs. They have more extensive newsletters and a lot more to manage. All of the groups do some community service/philanthropy, but the main focus is most definitely social
That's an interesting division, but at least it lets sisters know what to expect going in. My prior post described the average AOII alum chapter...we do have very active chapters with very active schedules that make me wonder how they get so much done with 50 members. It's not the norm, however.
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  #42  
Old 09-28-2009, 12:41 AM
RedRover RedRover is offline
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Another view of AI

A friend went through what was called then called sorority rush at a university where sorority recruitment was competitive. Unfortunately for my friend, the three houses that invited her for the preference round were the three houses for which she felt no affinity(one house disbanded after a controversy, one house had a reputation as a hard core party house and the last had a major falling out its national organization and had it charter revoked).

A few years after graduation, some friends asked if she might be interested in joining ABC sorority as an alumnae initiate. My friend said thank you but no thank you. When her friends pressed as to why she was dismissing their offer out of hand, she said explained she went through rush with disappointing results and she told her friends "If I ain't good enough to enter by the front door, I ain't gonna come in by the side door."
  #43  
Old 09-28-2009, 04:17 PM
33girl 33girl is offline
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I take it the friends were from one of the sororities that didn't invite her back? More than likely they were from a different chapter. I understand what she's saying, but that's kind of a harsh way to put it to them - they might not have been invited through the "front door" at that school either.
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  #44  
Old 09-28-2009, 05:14 PM
myopicsunflower myopicsunflower is offline
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"If I ain't good enough to enter by the front door, I ain't gonna come in by the side door."
I'm with 33girl that this sounds harsh. That woman's friends didn't have to offer alumna initiation to her, and the fact that they did indicates that they found her to be exceptional, wanted her for a sister, and thought she would bring good things to their sorority. The woman's response is harsh and, really, just plain rude. She could have declined her friends' invitation in a more gracious manner.

Alumnae initiation isn't the back or side door into a GLO. Sure, there are people who pursue alumnae initiation (there are many opinions on that, and I certainly have mine on the matter), but I believe the vast majority of alumnae initiates are invited by their respective GLOs. If the GLO is doing the asking, alumnae initiation is hardly the back or side door to membership. It's an honor, and you'd better believe that sororities aren't handing out AI invitations like Halloween candy.
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Last edited by myopicsunflower; 09-28-2009 at 05:17 PM. Reason: spelling counts
  #45  
Old 09-28-2009, 05:50 PM
ThetaDancer ThetaDancer is offline
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Originally Posted by RedRover View Post

A few years after graduation, some friends asked if she might be interested in joining ABC sorority as an alumnae initiate. My friend said thank you but no thank you. When her friends pressed as to why she was dismissing their offer out of hand, she said explained she went through rush with disappointing results and she told her friends "If I ain't good enough to enter by the front door, I ain't gonna come in by the side door."
Your friend sounds really bitter.

Quote:
Originally Posted by myopicsunflower View Post
If the GLO is doing the asking, alumnae initiation is hardly the back or side door to membership. It's an honor, and you'd better believe that sororities aren't handing out AI invitations like Halloween candy.
Agreed.
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