Local Sorority Love

Anonymous asked: Hi, I'm a part of a local sorority but we don't have the best reputation (1 of our FM was a troublemaker and left us with an even worse bad reputation). I want to bump our philanthropy hours and fundraising (we did 0 hours & got 0 hours this past semester) but no one listens to me because I'm alum. On top of that they think I'm mad because I didn't get an exec position while I was an active sister (not true). I'm just tired of us being bullied by other sororities & being a "lower tier" sorority.

We think you have your sorority’s best interest at heart. One way to approach your sorority (especially in terms of what they think of you) is to say that if you were upset that you didn’t get an exec position, then you probably wouldn’t have stuck around. You love clearly love your organization and want to see it thrive.

Perhaps you should try a different approach than what you have been trying. If you are just trying to get them to do philanthropy and fundraising, you might be up against a wall. Those two activities happen to be some of the hardest to get sorority girls to do (even though they are often what our organizations pride themselves on most).

Some ways to help:

make philanthropy/fundraising a part of your recruitment process (get potential new members to join you in your efforts)
make both fun/sisterhood activities
have a chair whose job it is to set hour/dollar goals, keep girls accountable for those goals, and create opportunities to meet those goals

Maybe your active sisters just don’t understand WHY they should be doing these things. As an alumna, you could maybe work with a few other alumnae to fundraise for your organization to show the actives how it can help with dues, events, etc.

Maybe host a bonding activity with other alumnae that is based in philanthropy (do a fun-run, Relay for Life, making blankets for Project Linus while watching Mean Girls/another awesome movie, go to TeddyCrafters and make bears for kids in hospitals). That way, you can get girls to realize philanthropy can be fun—not just a chore.

Talk to some sisters one on one to convince them of your true motives. Maybe there are more who are unhappy with your organization’s reputation. You are still a sister and a part of your organization, even if you are an alumna.

Lots of local love to you and your organization!

Followers, if you have any more suggestions for the anon, please send them in! We’d love to hear your ideas too.