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Fraternity Update
Triangle Fraternity Update
TOM PENNINGTON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
There is no doubt about it… we have come through one of the most challenging periods Triangle has faced in decades. The pandemic tested our chapters, National Council, and the HQ staff to find new ways to succeed amidst uncertainty and limited resources. The best news is that our undergraduates and the alumni working with them did a fantastic job of keeping our members safe. The result was no undergraduates had lengthy hospital stays and there were no student deaths related to Covid-19. In addition, there were no chapter houses forced to close due to exposure.
Growth Success Program
Many chapters found new and innovative ways to gather together for meetings, brotherhood activities, recruitment, and social activities. Online experiences built around gaming, watching movies, or doing chapter business became common as in-person events and activities were suspended. As campuses and IFCs postponed or cancelled usual recruitment activity, HQ staff helped groups build a “virtual” alternative through our Growth Success Program (GSP). Staff worked one-on-one coaching chapter recruitment chairs in creating and executing a virtual recruitment program. Chapters that participated and did the necessary work saw an average increase of 120% in new members Spring 21 from Spring 20. Even chapters that did most of the required work saw an average 50% new member increase Spring to Spring. These results motivated a generous alumnus to make a special grant to the fraternity to fund additional growth staff for the next two years. Dinah Sammon and Lilly Woltman join our team as Asst. Directors of Chapter Growth and will serve as Growth Coaches for ten or more chapters each. Robby Barlow comes to staff as a Regional Leadership Specialist and will be based in Milwaukee to work with three chapters there and with Armour in Chicago. Despite those chapter successes, Triangle started the Fall term with the lowest undergraduate membership we have had in almost ten years – under 850 total members – with nearly half our chapters at a total membership of 20 men or less (See sidebar on next page). Growth must be our number one priority!
Program Development
Our annual January Leadership & Training Weekend (LTW) was reworked as an online experience. Chapter assessment and support visits were moved online and meetings with officers and chapters were done virtually, and we hosted several advisory groups utilizing chapter leaders to provide feedback and direction for fraternity programs. We postponed our summer convention, and moved it online in June (see article on Page 19/20). In addition, we found we were able to work more on new resources. The BuildTriangle program is designed to provide important lessons and “soft skills” development for members, to complement their academic work. Members that complete most or all of the program will be better prepared for life after college and for career success.
Expansion Pipeline
A critical part of the growth plan is rebuilding our expansion pipeline. The pandemic forced us to cancel at least two projects to bring Triangle to new campuses and postponed others. In some cases, campuses are unsure when they will begin to open to new groups once again. Contacts have now been made with over 30 campuses to express interest and determine opportunity. These include campuses new to Triangle and most of our former host institutions, where chapters closed. The responses received will guide us in building a priority and timeline for colonization projects. Alumni in areas where we have opportunity will be contacted about helping.
Financials
We started the year budgeting for a 25% membership decrease – an amount consistent with what colleges and our interfraternity peers expected. We were happy to see approximately half that loss, as 87% of Triangle
members returned to their campuses/chapters – a much higher rate than the general student population. Recruitment still was a challenge for many chapters, resulting in a drop of about 17% in total new members over the previous year. However, with an expected 25% drop in the budget, the result was member income that came in above budget. Triangle alumni also rose to the challenge! Income from alumni donations and dues were up 38%. Between the Alumni Dues program, Week of Giving, and special gifts, alumni contributed over $122,000 to help offset expected losses in undergraduate dues and fees. We are grateful to those generous alumni and to the Triangle Education Foundation for their fundraising effort. It was critical to our success. We were able to cut our total expense budget by nearly 30% as we suspended travel to chapters, Council meetings, and other usual business costs. Staff moved to remote work and their chapter support work went online. Expenses for educational programs also were reduced as our LTW program and regional work also went virtual.
What’s Ahead?
Priorities this biennium are Growth, Financial Stability (HQ and Chapters), and Alumni Engagement. The current Growth Success Program will be a foundation for getting chapters back up to historic membership levels and beyond. A revised chapter standards program also will be introduced this year to help chapters build and execute success plans. Our partnership with GreekBill (greekbill.com) provides a robust financial management solution for chapter budgeting, forecasting, billings, and collections, and ensures annual tax filings are done to protect chapter nonprofit status. We have lost more chapters to financial difficulties than almost any other issue, so this is an exciting new tool for chapters. Lastly, you will see more outreach to alumni, including a renewed Tour de Triangle program of area events and gatherings for Triangles in major metro areas across the nation. We’ve already started this fall with events scheduled in Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and Raleigh/Durham. Keep your contact information current with HQ so you can receive information on events near you!
Start of Fall term, before new members.
Armour
43 29 -32.6% Cal Poly 28 7 -75.0% UNC-Charlotte 9 0 Inactive Cincinnati 22 41 86.4% Clemson 16 14 -12.5% Colorado State 17 2 -88.2% Florida Atlantic 6 0 Inactive Georgia Tech 18 0 Inactive Illinois 45 39 -13.3% Iowa State 31 46 48.4% Kansas 23 21 -8.7% Kansas State 2 0 Inactive Kentucky 35 31 -11.4% Louisville 40 26 -35.0% Michigan 65 41 -36.9% Michigan State 55 46 -16.4% Michigan Tech 19 22 15.8% Minnesota 26 21 -19.2% Missouri Mines 22 20 -9.1% MSOE 12 13 8.3% Nebraska 26 24 -7.7% Ohio State 22 24 9.1% Oklahoma 25 12 -52.0% Penn State 27 11 -59.3% Penn State Behrend 21 19 -9.5% Pittsburgh 30 45 50.0% Purdue 47 37 -21.3% Rose Tech 62 64 3.2% SD Mines 33 34 3.0% Texas 10 0 Inactive Toledo 21 25 19.0% UC-Irvine 10 14 40.0% UCLA 31 5 -83.9% UCSD 0 5 N/A Utah 32 14 -56.3% UWM 5 6 20.0% VCU 11 4 -63.6% VA Tech 9 21 133.3% Washington 34 29 -14.7% Wisconsin 32 32 0.0%
