2010
Pi Lambda Phi Educational Foundation Management Report 4th Quarter – FY 2009 - 2010
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Shawn Upchurch 7/21/2010
Contents Diversity & Inclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 3 Background: 2009 ......................................................................................................................................... 3 Background: 2010 YTD .................................................................................................................................. 4 Foundation Management Outsourced ......................................................................................................... 4 Kintera Relationship ...................................................................................................................................... 5 Donations ...................................................................................................................................................... 6 Direct mail campaign (Frater) ....................................................................................................................... 7 You Can Be a Donor, and You Don’t Have To Be a Millionaire ..................................................................... 8 Annual Giving Levels ..................................................................................................................................... 8 Scholarship Application Process ................................................................................................................. 10 Big Pi Award ................................................................................................................................................ 11 Elimination of Prejudice (EoP) .................................................................................................................... 11 Pi Lambda Phi University (PiLamU) ............................................................................................................. 14 Kovner Corps & Volunteer Application Process.......................................................................................... 15 Telecommunications Package..................................................................................................................... 15 Lean & Green Campaign ............................................................................................................................. 16
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Diversity & Inclusion Diversity and inclusion are part of Pi Lambda Phi‟s core values. We view these values as the essence of our existence and long-term success. We have an opportunity to evolve the Fraternity into a truly inclusive organization and encourage engagement around timeless enduring issues. Pi Lambda Phi‟s Educational Foundation President Chip Luman leads organizational diversity and inclusion efforts. Here's what Luman has to say about Diversity and Inclusion at Pi Lambda Phi: “At Pi Lambda Phi, diversity and inclusion are fundamental to who we are and what we do. Diversity of experiences, ideas, cultures, and beliefs drives us to achieve greater success and a more sustainable brotherhood. Investing in an inclusive brotherhood and workplace garners innovation, connectivity, and commitment. Combining diversity with inclusion is essential to reaching our potential as the nation’s first non-sectarian fraternity. We are all different, so recognizing, respecting, and maximizing these differences provides us a significant competitive advantage on today’s college campuses and throughout our lives.” Chip Luman President, Pi Lambda Phi Educational Foundation, Inc. Updated July 19, 2010: N/A
Background: 2009 Summer: The Educational Foundation's (EF) by-laws prohibit budgeting net losses. After multiple years of declining donations, Trustees Bill Chorba, Treasurer, and Chip Luman took the position setting arbitrary donation goals to pass annual budgets was no longer acceptable during the 2009-2010 budgeting process. Both men lobbied to set donation goals based on previous year receipts, which required additional budget cuts in order to balance the EF's budget. The 2009-2010 Trustees could not agree where to make additional cuts. Hence, a budget was never approved and, therefore, comparisons between actual vs. budget are not available. Fall: Separate and prior to Ezra Krieg's resignation (due to family circumstances), Dan Scott and Ezra appointed a joint committee of Councilmen (Jeff Buhler, Marc Weppner and Shawn Upchurch) and Trustees (Chip Luman and Bill Chorba) to better understand some of the most critical issues troubling our Fraternity. A primary objective was to bridge the cavern that had developed between the IEC and EF over the years.
From the EF‟s perspective: limited and shrinking unrestricted funds meant program and donor management was left to a part-time administrative assistant. The EF‟s leadership team continually requested volunteer fundraising help, specifically for Councilmen to solicit donations. Unfortunately, part-time and volunteer level efforts did not produce desired results.
From the International Executive Council‟s (IEC) perspective: the IEC leadership team lacked insight into the EF's financial situation, its ability to raise funds and potential for future financial support. In fact, IEC leadership seriously considered launching its own alumni fundraising campaigns, as financial support had been deemed critical to change the 20 year downward trajectory of undergraduate membership.
Winter: Some of the joint committee's EF focused recommendations, which were subsequently adopted, included; A permanent joint Finance Committee consisting of the IEC's Finance Committee (Treasurer Marc Weppner and Councilman Chris Rakunas) and the EF's Treasurer, Bill Chorba, was appointed to ensure an open exchange of financial information, encourage best practices and evaluate and confirm financial controls were functioning as desired.
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A deliberate effort to cross pollinate governing boards resulted the IEC‟s Brandon Taylor, Associate Councilman, being elected as Trustee. Assuming a favorable vote at 115th Annual Leadership Convention House of Delegates meeting, Brandon will be elected to serve a two year term as Councilman and become a voting member of both governing boards.
The joint committee also helped facilitate the EF's leadership transition, resulting in Chip Luman elected President (December 2009).
Background: 2010 YTD After Chip Luman became president, the EF‟s leadership team immediately reduced expenses not directly generating donations, with the intention to redirect all available resources toward program and donor management. Between unfavorable economic conditions and rapidly declining donations, the EF‟s unrestricted funds were on pace to be exhausted by year‟s end. Simultaneously, the EF‟s leadership team immediately launched a confidential search to hire a professional full-time fundraiser. An ideally qualified brother had been identified and vetted for consideration within 30 days. Unfortunately, the candidate withdrew his candidacy citing the EF‟s financial state (< $100,000 in unrestricted funds). The situation had eroded to the point where successfully capturing the attention of suitable candidates was now in question. Both leadership teams now recognized that without immediate full-time fundraising efforts, the IEC‟s ability to re-direct the undergraduate trajectory and EF‟s future was in question. During the same time period, the EF‟s leadership team identified, recruited and elected three new Trustees. It is worth mentioning the new Trustees include a wealth management professional, a former bank President with significant nonprofit fundraising experience and a higher education executive with almost a decade of donor development experience. Additionally, two of the three are former Councilmen and the third is an Associate Councilman. Updated July 19, 2010: EF Trustees held their first 2010 meeting May 26, 2010, with a constitutional minimum five Trustees. In addition, EF Treasurer Bill Chorba presented a fiscal year 2010-2011 budgets for review / approval on July 19, 2010. When compared to historical ten year revenues, a $100.000 revenue goal appears ambitious. Regardless, the EF is optimistic based on program redesign and alignment with the Fraternity‟s strategic plan.
Foundation Management Outsourced The EF day-to-day management, including Program and Donor Management, was outsourced to Shawn Upchurch‟s consultancy, UpSearch, on a month-to-month basis. The agreement includes office space and utilities. Ultimately, Shawn is charged with setting the conditions for growth in assets and grant-making. Tactical responsibilities beyond donor development include;
1st quarter: close Danbury, CT office; facilitate the termination process for part-time administration assistant and comprehensive review of all internal systems and processes.
2nd quarter: vendor management (Kintera), annual scholarship application process, annual direct mail campaign (Frater), Awards Banquet invitations, telecommunications provider selection, create volunteer application and evaluation process, redesign volunteer portal and align educational programming and fundraising with Creed.
3rd and 4th quarters: Pi Lambda Phi University, donor development and execution of aforementioned initiative.
Shawn is expected to identify, recruit, and transition responsibilities to a full-time fundraiser, pending Trustee approval.
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Updated July 19, 2010: Continuation of the outsourced relationship depends on 3rd quarter donations. The only 2nd quarter expected results not “on target” is the direct mail campaign: Frater (see page 7). The culmination of most 2nd and 3rd quarter expectations will be made public in the Frater.
Kintera Relationship The Fraternity‟s Kintera partnership is about to conclude its third year. The current contract, a two year extension, ends July 31, 2011. At contact‟s conclusion, the Fraternity will have invested $69,000: EF $47,000 and IHQ $22,000. Unfortunately, the relationship is strained, possibly beyond repair. In hindsight, the implementation phase failed and the relationship has yet to recover for two reasons. First, the Fraternity‟s professional staff did not subscribe to Kintera‟s workflow. Instead, the staff attempted to make Kintera conform to its workflows. Hence, the Fraternity is realizing minimal value outside of online donation processing, basic website administration and records management. The version of Kintera purchased is not a highly customizable software package, but rather a plug and play enterprise workflow system. The aforementioned disconnect is the root cause for the failed implementation, as staff did not enter the training phase with an appropriate understanding of Kintera‟s role. As a result, a second reason for the failed implementation exists; a poorly trained staff. Kintera facilitated training was made available to all users during the implementation phase, with special emphasis on training-the-trainer. Kintera also provides FREE self-paced online courses and weekly town hall style training sessions. Although self-paced online training was available, not one staff member took advantage of the opportunity. Additionally, it was recently discovered the primary Kintera fundraising module, Friends Ask Friends, was not purchased. Hence, the EF has not been positioned with the appropriate tools to report meaningful fundraising success. What‟s been done so far?
EF has taken responsibility for the Kintera relationship. Awareness has been raised about the Fraternity‟s extreme displeasure and expectations have been re-set; Kintera needs to demonstrate immediate value. Kintera demo is scheduled for Thursday May 27th, so staff will have better understanding of how Kintera was intended to be used. Post-Kintera demo, EF will evaluate staff training needs and develop lesson plans to get staff to desired performance levels. Solution may include additional Kintera facilitated training. EF is attempting to build a repository of Kintera trained alumni and undergraduate users.
Updated July 19, 2010: Kintera proved to be a significant 2nd quarter project. We successfully negotiated access to the Friends Ask Friend (FAF) module free of charge thru July 31, 2011 contract renewal (a $7,500 diverted cost) and avoided the associated one-time set-up fee. The entire professional staff dedicated themselves to learning Kintera. The initial indications are that the Kintera relationship may be salvaged, although not conclusive. The Foundation‟s intern, Jeff Jackson, figured out how to build templates well enough to launch EoP at convention, which saved the aforementioned $1,750 set-up fee. The IHQ Administrator, Laura Patricio, solved most IHQ workflow issues after the May 27th demo. In fact, Laura figured out how to merge two unique databases (undergraduate and alumni) into one central repository. Kintera quoted this project at $5,000. A team of volunteer Kintera users stands at two novice level members: Jeff Jackson and Mike LaBelle. By year end, the goal is to have four volunteers at an intermediate level able to support the professional staff. The next two volunteers
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have already been identified: Colin Kershey and Don Giancola (power user), which are both earning access to Kintera late July 2010.
Donations The following charts represent year-to-date donations thru June 30, 2010. The EFâ&#x20AC;&#x;s third quarter donor emphasis will focus on a general membership campaign and 3rd quarter governing board additions (up to eight). The general membership campaign starts with the Frater and continues with weekly strategic plan presentations in a town hall format. Trustee Brandon Taylor suggested aligning donor and fiscal reporting; hence, move donor reporting from calendar year to fiscal year (July 1st thru June 30th).
Summary Unique Donors Leadership Donors Non Leadership Donors Average Donation (Per Donor) Leadership Total Leadership Average (Per Donor)
42 14 28 $277.35 $8,720.25 $622.88
Non Leadership Total
$2,928.63
Non Leadership Average (Per Donor) Pledges and Receipts Total
$104.59 $22,553.63
2010 Leadership Team Donations 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Name Brandon Taylor Jeff Buhler Shawn Upchurch Dan Scott Marc Weppner Chris Rakunas Dave LaBanc Brad Morrison Chip Luman Bill Chorba Dave Fechtman Mike Labelle Vin Marbury Bennett Silverman Totals
Amount Pledged $10,000.00 $2,000.00 $2,000.00 $1,500.00 $1,020.00 $1,000.00 $500.00 $500.00 $250.00 $250.00 $250.00 $165.00 $100.00 $90.00 $19,625.00
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Total Received $2,500.00 $2,000.00 $1,000.00 $1,500.00 $510.00 $0.00 $100.00 $500.00 $250.00 $0.00 $95.25 $75.00 $100.00 $90.00 $8,720.25
Direct mail campaign (Frater) By reducing the next issue of the Frater from the previously published 12 page 4 color piece to a 4 page 2 color teaser introducing the full online version, we will expand the number of alumni who receive the Frater from 9,500 to 13,500, for practically the same investment. And it goes without saying; the online version removes space and budget constraints allowing you to receive more news, updates and information. In fact, our goal is to compliment our annual Frater mailing with more frequently electronic versions. We remain committed to a personal touch, but we need to do it reasonably with an appreciation toward the reason you donated; our undergraduates development. Updated July 19, 2010: The Educational Foundation is close, but not ready to publish the Frater due to a lack of Kintera prowess. Although the image below demonstrates progress, the fit and finish requires a couple more days of dedicated effort to make presentable. The resource most skilled at moving the Frater toward publication is Laura Patricio. Due to IHQ year-end financial report, vacation, convention planning and office move recently pushed back to August 15th, Laura has limited ability to contribute. Expected deadline is July 31, 2010.
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You Can Be a Donor, and You Don’t Have To Be a Millionaire As of July 1, 2010, the EF will begin touting donor-advised funds and permit alumni to establish their own fund within the Pi Lambda Phi Educational Foundation, Inc. umbrella. The inclusive approach is meant for young donors who want to engage instead of dictating from the grave. Updated July 19, 2010: This initiative has been tabled until other more pressing initiatives are brought to completion.
Annual Giving Levels The EF received donations from 539 alumni in 2009. The average donation was $106. At the same time, the EF estimates thousands of alumni provide financial support directly to their undergraduate chapters without any tax benefit. There are four primary reasons why alumni are reluctant to direct more of their donations toward the EF; 1.) affinity toward their chapter, 2.) lack of value, 3.) lack of confidence in EF and 3.) absence of a “giving culture.”
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The EF has developed a three part strategy to address these concerns. 1.
The number of Annual Giving Levels has been reduced and simplified to nurture a “giving culture.” The minimum giving level is $228 and the standard member level is $1,000. (see charts on page 9)
2.
The EF is establishing one restricted checking account for each chapter and colony. The account will hold that chapter‟s Elimination of Prejudice and Scholarship Funds. The primary intention is to help each chapter build an endowment fund - capitalize. Depending on chapter needs and goals, any number of additional funds for scholarship or leadership purposes can be created, including funds such as: Well Development Man Scholarship for senior chapter leadership Financial & Merit-based scholarships for chapter brothers Leadership Delegate grants to attend Annual Conventions, Conclaves and qualified local campus/ community leadership programs (leadership development purposes.
3.
50% of the first $1,000 donated will be placed in donor‟s undergraduate chapter‟s restricted checking account.
monthly
quarterly
semi-annually
annually
Gold Program
$
18.95
$
57
$
114
$
228
Young Alumni
$
42
$
125
$
250
$
500
Contributing Brother
$
84
$
250
$
500
$
209
$
625
$
1,250
$
2,500
$
1,250
$
2,500
$
5,000
$
1,000
standard membership level
Purple & Gold
membership for yourself and three young alumni
Welkin
$
417
receive special recognition from the Board of Trustees - $5,000 or more per year.
The following illustrates how donations will be distributed during the FY 2010-2011 annual campaigns.
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Updated July 19, 2010: The Annual Giving program suggested above has been tabled until other programs mature. It is understood the EF need to raise average donations ($106 in 2009) and significant opportunities to ask for larger donations will exist as soon as EoP and PLPU launch. Separately, the EF began testing alumni interest toward chapter specific restricted accounts. Unfortunately, numerous alumni re-directed the conversation toward 100% chapter restricted requests and rebuffed unrestricted contributions. If these half dozen conversations are any indication of general membership views, it is another validation of the following: 1.) an affinity toward chapters vs. international, 2.) lack of perceived value from EF, 3.) lack of confidence in EF and 4.) absence of a “giving culture.” Needless-to-say, the EF has its work cut out to change membership perceptions. The Annual Giving program will be a high priority during the 3rd quarter 2010.
Scholarship Application Process The 2010 Scholarship Application process was officially launched on May 25, 2010. Every undergraduate received an email from Chip Luman inviting them to apply. A follow-up email is schedule to be sent next week to all undergraduate executive board members asking them to encourage brothers to apply. Applications submittals are due July 1, 2010. The process has been significantly streamlined and redesigned to improve applicant‟s experience and compress the evaluation cycle. A few notable modifications include a 100% electronic application process, alumni letters of recommendation and online video interviews. Chip Luman is the COO of HireVue, a leading provider of online interviewing technology. Chip generously offered the use of HireVue‟s workflow software to manage applications, facilitate online video interviews and the subsequent evaluation process. The fair market value for each incident is $175. By using HireVue, the application process was built to scale quickly. Scalability was an important requirement considering all chapters will begin building endowments July 1, 2010. Although it may take some chapters years to secure the minimum required amount ($25,000) to establish an endowment, other chapters will likely fund their endowment within months. Therefore, it was important the EF‟s scholarship application process was prepared to handle significant increases in traffic; possibly for 40 more annual scholarships. The number of scholarships awarded at the 115th Annual Leadership Convention (August 5th – 8th.) depends on alumni donations thru July 2010.
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Updated July 19, 2010: A 275% increase in scholarship applicants, combined with the caliber of applicant, makes the 2010 EF Scholarship program a smashing success. It was also the first application oriented process to be redesigned around HireVue‟s video interview application. The Kovner Corp (volunteer) and Leadership Consultant application processes are mimicking the scholarship application process. Trustees are expected to have reviewed, evaluated and ranked applicants by July 20, 2010.
Summary Average GPA % on e-board (10 of 11) % Rex (4 of 11) % Archon (2 of 11) % KOE (1 of 11) % Scribe (1 of 11) % of NME (2 of 11) # of 2009 applicants # of 2010 applicants % change
Chapters Represented University of Virginia Baldwin-Wallace College Temple University University of California, Berkeley Penn State Windner University
3.45 91% 36% 18% 9% 9% 18% 4 11 275%
Big Pi Award Chicago has been selected to host this year‟s Annual leadership Convention and provides a unique opportunity to relaunch the Big Pi award. Trustees have already approved Dan Scott‟s nomination of Maury Fertig, who will be in attendance. At least three other nominees have been identified, including David Ginsburg who died May 24, 2010. Chip Luman has recommended Trustees consider posthumously awarding Brother Ginsbrg a Big Pi. Updated July 19, 2010: Maury Fertig and Jack Marsh have been nominated, approved and will be present at convention to receive their Big Pi award. The last year Big Pi awards were presented at convention; 2001.
Elimination of Prejudice (EoP) The EoP is the EF‟s capstone initiative. The program intends to align educational programming, fundraising and our Creed. Furthermore, it has become commonplace for Greek Letter organizations to name 501(c)(3) entities as their philanthropy (ie. Alpha Gamma Delta, Sigma Phi Epsilon and Phi Mu). Originally, the EoP was created and managed by our University of Wisconsin (WI) Omega chapter as a scholarship for non Fraternity undergraduate students. The chapter awarded one $1,000 annual scholarship. The scholarship was launched at least two other chapters, but has been dormant for years. The President of the IEC, Dan Scott, and EF, Chip Luman, appointed the following inaugural EoP Committee;
Dave Fechtman, Trustee nominee & Committee Chair Chris Rakunas, IEC Secretary elect
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3 3 2 1 1 1
Ian Lowe, IHQ Director of Operations Colin Kershey, Foundation Volunteer Project Manager & Committee Secretary
The EoP Committee has been asked to report by June 15th with program recommendations. Upon approval, target program launch date will be July 20th providing ample time for program‟s international début at the 115th Annual Leadership Convention (August 5th - 8th). In anticipation of program launch, the EF commits; 1. 2.
3.
To establish a restricted checking account for each chapter/colony. (see Annual Giving Levels) To modify Annual Giving Levels and redirect a yet-to-be determined % of each donation toward donating member‟s chapter or set aside for expansion / revitalization efforts if donor‟s chapter is inactive, unless formal plans exist to re-active chapter. To provide chapter leaders with turn-key program management services; marketing collateral, chapter branded online fundraising page, online donation collection, management and reporting, judge support tools and award distribution.
Suggested pilot chapters, including leadership team champions (in parenthesis), include: 1. 2. 3. 4.
Pennsylvania State University, PA Omega Gamma (Chip Luman) University of Florida, FL Delta (Jeff Buhler) University of California at Berkeley, CA Tau (Chris Rakunas) Baldwin-Wallace College, OH Beta Tau (Shawn Upchurch)
Special consideration has been given to including University of Wisconsin, WI Omega, but an alumni champion has yet to be identified. Updated July 19, 2010: Bill Sandre joined the EoP Committee. Bill also agreed to serve as the committee‟s spokesperson during program launch, which will be the climax of convention. The EF secured eliminateprejudice.com, .net and .org domains. Additionally, an EliminatePrejuduce YouTube Channel has been established and will serve as a central repository of vids. The program is the talk of Pi Lam Nation!
Pi Lambda Phi Convention 2010
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Elimination of Prejudice Program Timeline 2010 - 2011 Unveil the new Elimination of Prejudice Program at Convention
Aug
Sept
Begin Promoting on Campus
Oct
Campuses Judge Entries & Chapters hold 2nd Fundraising Event
Foundation will Mail Marketing Materials to Promote Year End Giving
Hold First Fundraising Event
Nov
Have Judges Secured
Dec
Jan
Recruit Participants & Continue Promoting the Program
Feb
All Campus Winners compete for International Crown
Mar
Apr Jul
Founder's Day - Awards are given
Pi Lambda Phi Fraternity Kintera FAF Thon Example: AIDS Walk America
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Aug
International Overall Winner Named and Recognized at Convention
Pi Lambda Phi University (PiLamU) If Elimination of Prejudice is the EF‟s capstone initiative, PiLamU will be the buttress that reinforces alignment between educational programming, fundraising and our Creed. Furthermore, our staff has reported, and our higher education alumni have validated, university administrators no longer consider Pi Lambda Phi a competitive expansion choice among fraternal organizations due to the lack of globally distributed and standardized programs. PiLamU represents a unique opportunity to not only catch up, but leap past most Greek letter organization‟s ability to globally distribute standardized programs. With PiLamU, the Fraternity can;
Host an online event calendar with up-to-date information Offer easy to use continuing education courses over the internet Potential to generate „non-dues‟ revenue with pay per use programs Add value for your members by providing learning plans Allow your members to create online courses Host and archive live virtual events and seminars online (WebEx or LiveMeeting) Centralize internal and external training records Integrate training into your membership system Convert existing PowerPoint and Word documents into online learning Test and assess members Launch member chat rooms, blogs, message boards and forums Launch and track distance learning programs, certifications, degree programs Potential to clone websites for customized aesthetics (think FL Delta or CA Tau version of PiLamU) Create and print certificates
PiLamU isn‟t just about undergraduate‟s experience. In fact, alumni users will have leadership development and skills training opportunities at their fingertips regardless of the resources their employers make available. With over 300 courses available with yearly subscription, PiLamU represents tangible value to each and every alumni. Shawn Upchurch is President of UpSearch, a consultancy and Value Added Reseller (VAR) of Learn.com. Shawn generously offered to absorb all costs associated with set-up and first year administration. The fair market value for these services exceeds $10,000. Shawn has also agreed to pass through at cost the $4 per user per month charge from Learn.com. UpSearch‟s team includes instructional design and LMS implementation specialist. Learn.com is the leading provider of workforce development and productivity solutions through a Software-as-a-Service (“SaaS”) business model. UpSearch offers Learn.com‟s Learning Management System (or LMS) software that is Web-based to facilitate anytime, anyplace and any pace access to learning content and administration. LMS is a software package that enables the management and delivery of online and instructor-led training content to learners. Overall, a LMS is a high-level, strategic solution for planning, delivering, and managing all learning events for both internal and external audiences, including online, virtual classroom and instructor-led courses and much more. A LMS is the perfect solution for replacing isolated and fragmented learning programs, like New Member Education and Office Training, with a methodical means of assessing and raising competency and performance levels throughout undergraduate chapters.
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What‟s been done so far? 1. 2. 3.
Annual Giving Levels will redirect a yet-to-be determined % of each donation toward donor‟s annual subscription to PiLamU and the sponsorship of at least one undergraduate. Leadership Consultants have already begun creating content for the New Member Education program with ambitions to introduce PiLamU to this falls class. Alumni Donations thru June 2010 will determine formal project launch.
Updated July 19, 2010: It‟s official; Pi Lambda Phi University is being built right now! UpSearch made a $13,500 commitment to launch PLPU on June 25, 2010, which included a $5,000 consumption deposit. The consumption deposit is used at a rate of $4 per user per month. In essence, the consumption deposit funds this year‟s convention delegates and each chapter‟s recruitment chair (up to 120 users) for two months of recruitment training AND Fall 2010 New Members for three months. In addition, Pi Lambda Phi negotiated exclusive license rights of Phired Up! Productions‟ recruitment content for PLPU.
Kovner Corps & Volunteer Application Process Another recommendations made by the joint committee was to redefine, for the near term, the operational domains of the IHQ and EF, whereas the IHQ would be responsible for all undergraduate programming and activities and the EF would be responsible for all alumni programming, activities and donor relations. The EF‟s leadership team decided to rebrand the previously informal volunteer program as Kovnor Corps. Efforts are underway to modernize the website volunteer section, job descriptions and launch an awareness campaign about Kovnor Corps. Additionally, a volunteer application process is in the design phase and scheduled for release mid-June. The application process will mimic the scholarship application process; a 100% electronic, letter of recommendation and online video interview. Additional design criteria includes background release, engagement survey and profile builder. We have a unique opportunity to listen and learn when volunteers complete an application. At the same time, the Fraternity has an obligation to make sure undergraduate are safe and influenced appropriately. Updated July 19, 2010: The Kovner Corps is scheduled to be announced in the Frater, and the volunteer application process is ready to be loaded onto the website. The 2010 Scholarship Application process was also the first of three processes to be redesigned around HireVue‟s video interview application. The Kovner Corp (volunteer) and Leadership Consultant application processes are mimicking the scholarship application process. Initial project needs are being created now. Numerous volunteers are on standby ready to work through the application process.
Telecommunications Package Beginning June 1, 2010, the EF will be using a virtual phone system; Packet8. The service will be paid for by the EF, but shared with the IHQ who realizes an approximate $3,000 annual savings. Unlike physical phone systems or traditional baby-bell service that restricted service to specific geographic locations, virtual internet based phone systems provide users service as long as they have access to high speed broadband internet. The unified communications solution combines VoIP business phone service with online productivity tools. Administrative staff will simply use the internet-based phone service. Traveling Leadership Consultants will have access to the following productivity tools; online dashboard, online meetings, video conferencing, up to 35 hours of record
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time and internet faxing. The Fraternity gets hosted PBX, auto attendant, extension dialing, directory assistance listing, unlimited phone calling, direct phone numbers, and voicemail to name a few of the features. UpSearch has been using Packet8 since October 2008. Updated July 19, 2010: Packet8 was successfully installed as expected June 2010. The IHQ team has already acknowledged significant improvements in efficiency. This initiative should be considered a success and complete.
Lean & Green Campaign Pi Lambda Phi is changing our business practices to become a more "Lean & Green" nonprofit. Lean & Green means improving processes to be more efficient, reducing waste and being eco-friendly at the same time. It also means being smarter about how we do business so more of your donation touches the lives of our aspiring undergraduates. The flagship of our Lean & Green campaign is an electronic communications effort that will hold firm direct mail costs, while simultaneously allowing us to reach more alumni, more often. For example, by reducing this issue of the Frater from the previously published 12 page 4 color piece to a 4 page 2 color teaser for the full online version, we expanded the number of alumni who received the Frater from 9,500 to 13,500 for practically the same investment. And it goes without saying; the online version removes space and budget constraints allowing you to receive more news, updates and information. In fact, our goal is to compliment our annual Frater mailing with more frequently electronic versions. We remain committed to a personal touch, but we need to do it reasonably with an appreciation toward the reason you donated; our undergraduates development. Among the many other Lean & Green initiatives are reducing paper use, streamlining Fraternity operations with modern communications tools, and staging a "go-green contest" for brothers to suggest green-friendly ideas. Updated July 19, 2010: N/A
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