Strive for Five: A National Initiative for Growth

Strive for Five

A National Initiative for Growth

Why is recruitment so vital to our success? The concept of recruitment is nothing new to Kappa Kappa Psi. Similar to many other organizations and band programs across the country, recruitment is an ongoing and essential factor in our growth and success. It is a never-ending cycle that has the potential for great rewards, but also holds tremendous pressure. As a membership-driven organization, the vitality and progress of Kappa Kappa Psi is contingent on how effectively we recruit new members – striking a balance between quality and quantity. The act of recruiting, however, has become increasingly difficult for our chapters due to limited resources, the loss of “institutional knowledge”, and the lack of an intentional plan – painpoints that became more profound due to the global shutdown.

After nearly two years of operating virtually due to the pandemic, our Fraternity has gone through many changes. One of the most notable is the dramatic decline in our membership size. In the Fall of 2019, we started off the biennium with 4,741 Active members. Today, in the Fall of 2022, we sit at about 3,175 – a drop of over 1,550 or 33% of our membership. As you can see, this is a significant dip and greatly impacts our organization in many ways. Since the start of this biennium, we have seen nearly 10 chapters close due to various recruitment-related issues, including financial burdens and capacity constraints. On the national level, our budget is created with the average number of dues-paying members in mind to ensure that we have the financial means to support all of our programming, personnel, and operations. When the numbers don’t match up, further issues arise. At the 2022 Summer Council Meeting, we were faced with a difficult decision – to either cut programs and decrease support for our chapters or to really dig in and double-down on our goal to help chapters recruit more intentionally and effectively. I am proud to say that we chose the latter.

Brothers, on behalf of the National Leadership Team, I am excited to share with you our national membership drive initiative, “STRIVE FOR FIVE”. This idea came about after a conversation with Dr. Michael Golemo, past National President (1999-2001), who was one of the masterminds behind our last national membership drive in 1997-1999. The purpose of this initiative is to ensure that our organization – from the local to national level – has a shared goal and plan that will help our chapters be more intentional and effective with bringing in new members. The goal is not to dictate what chapters do, but rather to provide support through tools and resources that will aid in their membership recruitment efforts. As a diverse organization, we recognize that chapters are distinctly different and are affected by varying factors. With that in mind, your National Leadership Team worked together to curate a collection of tools and resources that are easily accessible and adaptable. This collection, of course, will continue to develop and refine as we re-establish our “new normal” together. Intentional and effective membership recruitment may not always be easy, but it can be simple.

The STRIVE FOR FIVE should also be used as inspiration for chapters to set SMARTIE goals: Specific, Measurable, ActionOriented, Relevant, Time-Bound, Inclusive, and Equitable. Before you develop your chapter’s recruitment calendar, do you sit down as a group to discuss goals, roles, and expectations? Does every member in the chapter have a clear understanding of their role in actively recruiting for Kappa Kappa Psi? Have you envisioned what it would look like for your chapter to recruit five more members, talk to five more people, or grow your membership by five percent? While five may be an arbitrary number, we highly encourage Brothers to use this as a metric to establish clearly defined goals that make sense for their chapter. Once you have these goals in place, leverage the tools and resources to develop your plan. Make sure to visit www.KKPSI.org/RECRUITMENT to learn more about STRIVE FOR FIVE.

On this page you will find three main sections:

• Talking Points - conversation points that any/all Brothers can use to spark discussion with interested band members

• Activity Bank - collection of activities approved by the

National Curriculum Committee that chapters can use in their recruitment events