Did you know that November is National Philanthropy Month?

In honor of National Philanthropy Month, please take time to celebrate Delta Zeta’s accomplishments and strive to do more to help the communities in which we live, attend school, and work. The entire month of November celebrates philanthropy, with National Philanthropy Day occurring on November 15.

Within your chapter, acknowledge the goals you have reached – maybe your chapter hosted a new event, raised more money than ever before, or partnered with an organization to highlight a cause near and dear to the hearts of your campus or community. Please take time to acknowledge and thank sisters who have given extra effort and reward those sisters who have reached their community service goals.

While we celebrate what has been accomplished, please use this time to look forward and consider how you can strive to do more in your community. If your chapter has not done so, please set a goal for raising dollars or volunteering of your time to support one of our national partners or a local organization. Take time to discuss as a chapter what our philanthropy means to you. From there, change the discussion to what you are doing to support your campus or community. Is there a new event to host? Can you do something different to increase participation in your event? What can you do to raise additional funds for your charity? What motivates your chapter members to volunteer their time? How will you measure success? The possibilities are endless!

For National Philanthropy Month, please challenge yourself and your chapter to do more for your campus and community. While there are many ways to raise funds, we can give of our time and talents in a variety of ways as well. During 2012-2013, our collegiate sisters completed over 650,000 service hours. According to the Independent Sector, one hour of volunteer time has a value of $22.14. Delta Zeta’s volunteer service is worth over $14 million.

Chapters can volunteer with a local organizations, raise awareness of a particular cause on campus, or host an event supporting one of our national partners. Each and every dollar raised and hour volunteered is a treasure!

During 2012-2013, our sisters raised over $1,000,000 to support philanthropic causes on their campuses and within their communities. In this season of Thanksgiving, Delta Zeta's National Philanthropy Committee is grateful for your efforts in helping to support so many worthwhile causes!

Please continue to uphold one of our values – giving graciously – and celebrate National Philanthropy Month.

Celebrating 111 Years of Sisterhood

It is always inspiring to think about how six different women came together in friendship to begin what we know today as Delta Zeta. They weren’t much different from our newest members who joined our sisterhood this fall. Delta Zeta’s Founders, Alfa Lloyd, Mary Collins, Anna Keen, Mabelle Minton, Anne Simmons and Julia Bishop, went off to college in the fall of 1902. They were all from Ohio, all had an interest in furthering their education and all in a day when women were hardly encouraged to attend university. They became part of the first class at Miami University to enroll women as full time students. What firsts are today’s newest Delta Zeta members going to be a part of?

Today Delta Zeta inspires women to live out the vision born that fall in 1902. Though Delta Zeta was incorporated in the State of Ohio on October 24, 1902, which also happened to be Alfa Lloyd’s birthday, our story did not stop there. Since that time more than 250,000 women have experienced sisterhood and friendship much like our Founders did that first Fall. Delta Zeta members today are roommates, classmates, big sisters, study buddies, lunch partners, travel partners, you name it. So very much like Alfa, Mary, Anna, Mabelle, Anne and Julia were for each other.  

This Founders Day, 111 years later, take a moment to think about those special sisters in your life today. And join us in thanking our Founders for creating the opportunity for us to be connected because of Delta Zeta.

Please share your stories, photos and celebrations of your Founders Day this year with us by posting to our Facebook page, tweeting us your event or emailing us at webmaster@dzshq.com.

Delta Zeta Officer Elections: Do you have what it takes to hold office?

The election of officers is one of the most important decisions a chapter makes each year. Officers set the tone and establish the direction of a chapter as short term actions may have long term, lasting effects. All chapter officers and committee chairmen shall be elected no later than March 1 unless the campus or chapter situation requires an exception to be made with approval of the College Chapter Director or the Regional Collegiate Director. (Constitution, Article XII, Section 5) But, we know that many of your chapters are nearing the end of your officer terms and elections start to occur as early as this month in some cases.

There are several factors which help a chapter successfully through to the time of officer elections. A chapter must be educated yearly in the nomination and election process. It takes time to effectively conduct elections. Dates should be scheduled early on the calendar for the selection of a Nominating Committee Chairman and her committee, officer interviews, election of officers and their installation. Two chapter meetings need to be held in order to effectively conduct officer elections. For a detailed instructions on Delta Zeta’s Nominations and Elections process, please review the manual on our website.

Members should consider the qualifications required of each office. Elections are not a popularity contest but a means of selecting the most qualified person for the office. You can find officer job descriptions in the Resources section on www.deltazeta.org.member in the Collegiate Chapter Officer Training folder

Do you think you have what it takes to lead your chapter? We want to know! Tell us by leaving a comment below and let us know if you will be the next Chapter President or perhaps the VP of Membership. Delta Zeta continues to grow and thrive because of the contributions of our members!