Use chapter members to create Mortar Board "buzz" on campus

Maximize your chapter's recruitment efforts by making sure everyone on campus knows that the invitation of Mortar Board membership is one of the top honors a student can receive.

• Every chapter member is a potential walking billboard for Mortar Board. Encourage members to wear Mortar Board t-shirts or hoodies. Our white screened tees are on sale now through February 20 for just $4.99 each, or a special bulk rate of $3.99 each when chapters order 10 or more! 
• Meet with people face-to-face. Mortar Board members are incredibly active on campus and are members of dozens of organizations. Make a list of all the groups your members are in and ask the members to make an announcement about Mortar Board at the next meeting. Don't forget to assign members to make announcements during Greek chapter meetings or dinners, if these are common on your campus.
• Take it to Facebook! Members should list Mortar Board as an activity in their Facebook profile, join your chapter's Facebook group, and become a fan of the national Mortar Board Facebook page.
• Tweet away. Tons of college students are on Twitter, so make sure your members know to use the hashtag #MortarBoard when they talk about activities. National @MortarBoard on Twitter can help share important chapter information such as recruitment event dates.
• Build personal relationships. Give all chapter members a handful of applications and ask them to hand them out to qualified juniors they know from class, activities, intramural teams or student organizations. Members should chat with the prospective candidates and tell them about Mortar Board and how much they love their chapter.
• Go viral. Post a recruitment video on YouTube and Facebook complete with positive member testimonials and chapter contact information. Ask your members to share it any way they can - with listserves, posting it to their online profiles, etc.

Tapping, orientation and initiation: keys to membership success

Membership selection is vital to the success of your Mortar Board chapter. Beyond the selection meeting and submitting candidates to the National Office for approval, the events that follow are essential to future membership involvement:

Tapping
Tapping is a time-honored tradition, dating back before the birth of Mortar Board to the founding of its oldest chapter at Cornell University.  The term, taken from the literal act of tapping a new member with a mortarboard, has become synonymous with membership in the organization.  For many alumni, one of their fondest Mortar Board memories is how they were publicly tapped.

• Helpful tips and sample videos
• Membership Selection Handbook
• Sample tapping script

Orientation
Orientation, a step required in the national Bylaws, helps to educate potential members and transition your chapter year after year. Your orientation should inspire, motivate, instill pride and inform new members of chapter obligations. Refer to the orientation portion on page 11 of the Membership Selection Handbook when planning your orientation agenda.

Initiation
Initiation should be a special, memorable ceremony that members and their families can look back on fondly for many years to come.  The Initiation Ceremony Booklet, complete with sheet music for Mortar Board’s songs and a script of the national initiation ceremony, will guide your chapter to success.

Complete resources and information related to the membership selection process can be found at www.mortarboard.org/membership.

Mortar Board Week is just a month away

Mortar Board Week, held February 14 - 20, 2010, is the perfect time for chapters to hold events and celebrate the founding of Mortar Board. Depending on your chapter's size and local campus activities, you may choose to hold one event for the week or host daily activities.

Detailed assistance with both planning and publicity for the week, including an incredibly helpful Visibility Resources Folder complete with sample postcards, posters and press releases, is available at www.mortarboard.org/mbweek.

Gain campus visibility
Whether you choose to create a display in the student union, wear chapter t-shirts, advertise in the student newspaper, or "chalk" sidewalks, there are dozens of ways to improve your chapter's visibility on campus during Mortar Board Week - tools which can help improve recruitment efforts.

Incorporate recruitment
Depending on your chapter's selection and recruitment schedule, the application deadline for membership may fall after the end of Mortar Board Week. If this is the case, Mortar Board Week can be an ideal time to promote Mortar Board membership by holding information sessions, meeting with potential members or sharing application forms.

Service projects
Mortar Board Week is an ideal time to honor the Society's service ideal. Large or small, your chapter can plan volunteer activities to fit your campus celebration.

Social events
Give members the chance to bond and celebrate Mortar Board's founding. Social events can be open to all students, alumni, prospective members or active members.

Helpful resources
Mortar Board has created a compressed Visibility Resources Folder of materials (including logos, fliers, press release templates and e-postcards) that can help your chapter publicize Mortar Board Week.

Top Virtual Book Drive chapter donors announced

The second annual Virtual Book Drive, held in conjunction with national nonprofit First Book, successfully raised $25,478.85 to contribute to the battle against illiteracy. In full, 56 chapters participated in this fundraising challenge.

Overlapping with Mortar Board's national project, "Reading is Leading," the Virtual Book Drive allows Mortar Board chapters, alumni and friends to join forces to provide children from low-income backgrounds with their very first brand-new book. Last year, 46 chapters raised more than $25,000 for the Virtual Book Drive. 

The chapters who raised the most in 2009 are as follows:

1. Hope College - raised $8,535.38
2. Kansas State University - raised $3,060.04
3. Western New England College - raised $2,157.00

Honorable mentions (listed in alphabetical order):

• Case Western Reserve University
• Indiana University of Pennsylvania
• University of Montana
• University of Northern Colorado
• Seattle Pacific University

Hope College not only received the top award for the overall chapter challenge and supported Pine Creek Elementary School, but received each monthly top donor award during the drive for August, September, October and November, resulting in an additional $400 in Borders gift cards to support a second recipient, CASA (Children’s After School Achievement).

Illiteracy is linked to nearly every major socioeconomic crisis today.  Children who cannot read are statistically more likely as adults to suffer poor health, struggle in the job market, rely on government assistance, and find themselves in the criminal justice system.  Since 2002, Mortar Board has made a national commitment to combat illiteracy with the "Reading is Leading" initiative.

Chapter spotlight: Hope College
By Allison Hartley, Chapter Communications Chair

The Alcor chapter was overwhelmed by the success of the national Virtual Book Drive fundraiser this fall.  As a group, the chapter raised $8,535.38 to support Pine Creek Elementary School, a local school with a high percentage of at-risk students.  Their principal, Rita Nowling, was exceedingly grateful for the support, sending a message declaring, “I am honestly speechless!! PLEASE send an address where I could send a thank you note.  I want to stand on the roof and shout it!”  To raise this money, the alumni chair sent letters describing the fundraiser to all Hope College Mortar Board alumni, whose compassion for the cause and continued devotion to the Alcor chapter was evident in the final total. The chapter will plan a special outing to Pine Creek to read with the students during the spring semester, once they have received their books.
         
In addition to these funds, as the winning group each month, the chapter donated $400 in Borders gift cards to CASA (Children’s After School Achievement), a program on Hope’s campus which helps at-risk elementary students succeed academically through one-on-one tutoring. Yearly, the chapter organizes two events for the CASA students—an afternoon of pumpkin carving in October and passing out Christmas stockings, which were decorated and stuffed at a recent meeting.

Mortar Board Week is seen as an opportunity for the Alcor chapter to continue to publicize its strong role on campus. This spring, there are plans to have a table set up with display boards and photo albums to give out cookies and brochures explaining Mortar Board. However, through its active involvement on campus and in the community, the chapter has already significantly strengthened its visibility:

• In the fall, the chapter raised more than $4,000 and was the leading fundraising team on campus during Relay for Life, an event to help raise money for cancer research.
• The campuswide Last Lecture Series, an event which calls on professors to give a speech as if it were their last, typically receives capacity crowds and is held four times throughout the year.
• The chapter sponsors two meals on campus that publicize the chapter to various groups—the International Thanksgiving dinner, which is a chance for Mortar Board members and international students to share a Thanksgiving meal together, and the Wearing of the Blue Breakfast, a event honoring freshmen and sophomores who make the dean’s list.
• The chapter holds an annual Disability Prom in the spring.
• The chapter is incredibly involved in the campus dance marathon.

Your chapter can be in the spotlight too!  Nominate your chapter by sending your chapter name, university, e-mail address and what makes your chapter unique to enews@mortarboard.org.

Deadlines and reminders

All report forms are available online and should be submitted to reports@mortarboard.org!

PAST DUE - December 15

• Membership Recruitment and Selection Plan (MRSP) due

January 31

• Applications for Mortar Board postgraduate fellowships due

March 15

• Excellence in Advising nominations due
• Alumni award nominations due
• Conference assistant application due
• Forum submissions due
• Conference registration opens

May 15

• Chapter Annual Report due
• Chapter Finance Report due
• Final Official Membership Report (OMR) due
• Officer Address Information Form due
• Chapter Project Grant application due
• Conference registration due
• Historian Annual Report due
• Annual chapter award nominations due
• All fees due

Icebreaker of the month

Member Awards

As a fun social event and mock officer election, consider electing Mortar Board members to fun awards, such as:

- Best listener
- Most Shy
- Most Talkative
- Most likely to be a Mortar Board advisor
- Always on a cell phone
- Most Mortar Board spirit
- Most scholarly member
- Most committed to service
- Greatest leader

Give each award winner a prize such as a Mortar Board coffee cup, notepad or t-shirt. You may choose to present these awards at the new member orientation to help show new members how close current members are and the fun that is in store!

Recruitment tip of the month

With the start of a new term you have an opportunity to catch students’ enthusiasm and remind them about becoming involved with Mortar Board.  Make sure you spread the word about membership in a variety of ways including e-mail, "chalking," fliers, word-of-mouth, campus mail, cosponsoring events, and more.

Check your records! The Membership Recruitment and Selection Plan (MRSP) was due to the National Office on December 15. If you did not submit it on time, please do so immediately.

Fellowship deadline rapidly approaching

Each year, the Mortar Board National Foundation awards fellowships to members to assist in financing their postgraduate education.  Thousands of dollars will be available for Mortar Board fellowships for the 2010-2011 academic year, with applications due on or before January 31, 2010. 

Application
More information

Helpful recruitment brochures available

Mortar Board brochures are available, free of charge, to each chapter. These are great for displaying at informational tables during the selection process!

To request your brochures, simply e-mail mortarboard@mortarboard.org with the following information:

• School name
• Mailing address
• Quantity requested
• Name and phone number of chapter representative requesting brochures

Get your OMR in early for a special bonus*

Chapters that submit their Official Membership Report (OMR) by Monday, March 15 will receive complimentary embossed Mortar Board folders for each new initiate.

*While supplies last

White T-shirts on sale now

Does your chapter need something to wear to show your Mortar Board pride this February?  If so, the National Office has the perfect sale for you!  Our white screened tees are on sale now through February 20 for just $4.99 each, or a special bulk rate of $3.99 each when chapters order 10 or more! 

Get your T-shirts today!

Increase your membership applications by 10 percent

All chapters have been presented with a “10 in ‘10” challenge to increase the number of applicants for each chapter by 10 percent.

Based on the numbers reported by your chapter in 2009, your chapter should make it a local goal to increase campus visibility and membership recruitment, and therefore receive 10 percent more applications. If you do not know the number of applications received in 2009, please contact your section coordinator or the National Office.

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