Recruitment Target Calculator
One factor in long-term recruitment success is having a recruitment plan based on target numbers needed to grow and thrive. Many chapters seek only to replace the men who are graduating at year-end. That’s a recipe for downsizing, as we know there often is 40%-60% fallout between first and last year in the chapter. For instance, a 15-man new member class as freshmen may have as few as only 8 men still active as seniors.
Strong chapters run the numbers to determine what targets they should set, then build a recruitment program around those numbers. Here are a couple calculations that are consistent within the fraternity community:
1. Every year you need to pledge 30%+ of the chapter size you want to be. If you want to be a 50-man chapter, you should pledge 15 or more men each year to get you there. That takes into account the natural fallout mentioned above.
2. Chapters with housing should set an overall membership target of 2 to 2.5 times the number of beds they need to fill. Again, calculating fallout and the fact that seniors rarely want to live in, you ideally want to have enough active members so that all beds are full and there’s a waiting list for moving in.
We’ve built the calculator below, to allow you to play with the numbers to see what your own chapter targets should be. See if it matches what you thought you needed and feel free to call us for ideas on how to reach your goals! A good start is our Recruitment 2.0 outline you can download HERE. Additional resource links can be found below the calculator. Good luck!