
- Utilize prospect research.
- Implement fraternity recruitment software.
- Network with brothers or sisters and alumni.
- Brand your fraternity recruitment.
- Incorporate smart communication strategies.
- Build from your fundraising success.
1. Utilize prospect research for fraternity recruitment.
Prospect research is used nationally in Greek organizations to identify brothers and sisters with the highest giving potential. Prospect research allows Greek organizations to learn more about an individual’s professional trajectory and the causes they care about. Likewise, your chapter can perform prospect research on a much smaller scale. And instead of asking for financial contributions, you can leverage what you learn to find the best possible recruits! In prospect research, you search for markers such as:- Social connections: Do recruits have family members or friends in your fraternity or sorority?
- Interests: Do your recruits’ activities reflect the values of your organization?
- History of giving: Have recruits supported causes connected to your philanthropy before? Other charitable causes?
- Commitment: Have your recruits demonstrated that they can commit to a cause and stick to it?
2. Implement fraternity recruitment software
Think of just how many moving pieces are involved in rush:- Collecting recruits’ contact information
- Filling out paperwork
- Coordinating events
- Communicating with recruits and current brothers and sisters

3. Network with brothers or sisters and alumni.
Recruitment is a year-round process, though you’ll be focusing on your recruitment efforts more than usual during your university’s rush. To ensure you’re always promoting your fraternity or sorority to potential new members, even outside of rush, lean on the best referrals you have: your brothers or sisters and your alumni. The higher opinion your members have of your Greek organization, the higher praise they’ll sing to younger people. And young people who hear great thing about your fraternity or sorority turn into potential members later on. The key is to maintain positive relationships with your chapter members. Staying on top of your relationships is easier when brothers and sisters are still on campus, but it’s not so hard to network with alumni, either:- Send out an alumni newsletter a few times a year. You should have your alumni’s email address, so use it to share news about the chapter’s on-campus activities and fundraising successes.
- Organize alumni-only events in cities with high concentrations of your graduated members, taking a hint from a popular university alumni engagement strategy. Happy hour is always a popular option. Your alumni will appreciate the opportunity to get together with old friends and network with new friends that live in the area.
- Include alumni in fundraising efforts for a double benefit: you bring in more donations for your philanthropic efforts, and you remind your alumni about the good work your chapter does.
4. Brand your fraternity recruitment.
It’s a simple formula: the more students that know about your fraternity or sorority, the more potential recruits you have. But of course, it’s not just awareness that draws recruits. You need to intentionally build a brand around your recruitment efforts so you can make sure the recruits who will make the best fit make their way to you. You’ve got plenty of options for branding your recruitment. Some of the most popular options are T-shirts, buttons, hats, and other items your members can wear. See how effective t-shirts can be for identifying your members?
5. Incorporate smart communication strategies.
You can’t organize a successful recruitment effort if you’re not organized about your communication. Your recruits need to know when to show up and what to bring, and your current members need to know what their responsibilities are. Make sure your leadership team has clearly set a communication plan before rush begins, including:- What platform will you use to communicate with recruits? (Hint: Something free and easy to use.)
- What kinds of messages will you send to recruits and current brothers and sisters? Event reminders, paperwork, etc.? (Hint: Stick to logistics about recruitment events and paperwork.)
- Which members of the leadership team will be in charge of sending which kinds of messages? (Hint: The fewer people, the better.)
- How often will you send messages, not overwhelming recruits or leaving them with too many questions? (Hint: At least three reminders about events will ensure no one forgets.)
6. Build from your fundraising success.
You can think of recruitment as a way to find the most interesting brothers and sisters on campus. But really, recruitment should be an extension of your philanthropy. Your fraternity or sorority was founded to do good in the world, so use rush to find the people who will continue your legacy. Include information about your philanthropy whenever you can, including:- At events.
- On your T-shirts.
- On your chapter’s website.
- On your university’s website.
- In your outreach (emails, flyers, etc.).
With these recruitment strategies in your wheelhouse, you’ll be sure to find the perfect recruits for your Greek organization. Don’t forget that just like any strategy, these are best planned in advance. Don’t wait — get started right away to make next year’s rush the smoothest in your chapter’s history! Want to know more about fraternity and sorority management? Check out these resources to become an expert:
- Prospect Research for Greek Organizations. Prospect research can pay off after recruitment, too! When looking for gifts to support your national headquarters, prospect research can help you comb through your alumni to find the most likely major donors. Read through our guide to learn how to make the most of prospect research.
- University Fundraising. Fraternities and sororities can learn a lot about fundraising and alumni engagement from universities. Take a look through our university fundraising guide to see which tips can also apply to your next fundraising or alumni engagement efforts.
- OmegaFi’s Guide to Mastering Rush. Can’t get enough tips for blowing away recruitment this year? Head over to OmegaFi to learn even more about the intersection of communication, networking, software, and fraternity and sorority recruitment.
