Real questions,
real answers

This is one of the most common treasurer headaches — and it has a simple fix: set dues based on last semester's actuals, plus a 10–15% buffer. You almost never need to know exact future costs to set a reasonable number.

Here's the process we recommend:

• Pull last semester's expense report. If you don't have one, ask your outgoing treasurer or national chapter for a general breakdown.
• Add up your fixed costs first — national dues, insurance, any housing or facility fees. These rarely change much.
• Estimate variable costs (events, socials, philanthropy) based on what your chapter typically spends. Round up generously.
• Subtract expected fundraising revenue and divide what's left by your active member count.
• Add 10–15% as a buffer. This covers surprise costs and means you won't have to do an emergency mid-semester dues increase.

If you significantly over-collect, you can roll the surplus into next semester's events fund or offer sisters a small rebate at year-end — both are great for morale. It's always better to collect slightly too much than to fall short.

Most restaurants offer between 10% and 20% of sales on a dine-and-donate night. The standard you'll see most often is 15%, which works out well for both sides.

A few things that affect what you can negotiate:

• Your expected headcount matters most. If you can credibly commit to bringing in 40–60 people, you have real leverage. Restaurants care about guaranteed table turns.
• Day of the week affects their willingness. A Tuesday night with 15% is a great deal for them; a Friday or Saturday at 15% is less attractive because they'd fill those seats anyway. Aim for slower nights and you'll get better terms.
• Smaller, independent restaurants are more flexible than chains. A local burger spot or pizza place will often go to 20% if you're bringing a crowd. Chains usually have a fixed program — take it or leave it.
• Ask for a flat donation option too. Some restaurants prefer to write a $200 check rather than track percentage of sales. That can be easier for both of you.

A realistic expectation: if you bring 40 people who each spend ~$15, at 15% you're netting about $90. Not huge, but it's effort-light and great for building business relationships that turn into bigger sponsors later.

First: this happens to almost every chapter at some point. It stings, but it's fixable. Here's how to handle it cleanly.

Step 1 — Do a real post-mortem. Before anything else, figure out exactly where the money went. Was it a cost overrun (venue, catering, supplies)? Lower-than-expected attendance? A sponsor who pulled out? You need to know the cause before you can fix it.

Step 2 — Don't panic-raise dues. A mid-semester dues increase creates resentment and is hard to walk back. Instead, look at whether your events fund or operating buffer can absorb the loss.

Step 3 — Run a quick-win fundraiser next. Something low-effort with near-certain positive return — a merch pre-order, a campus candy gram campaign, or a trivia night. The goal isn't to fully recover in one event, just to get some momentum and morale back.

Step 4 — Build a P&L template for every future event. Estimate revenue and expenses before you commit to anything. Our free Event P&L Worksheet (on the Resources page) will walk you through it. One loss can be bad luck; two in a row is a planning problem.

Be transparent with your exec board — they'll respect honesty far more than finding out later. A clear recovery plan presented confidently does a lot to restore trust.

Short answer: it's technically allowed in most cases, but it's not advisable — and your national headquarters may explicitly prohibit it in their financial guidelines. Check there first.

Here's why even when it's "allowed," it creates problems:

• Personal PayPal accounts are not designed for organizational money. If large amounts flow through a personal account, PayPal may flag or freeze it — and it muddies your personal finances.
• Record-keeping is a mess. PayPal transactions don't map cleanly to budget line items, and end-of-year reporting becomes much harder.
• It creates liability for the treasurer personally. If funds are disputed, the money is technically in your name.

The better solution: open a free business checking account at a local credit union or a bank like Chase or Bank of America. Most will open one for a student organization with no minimum balance. You get a chapter debit card, proper transaction records, and clear separation of your personal and chapter finances.

For collecting dues and payments from members, Venmo and Zelle are fine for individual transactions — but they should all flow into the chapter account, not a personal one. Use the business account as the hub.

This is one of the most emotionally charged situations a treasurer faces — because it sits right at the intersection of finances and friendships. The key is to keep it professional, not personal.

Start with a private, personal conversation. Not a group announcement, not a passive-aggressive post in the chapter GroupMe. A one-on-one message: "Hey, I noticed your dues are still outstanding — is everything okay? I want to make sure we work something out." This approach catches most situations. Financial hardship, confusion about amounts, or just procrastination — a gentle personal nudge resolves most of it.

Offer a payment plan. If a sister is genuinely struggling financially, a structured plan (e.g., half now, half by mid-semester) is far better than a hard line that leaves someone feeling forced out. Most will honor a plan they agreed to.

Know your chapter's standing policy. Most national organizations have a formal policy on financial standing — sisters who are more than X weeks overdue lose access to certain events, voting rights, or chapter privileges. Use this as a matter-of-fact reminder, not a threat: "Per chapter policy, members more than 30 days overdue on dues lose event access — I want to make sure that doesn't happen to you."

Escalate to your president or advisor if needed. You are not the enforcer alone. If a sister is repeatedly unresponsive or outright refusing, it becomes an exec board issue — bring it there. Document everything along the way.

The goal is always to keep the sister in the chapter and keep your finances whole. Those two things are usually compatible with the right approach.