The fraternity experience we are accustomed to has changed this year as we work to limit the spread of COVID-19 to our members, universities, and communities. Fraternity housing, meetings, and events have a unique set of challenges and health experts agree that a multi-layered approach provides the greatest opportunity to slow the spread and stop the virus.

With the health and safety of our members and their guests in mind, Phi Delta Theta’s approach includes the following things:

House Corporation Summit

Ongoing education from health industry experts was provided to house corporations throughout the summer. Our House Corporation Summit went virtual in June 2020 and included presentations on property management, insurance and liability, food service, and liability, following guidelines, and lease language.

Breaking the Chain

This manual from James R. Favor & Company was shared and provides basic guidance for chapters to help prevent the transmission of COVID-19 and other contagious diseases to members and guests.

Signage

Using information from this resource, signage was sent to all of our chapters with houses. We hope that these quick tips provide continuous reminders to our students on how to stay safe.

Masks

Doing what ought to be done means something very special to Phis across the world. The Fraternity and its members have the opportunity to set a positive example as we work to stop the spread of COVID-19. Phi Delta Theta sent masks free of charge to all of its returning members this fall.

Alcohol-Free Housing

Additionally, alcohol-free housing provides a more controlled environment, where good judgement and the opportunity for limited gatherings usually prevails and has already been statistically proven to offer the safest fraternity environment.

Traditional recruitment and Phikeia education will not occur this year given the many COVID-related safeguards, restrictions, and policies. Instead, online marketing, getting acquainted with candidates in new ways, ongoing member selection, and socially distanced or virtual ceremonies will replace traditional recruitment methods.

Recruitment Classroom

This summer, Phi Delta Theta introduced its recruitment classroom via PDT U. The classroom includes valuable recruitment education covering many different topics including: discovering potential new members, building authentic relationships, sealing the deal, year-long recruitment, and much more.

The Fraternity’s recruitment resources have also been refreshed.

Phikeia Experience College

From August 3-7, 2020 Phi Delta Theta virtually hosted the Phikeia Experience College for recruitment chairmen and new member educators to help them prepare for the fall. Through the Phikeia Experience College, the Fraternity offered a game plan that ensures consistent recruitment throughout the year and adaptations to the Phikeia education program to provide a more valuable, effective, and efficient experience.

Recruitment Advisers

Phi Delta Theta knows that having a local volunteer assist the chapter with recruitment has great benefits. The Fraternity has identified and placed recruitment-specific volunteers on many of our chapter advisory boards. Recruitment advisers are still needed at the following chapters. If you’d like to help chapters recruit successfully, please volunteer at this link.

Financial Support of Chapters

We know that potential new members will scrutinize financial decisions more than ever. To address this, Phi Delta Theta encourages its alumni and friends consider sponsoring a new members by paying for the Phikeia and/or initiation dues of one or more new members.

The Emerging Leader Scholarship

To recognize and reward emerging leaders at campuses where Phi Delta Theta has a chapter, the Phi Delta Theta Foundation committed $70,000 in Emerging Leader Scholarships during the 2020-21 academic year. One hundred forty scholarships of $500 will be rewarded to young men who have shown promise as a leader, hope to further craft their leadership skills, join Phi Delta Theta during the 2020-21 year, and become a valuable member of Phi Delta Theta.

Phikeia Education

More than one hundred chapters are now participating in the Fraternity’s Phikeia education pilot program. The pilot program resources provide everything chapters need to run a safe, efficient, and effective Phikeia education program in the age of COVID-19. Also included are resources to support facilitating a fully virtual Phikeia education experience.

As a reminder, the Phikeia education pilot program is a flexible experience that combines the chapter’s personality with a standardized framework that focuses on recruitment, brotherhood, philanthropy, and scholarship. This is the foundation for a four-year member development experience that helps members grow personally and stay actively engaged in the chapter.

The Winter Leadership Series

Phi Delta Theta hosted its largest Ihlenfeld University for Online Education (PDT U) educational effort—The Winter Leadership Series—virtually from January 4–21, 2021. At the heart of the series was the desire to provide education tailored for the moment, onboard new officers and members, generate momentum for the upcoming term, and build the skills needed to lead chapters on rapidly changing college campuses.

The series featured vital education for both recruitment chairmen and Phikeia educators through the Recruitment Conference and Phikeia Education Conference.

Phi Delta Theta is confident that its undergraduate members will adapt their practices and learn how to successfully recruit and properly welcome new members into our brotherhood.

Understanding that the Fraternity experience may look and feel a bit different during the 2020-21 academic year, our volunteers and staff have worked to provide new and revised resources and strategies. Additional initiatives will continue to provide Phis with unique opportunities to become the greatest version of themselves.

GHQ Staff Support

GHQ knows the 2020-21 academic year will be one of the most challenging any of us have experienced within Phi Delta Theta. For that reason, GHQ staff members are providing an unprecedented level of support to our undergraduate chapters. Members of the Membership Development and Support and Growth teams, including all senior staff members, have been assigned a group of chapters for which they will serve as staff leads. This individualized attention supports priorities already established by the General Council including health and safety, growth and retention, support and programming, and finances.

myPhiDelt

Phi Delta Theta introduced myPhiDelt in January 2021, its new, best-in-class member portal. The seamless integration between ChapterSpot’s member-management technology and Billhighway | greekbill’s financial platform (greekbill) optimizes chapter operations and support from GHQ with a foundation powered by Salesforce, the world’s largest CRM/database company.

myPhiDelt is bringing many benefits to chapters and members, including recruitment technology, free chapter websites, member search features, online bill pay, greekbill financial management, awards applications, and much more.

Resources for a Unique Year

Staying flexible as a chapter officer will be especially important this year. To best prepare you, we have developed resources that will help chapter leadership re-imagine some of their typical duties and operations. Whether a group is in-person, working with a hybrid model, or online, the following resources address some of the most common concerns you’ll likely face this year.

Chapter Meetings/Operations

• Virtual Chapter Meeting Guide
• Virtual Elections Guide

Chapter Finances

• Guide to General Fraternity Fees
• Financial Obligations to Consider This Year
• Budget Template Spreadsheet

Phikeia Education

• Virtual Phikeia Experience Handbook
• PDT U: Phikeia Education
• The Phikeia Manual (PDF)

COVID-19 Reporting

• COVID-19 Incident Report

As always, we have many different officer and volunteer resources in our normal resource pages.

Revised Ceremonies

Phikeia induction and initiation ceremonies will certainly look different in the age of COVID-19. The guidance offered by GHQ provides a way to conduct these ceremonies in a safe, socially distanced way while ensuring our newest brothers will remember them for the rest of their lives.

To better understand how to practice social distancing in ceremonies contact Director of Chapter Support Todd Simmons.

Chapter Operations and Personal Development Modules

As part of the educational support we are providing to our undergraduate leaders in the era of COVID-19, the GHQ staff has developed ten chapter operation modules in PDT U to help our members navigate the year while continuing to grow as leaders and as individual. Topics include chapter specific topics such as undergraduate engagement, financial management, and alumni engagement.

As our members prepare to transition to a professional career or graduate studies, GHQ introduced three PDT U modules that focus on post-graduation life in the areas of self-awareness, financial management, and forging a career path (tips for new professionals). Regardless of these challenging times, it’s has never been more important to focus on improving your personal and professional trajectory to achieve success.

Pursuit of Greatness – Member Development Program

Phi Delta Theta undergraduates’ personal and professional potential will not be reached without developing vital interpersonal skills and career attributes desired by employers.

Because the classroom can fall short in developing these skills and attributes, Phi Delta Theta now offers the Pursuit of Greatness, a self-navigated personal development experience that combines online education, applied learning, and will soon offer alumni mentorship opportunities.

The Winter Leadership Series

Phi Delta Theta hosted its largest Ihlenfeld University for Online Education (PDT U) educational effort—The Winter Leadership Series—virtually from January 4–21, 2021. At the heart of the series was the desire to provide education tailored for the moment, onboard new officers and members, generate momentum for the upcoming term, and build the skills needed to lead chapters on rapidly changing college campuses.

The series featured the Fraternity’s trademark educational offerings; Presidents Leadership Conference, Kleberg Emerging Leaders Institute, and vital education for both recruitment chairmen and Phikeia educators through the Recruitment Conference and Phikeia Education Conference. The collection of conferences featured world-class general session speakers, self-directed learning exercises, and faculty-guided small group sessions utilizing the online class platforms powered by PDT U.

Membership Statuses Explained

We know there might be uncertainty about whether or not some members will be returning to campus throughout this year. It is important to understand the Fraternity’s membership statuses.

Philanthropy – Iron Horse Campus Relay

To honor Lou Gehrig and to continue the fight against ALS, Iron Phi is excited to introduce the Iron Horse Campus Relay, a virtual relay and philanthropic event that Phi Delta Theta chapters can host, no matter if classes are online or in-person.

Phi Delt chapters can select a date of their choice to host their relay. On that date, participants collectively complete 81 miles (representing 81 years since Lou Gehrig’s Luckiest Man speech). The 81 miles can be completed from anywhere in the world by walking, running, biking, swimming or any other activity that participants consider athletic.

Community Service – LiveLikeLou’s Great Outdoor Cleanup

More than 100 ALS families have been matched with members of Phi Delta Theta for the Great LiveLikeLou Outdoor Cleanup. The program has been a great success, serving ALS families in our communities and assisting them with a wide variety of outdoor cleanup help. Connecting your members and your chapter with an ALS family in your community can be one of the most meaningful things you do this year.

Family Engagement

Phi Delta Theta understands how important family engagement can be to the success of a chapter, and it provides an additional layer of support. When families are engaged, many additional benefits are introduced to the chapter. Phi Delta Theta encourages all of its chapters to develop a Family Club, and we’ve created this guide to help. The Fraternity and its Family Council will be reaching out those chapters without Family Clubs throughout the year to assist.

Phi Delt Speaker Series – Phi Class

Learning from our alumni brothers is one of the greatest benefits of Phi Delta Theta. That is why GHQ has worked with some of our most successful alumni to create Phi Delt speaker series, a set of online modules that present life-long leadership lessons from brothers in all walks of life.

Job Placement

The seniors from the class of 2020-21, and ever year after, will be published in our graduating senior guide and distributed to all alumni and friends of Phi Delta Theta. Additional partnerships and programs are forthcoming to help our rising Phis.

Best Practice Sharing Via Slack

Our brotherhood has spread across North America for decades but this year it just feels a bit different since we may not be able to meet in-person. Our new Phi Delt Support Center built on Slack provides a single space for all undergraduate officers and volunteers to connect, ask questions, network, and share best practices. This space will act as the hub for our support of chapters this year. Sign-up for this virtual Phi Delt Nation.

The resources from our past success put us in a stable position to rise to this challenge, but there is much work to be done and many opportunities to support our members during these challenging times. We are still the best-valued experience of any major fraternity when including membership dues and insurance.

We are making every dollar count.

Membership Dues

Membership dues have been discounted from $145 to $135 per initiated member for the 2021 year. The annual dues cover one’s membership from February 1, 2021 to January 31, 2022. All Phikeias who joined prior to July 1, 2020 and initiated in the fall are included in the membership bill. All Phikeias who join this fall and will also be initiated this fall are NOT included in the membership bill.

Convention Assessment

The 2020 General Convention was postponed and will now occur from June 17-20, 2021 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Insurance and Risk Management

As we welcome a new and very different academic year due to the presence of COVID-19, a continued focus on health and safety is more important than ever. We understand that in addition to safety, finances are also front of mind. This memo highlighted information about cost and timing of Phi Delta Theta’s insurance and risk management program.