ACACIAconnect Service Hours Feature

ACACIAconnect has a new Service Hours feature that our chapters can use to track service hours for all members of the chapter.  Simply login to your ACACIAconnect dashboard, select Tools, then select Service Hours to log your activity.

Hours can be logged as they are completed, or they can be logged at a later date - so if your chapter is already using another format to track these hours, that is ok.  However, it would be ideal if all members log their service hours by the end of each semester.

Any questions?  Email Patrick McGovern at pmcgovern@acacia.org .

Here's a short video to demonstrate the functionality:

Top 5 Ways to Optimize your Website’s Homepage for Recruitment Success

Top 5 Ways to Optimize your Website’s Homepage for Recruitment Success

#1 Recruitment Sign-up Form

• Encourage prospective recruits to leave their contact information with you!
• After your visitors submit the form, your recruitment officers will be emailed their names, phone numbers and other details (it’s also saved in your Recruitment Database).
• Some chapters make the mistake of putting the sign-up form on its own Recruitment page but Webmasters should always keep a short and simple recruitment sign-up form on their homepage.

#2 Revolving Twitter Feed Widget

• The simple motion of a scrolling Twitter feed conveys that your chapter is active and makes your website look trendy compared to other groups/clubs on campus.
• Don’t have your own Twitter? No worries, it’s perfectly fine to HQ’s Twitter feed (@AcaciaHQ) –it will still make your chapter look active.

#3 Image Gallery Widget

• It’s a great idea to place a small Gallery on the homepage showcasing recent activities and great moments. Galleries are excellent opportunities to impress prospective recruits.
• But… avoid using multiple/duplicate images of one event on your homepage. Try to find 1 or 2 images that highlight a recent event and aim to show as many different events as possible. If you have 10+ images from one event, pick just 1 and save the other 9 for an album on one of your inner pages.
• Lastly, make sure pictures are up-to-date! Using pictures on your homepage that are older than 3 months old will make your website look neglected.

#4 Recruitment Calendar

• Place an Event Listing widget on the homepage to showing your next 3 to 5 recruitment events and put it right next to the recruitment sign-up form.
• Remember that your goal is to get prospects to see WHY THEY SHOULD JOIN your organization. Consider showing a list of your upcoming socials, academic, and athletic events that are members-only as well.

#5 Recruitment Officer Contact Information

• Make sure your chapter’s Recruitment Officer can be identified (and it’s even better if there’s a picture or link to their Facebook Profile).
• Prospects that are invited to your events will want to introduce themselves. This makes it more comfortable for the prospect knowing he has a point-of-contact with the chapter.
• This is also important so that your Recruitment Officer can have the opportunity to meet the prospects and introduce them to your other members.

Acacia Fraternity Names New Leadership to Foundation and International Headquarters

(INDIANAPOLIS, IN) October 17, 2011 – The Acacia Fraternity, an international college fraternity for men founded in 1904 at the University of Michigan and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, announces the naming of Darold W. Larson as the first full-time Executive Director for the Acacia Fraternity Foundation and Keith M. Bushey as Executive Director for the Fraternity.

Darold will be responsible for providing the professional leadership in the management of the affairs of the Acacia Fraternity Foundation whose purpose is to advance the educational mission of the Acacia Fraternity. He will oversee the financial management, fund development, public relations, organizational records, and implementation of board policies in these and related areas of Foundation operations to achieve the established goals of the Foundation. He will report directly to the Foundation’s President, William M. Riley, Jr., of Manhattan, Kansas and member of the Kansas State Chapter of Acacia Fraternity.

“When the Board of Directors decided it was necessary to hire a full-time professional to lead the daily operations and development efforts of the Foundation, it was unquestionable that the best person for the job was Darold,” said Bill Riley, Foundation President. “We are fortunate to have someone lead the Foundation with his dedication to the Fraternity and institutional knowledge.”

Darold joins the Foundation after nearly three decades of leading Acacia Fraternity as its Executive Director. A 1981 initiate of the Washington State University Chapter of Acacia Fraternity, Darold joined the Fraternity’s International Headquarters in 1984 as a Leadership Consultant, then eventually was promoted to Executive Director and TRIAD Editor in 1987. He has received numerous awards for his work with the Fraternity, including its highest honors, as well as having served the interfraternity world as president of the Fraternity Executives Association and director of the Interfraternity Institute.
Under his leadership with Acacia Fraternity, he established Acacia’s chapter standards program, Spirit of Excellence; upon the dissolution of the Acacia Educational Foundation, assisted with the creation of the Acacia Fraternity Foundation in 1989 to support the educational mission of the Fraternity, now with assets of more than two million dollars; and in 1995 created the Acacia Leadership Academy, recently named in his honor, to provide leadership training to undergraduates over the summer during off-Conclave years in a model fraternal atmosphere. Through interfraternity networking, Darold ushered all Acacia entities into the national liability insurance program, FRMT Limited, with 27 other national fraternity members and today Acacia enjoys one of the lowest claim records of any national fraternity due to its risk management oversight and educational programs. In preparation of Acacia’s 100th Anniversary in 2004, he guided the Fraternity’s ambitious Strategic Plan that included strengthening undergraduate membership and retention and which led to the development of the Cornerstones membership education program in 2007 encompassing the entire undergraduate membership and including alumni mentoring.

“One-fourth of all Acacians have been initiated under Darold’s tenure with the Fraternity,” said Robert Roberson, International Council President for Acacia Fraternity. “He has also led the chartering or re-chartering of 22 chapters across the United States and Canada. Acacia owes much gratitude to this dedicated brother for his tireless efforts in strengthening our Fraternity."

Darold assumes his new role with the Acacia Fraternity Foundation beginning this month, October 2011.

Keith Bushey, the Assistant Executive Director for Acacia Fraternity has been promoted to Executive Director by the International Council of Acacia Fraternity. He will now oversee all the daily operations of the Fraternity’s International Headquarters, membership records, chapter operations and expansions, Leadership Consultants and office staff. He will report directly to the International Council President, Robert Roberson, of Richview, Illinois, and member of the Illinois Wesleyan Chapter of Acacia.

“Over the past decade Keith has played a major roll in ensuring the Fraternity’s operations were strengthened through increased communications with our undergraduate chapters and oversight of the traveling Leadership Consultants,” said Roberson, Council President. “He was the logical choice to assume the responsibilities of Executive Director and the Fraternity has much confidence in his abilities and looks forward to giving him our full support in leading our daily operations.”

Keith is a 1986 initiate of the Indiana Chapter of Acacia Fraternity at Indiana University.  Prior to joining the Acacia Fraternity’s staff in 2001 as Assistant Executive Director, Keith served the Fraternity for five years as the house director for the Indiana Chapter, responsible for the physical plant, daily operations and renovations.

As Assistant Executive Director, Keith was responsible for direct oversight of all Acacia undergraduate chapters and assisted in the establishment of nine colonies. He has trained more than 20 recent alumni who have joined the Fraternity’s staff since 2001 as Leadership Consultants to assist in overseeing chapter operations and expansions. Beginning in 2003, he became coordinator of the biennial Darold W. Larson Acacia Leadership Academy and has coordinated the Fraternity’s biennial Conclaves since 2002. As Conclave Coordinator, he was responsible for setting all programming for undergraduates and alumni, planning all speakers, meals and entertainment.  The 2004 Centennial Conclave was one of the largest of these events with over 325 Acacians in attendance.

The Acacia Fraternity and Acacia Fraternity Foundation are both headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.

For more information, contact Acacia Fraternity International Headquarters, 317-872-8210, acacianat@acacia.org.

Fraternally,

Robert E. Roberson
International President
Acacia Fraternity

William M. Riley, Jr.
President
Acacia Fraternity Foundation

Ways to Boost Traffic to ACACIAconnect

The TOP 3 Ways to Instantly Boost Traffic to your ACACIAConnect Website…

Tip #1: Get your brothers to post your website link on Facebook

Send your brothers an ACACIAConnect Message or Text Message telling them to post your chapter’s website on their wall. This will get you new visitors almost immediately. (By the way, has your webmaster put a Facebook Like on your website yet?)

Tip #2: Make sure your University has the right website on their IFC/Greek Life website

      This one’s easy, but significant amount of traffic will come from your school. This is also a surefire and easy way to get your website ranked higher on Google and other search engines. 

Tip #3: Ask ACACIA HQ to Tweet your website!

         Have you posted some good content? Email us and we’ll tweet out your website!

Stay tuned for next week’s article: “The 5 Most Effective Widgets your Homepage should have for Maximizing Recruitment”