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Overview

Interest Group Overview

Congratulations! You are now an Interest Group!

Additional student members should be recruited during this time. Your group will need a total of at least 6 students to progress to the next stage. A group President should be selected and other important responsibilities assigned such as service, membership, fellowship, finance, documentation, etc. You will also need to start recruiting advisors for your group. At this point you need at least 1 campus advisor from the faculty, administration, or staff of your educational institution.

Your Sponsor and/or section staff will conduct an orientation for your group’s students and advisors about the Fraternity and the process of building a new chapter. All of your group members must review the Fraternity’s Membership and Risk Management Policies and indicate their agreement to abide by them as part of the Application for Petitioning Group Status.

During this stage of the extension process your group should continue to develop your service program by conducting and documenting additional service projects for a minimum total of 5 (this total includes any service project(s) conducted to date). Additionally, two of the four fields of service (Campus, Community, Nation, Fraternity) must be represented. Your group should also begin establishing a fellowship program by conducting and documenting at least 1 fellowship event that at least 25% of the group’s students participate in.

Your group should also establish a treasury and start to write your group’s Bylaws, as well as any rules, policies and procedures. When writing these you should be mindful of the Fraternity’s policies and procedures as well as those of your school. You do not need to submit a rough draft of your bylaws with your Application for Petitioning Group Status; however, you should have your Sponsor and Section Chair review them.

After you have completed all of the above, you will need to fill out the Application for Petitioning Group Status. You should submit the completed application, along with the Petitioning fee of $20.00 for each student member, to your Section Chair for approval. They will verify you have met the requirements to progress to Petitioning Group status and then forward your application to your Region Director for approval. Your Region Director will then forward your application to the National Office for processing.

Checklist

Checklist of Requirements for Achieving Petitioning Group Status

1. The Sponsor and/or sectional staff have conducted an orientation to Alpha Phi Omega for the group’s students and advisor(s(Indicate this in the appropriate place on Form DE-9, Application for Petitioning Group Status)

2. The group has a total membership of at least 6 students. (List all student members and their personal information on the Student Roster section of Form DE-9, Application for Petitioning Group Status)

3. The group has at least 1 campus advisor from the faculty, staff, or administration of your college/university. (List the advisor(s) and their personal information on the Advisor Roster section of Form DE-9, Application for Petitioning Group Status)

4. The group’s students have selected a President and assigned other important responsibilities – (ex., service, membership, fellowship, finances, and documentation). (Indicate this on the Group Officers section of Form DE-9, Application for Petitioning Group Status)

5. At least 4 additional service projects (for a minimum total of 5) have been conducted and documented using Form DE-2, Service Project Report Form. At this point, at least 2 of the four fields of service (Campus, Community, Nation, Fraternity) should be represented.

6. At least 1 fellowship activity has been conducted (with participation by at least 25% of the group’s students) and documented using Form DE-4, Fellowship Project Report Form.

7. The group’s students have completed an initial draft of chapter bylaws. (You do not need to submit these with your Application for Petitioning Group Status; however, it is recommended you submit them to your Sponsor and Section Chair for review)

8. The group has established a method of keeping track of funds. (Indicate this in the appropriate place on Form DE-9, Application for Petitioning Group Status)

9. All Interest Group members (students and advisors) have read the National Fraternity’s Risk Management Policies and Membership Policies (located in the Pledge Manual and the Guidebook) and have indicated their understanding of, and agreement to abide by, these policies by signing the Affirmation of Compliance with Fraternity Policies section of Form DE-9, Application for Petitioning Group Status.

10. The Application for Petitioning Group Status, Form DE-9, has been completed. (It is recommended that your Sponsor review your application prior to submission. It is also recommended that you make a copy of the completed application and all supporting materials for your own records as these materials will be retained by the National Office.)

11. The completed Application for Petitioning Group Status (Form DE-9) has been sent to the Region Director for approval. For the application to be considered complete, it must contain all of the following:

o       The Application for Petitioning Group Status (Form DE-9)

o       A Service Project Report Form (Form DE-2) for all additional service projects completed  (You do not need to resend the Project
Report Form(s) for service project(s) that were sent in with the Application for Interest Group Status)

o       A Fellowship Project Report Form (Form DE-4) form for any fellowships completed.

o       The Petitioning fee of $20.00 for each student member (Make all checks payable to ‘Alpha Phi Omega’. If any of the student
members have previously been initiated as a Brother of Alpha Phi Omega at another chapter, they do not need to
pay the Petitioning fee. Instead, they must submit an Application for Transfer of Membership when paperwork for the
Charter Application is sent.)

12. A Petitioning Group Ceremony has been conducted. A Chartering Kit, containing chartering paperwork, will be provided by the
National Office.

Documents & Forms

Service Project Report Form

Fellowship Project Report Form

FAQ & Challenges

Success Stories