Advice from Earlier Colonies¶

These lessons were gathered from colonies and older chapters in Fall 2024. They are practical guidance, not formal requirements. Adapt them to the colony's campus, capacity, and current National expectations.

Communicate intentionally¶

Decide where official communication will happen and use that channel consistently.
Give officer meetings a structure: prepare an agenda, decide what needs discussion, and end with owners and deadlines.
Separate announcements, decisions, working discussion, and urgent matters so important information is not lost.

Choose consistency over volume¶

Some colonies alternated between weeks with no events and weeks with four. That pace made planning and participation difficult.

Start with a schedule the team can repeat. One dependable meeting or program each week is more useful than an ambitious calendar that repeatedly collapses. When the EBoard feels overwhelmed, reduce the scope while protecting the rhythm.

Build an accountable EBoard¶

Choose officers who have relevant experience or genuine interest in doing the work—not people seeking only a résumé title.
Recruit people you trust, then make responsibilities, deadlines, and decision authority explicit.
Hold one another accountable early and directly. KTP requires dedication, coordination, and a willingness to contribute.
Friendship should not prevent honest feedback. Before appointing a friend, ask whether you would be comfortable requesting better work or addressing a missed commitment.
If an officer is struggling, clarify expectations, offer support, redistribute work when appropriate, and follow the chapter's accountability process.

Confidence matters, too: do not wait for every detail to be perfect before beginning. Form a dependable team, use the available guidance, and improve through each cycle.

Plan around the campus¶

Give the student body time to learn what the colony is before scheduling too many events.
Maintain one organization calendar aligned with the university's academic, holiday, examination, and event calendars.
Check the schedules of related student organizations before selecting major dates.
Configure attendance before recruitment and new-member meetings begin. Use it to identify engagement or support needs, not to publicly rank people.
Build lead time for rooms, marketing, accessibility, speakers, purchases, and campus approvals.

Pace the founding semester¶

Begin with the strongest ideas, then reduce their scope to match the team's time, budget, and experience. Do not attempt every possible program immediately. A colony should prove that a small set of activities can be delivered safely and consistently before expanding.

This is especially important while supporting an initial pledge class of fewer than 20 people.

Learn from a nearby chapter¶

Build a relationship with an established chapter, preferably one that is geographically close or operates in a similar campus environment. A chapter peer can share event formats, review timelines, help the colony anticipate problems, and provide perspective that complements National guidance.

Use the relationship intentionally:

Assign one point person in each chapter.
Set a predictable check-in rhythm.
Bring specific questions or drafts for review.
Record reusable decisions and action items.
Respect the other chapter's capacity and confidential information.

A simple rule for the first semester¶

Build less, deliver it consistently, and document what the next EBoard should repeat or change.