What is the GIVE Standard?
Rather than providing a single opportunity for chapters to fulfill their service requirement, Tri-Council will provide a menu of “sponsored” service events throughout the semester for chapter members to choose from. This is not a list of required events but rather a list of options chapters can engage in according to members’ schedules. Tri-Council leadership believes that by spreading service opportunities throughout the semester, chapters will be equipped with more ways to involve their members in a collaborative environment.
Along with the altered volunteer structure available to chapters comes an altered system for service requirement and chapter recognition. Engagement in service events throughout the semester will now be measured through the Greek Involvement and Volunteering Excellence (GIVE) Service Standard, a new service-focused performance standard for the Tri-Council community. Chapters will be upheld to this tiered standard and those who go above and beyond baseline prerequisites will be recognized and rewarded accordingly.
Rating Categories
Rating categories are broken into four categories: Baseline, Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Different GIVE ratings can be achieved by accomplishing the following, with the baseline GIVE rating (Baseline) being a prerequisite for all chapters:
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Baseline: 10%* of a chapter’s members must cumulatively** attend the Tri-Council sponsored service events on the list throughout the semester in session
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Bronze: 30% of a chapter’s members must cumulatively attend the Tri-Council sponsored service events on the list throughout the semester in session
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Silver: 50% of a chapter’s members must cumulatively attend the Tri-Council sponsored service events on the list throughout the semester in session
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Gold: 70% of a chapter’s members must cumulatively attend the Tri-Council sponsored service events on the list throughout the semester in session
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Further involvement beyond a Gold GIVE rating will be noted
*All percentages are rounded up to the next whole person.
**Cumulatively means the total number of distinct members who collectively volunteer from the selection of service events in the semester (i.e. John goes to the Stewart Park Build and Steve goes to Judy Day is cumulatively 2 chapter members)
While members are always encouraged to participate in multiple service events, additional events attended by the same individual will not count towards the attendance percentage - i.e., the percentage counts only the distinct number of different members who attend at least one service event in the semester.
Penalties for Not Meeting the Baseline Standard
It is important to note that the Baseline performance category is the only GIVE rating that is enforced through a penalty system. That system varies according to a chapter’s respective Greek council. The penalty system is below:
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$35 per member under the 10% attendance quota*
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$300 for any chapter that fails to achieve this rating (large** chapter)
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$150 for any chapter that fails to achieve this rating (small chapter)
*These penalties are the same as with the 10% requirement by IFC for Greeks Give Back attendance in the past
**A chapter is considered "large" if it has 50 or more members
Benefits of the GIVE Service Standard
The ultimate goal of the GIVE Service Standard is to promote a culture of continual community engagement in the Cornell and greater Ithaca community by Tri-Council members. Chapters will be able to visually compare their excellence in service to other chapters, set achievable goals, and discover new opportunities for engagement throughout the academic year.
Recognition
Chapters who achieve a GIVE rating above Baseline will experience the following:
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Respective GIVE ratings of chapters will be made public knowledge on the Sorority and Fraternity life website.
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Respective GIVE rating emblems will be made visible on recruitment brochures and recruitment materials next to names with a brief explanation of what the GIVE standard is.
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Public recognition through social media platforms and newsletters upon achieving a new rating.
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Invitation to an end-of-the-semester award ceremony to be recognized by the Tri-Council community for excellence in service (among other things).
Reporting Attendance
Since sign-ups are run through outside organizations, the IFC will not be individually tracking chapter volunteers but will keep a list to track each chapter’s attendance.
Each chapter is responsible for uploading proof of attendance by doing the following:
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Take a picture of the chapter members at the event. The picture should clearly show the members’ faces. Selfies are okay as long as there is solid proof that you are at the event (e.g., show the background or the activity).
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Upload the picture and to this Google Form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd_FbrvQsgm-ZnDrlMpqE1d1_xVy8000pj5NIEQ02Nc0x8ZWg/viewform
You must adhere to these directions precisely, else participation will not be counted. No exceptions will be made. Depending on your chapter, you can either have individual members upload their own pictures, or have one person upload all the pictures for the chapter. Any method is fine.
Other Service Events
While the GIVE standard is currently restricted to the menu of service events listed above, a chapter’s involvement in outside organizations will not go unnoticed. Officers are encouraged to report chapter service at other local organizations or pop-up opportunities (either circulated by a UCR or found independently) to their respective UCR for end of the semester awards and chapter spotlights.
Summary
The Greek Involvement and Volunteering Excellence Service Standard will be instrumental in engaging Greek chapters more than ever before. Not only does GIVE set achievable goals for chapters, it will also recognize chapters who go above and beyond in community service. Complemented by the menu of Tri-Council sponsored service events, the GIVE Service Standard marks the beginning of a new system to involve chapters that will be continued and refined for years to come.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Vice President for Service and Philanthropy, Xavier Diaz-Sun, at service@cornellifc.org, to ask any questions you may have, such as your chapter’s attendance standings.
