Where Alpha Chi Omega Alumnae Started
Alpha Chi Omega Fraternity, Inc. has alumnae chapters that operate across the country, with alumnae of all ages, both virtually and in person. Each chapter manages its own banking, with some opting for local banks, credit unions, commercial banks, or online banking platforms in combination with platforms like PayPal or Square to collect annual dues.
The Lifetime Engagement department wanted to lower as many barriers as possible to support the membership growth of their alumnae chapters. While looking into alumnae chapter banking processes, they heard the following feedback: high monthly fees, difficult officer handovers, excessive documentation required to open up a nonprofit bank account, and usage issues with P2P apps.
So they set out to find a banking solution they could recommend to their chapters to help them grow. They came up with a long wish list of everything they would want their ideal banking partner to have:
- FDIC-insured bank accounts
- No monthly fees or minimum balances, with a high number of free transactions
- Overdraft protection
- Multiple admins
- Easy officer handovers
- Online and mobile banking
- Mobile check deposit
- Integrations with PayPal and Square
- No Articles of Incorporation requirement
- Good customer support
- Debit cards
Luckily, Alpha Chi Omega found Crowded, which meets nearly all of their desired items on the list!
How Crowded’s Platform Enables Alpha Chi Omega to Scale their Alumnae Membership
Online Payment Collection as a Membership Engagement Tool
The alumnae chapters of Alpha Chi Omega collect dues annually from their members to conduct activities throughout the year. Some chapters have a tiered dues structure for the different levels of involvement. Using Crowded Collect, they can create multiple collection links, each with the proper amount for that payment tier, and share through QR codes, providing a smooth payment process for their members and also enjoying an organized dues collection process.
Crowded’s online payment collection allows chapters to appeal to the younger generations of Alpha Chi Omega alumnae. While the older generation might prefer to pay dues by check, lots of young people today do not even own a checkbook! Crowded Collect allows for easy payments by Apple Pay, credit/debit card, ACH, cash, and checks, making dues payments very accessible and friendly to alumnae of all ages to become members.
Chapters stay in closer contact with their members with Crowded’s online payment collection. When members pay their dues with Crowded Collect, they are required to also fill in their name, email, and phone number. When chapters used to collect dues with PayPal or Square, they wouldn’t know any of this contact information. This contact information enables chapters to launch membership engagement initiatives and ultimately improve their membership retention.
Chapters also take advantage of Crowded’s donation links to fundraise for their chapters or a philanthropic entity. They create a Crowded collection link and leave the payment amount open, so any member or supporter decides exactly how much they want to donate, and the money flows directly into the chapter’s account.
Benefits at the Headquarters Level
Creating a partnership with Crowded on the headquarters level was a strategic decision for Laura, as the Assistant Director of Lifetime Engagement. By recommending Crowded, she can supply the alumnae chapters with a financial management tool that will help boost membership retention and growth. Crowded’s 100% digital and modern platform helps maintain Alpha Chi Omega’s appeal across generations and attract new alumnae chapter members.
We only see benefits for our alumnae chapters who create a Crowded account: between collecting dues online along with member information, choosing whether the chapter or the individual pays the processing fee, and the digital debit cards for purchases. It gives the chapters freedom to manage their funds in a flexible way. That's why we say - Crowded is our financial management solution and we want more alumnae chapters to be utilizing it.
Less Liability for Headquarters
Partnering with Crowded gives headquarters increased protection against liability and requires less staff time offering one-on-one banking support. When chapters face issues with their banks, like trouble changing signatories on the account, they call headquarters for help.
Now, instead, staff advise alumnae chapters to open an account with their trusted banking partner, Crowded. With Crowded’s online officer handovers and attentive customer support, many of these chapters’ issues are nonexistent.
Nonprofit Bank Accounts* for All Subsidiary Chapters
When Alpha Chi Omega alumnae chapters wanted to create nonprofit bank accounts at commercial banks, they were sometimes rejected as each chapter needed to have its own incorporation documentation.
As Crowded is a financial platform designed for multi-chapter organizations, it can uniquely accept organization-level documents to allow all subsidiary chapters to open nonprofit bank accounts* with Crowded, allowing all Alpha Chi Omega alumnae chapters to get the benefits of a nonprofit bank account effortlessly.
The chapters enjoy FDIC pass-through insurance-eligible accounts**, no monthly fees or minimum balances, and unlimited free transactions. These perks are exactly what Laura was searching for from a banking partner, and allow Alpha Chi Omega alumnae chapters to have safe, budget-friendly banking*.
If chapter leaders are satisfied with their current bank account, they can keep that account and open a Crowded account, allowing the chapters to transition from one solution to another at a pace that is comfortable for them while accessing the features and benefits of Crowded by integrating the two accounts.
Debit Cards Instead of Reimbursements
When chapters are running their programming, instead of asking members to pay out of pocket for chapter expenses, they simply issue Crowded digital debit cards with the rough amount of each purchase. Treasurers don’t have to deal with making reimbursements as the member spends with the chapter’s funds to begin with.
Secure Payments to Headquarters
When it comes time for each chapter to send a portion of their dues to the National Fraternity annually, the process is easy with Crowded. After each chapter collects dues, they simply use their Crowded admin card, which allows them to spend the full amount in their Crowded account, to pay their National Fraternity dues securely online.
Previously we were using PayPal, and our payment to the National Fraternity simply vanished, and [PayPal] would not reimburse us. PayPal was not user-friendly, it's a little outdated, and we could only have one login. Whereas with Crowded, our payment to the National Fraternity was seamless and we can assign multiple people to log in and see the same information.
A Fully Digital Platform
Everything with Crowded is 100% online: account setup, officer handovers, check deposits and creating and sharing payment collection links. The virtual aspect is especially valuable for Alpha Chi Omega’s many virtual chapters and chapters that serve broad geographical areas. For example, whereas changing a signatory on a bank account was impossible when people live in different states, account handovers are done 100% remotely with Crowded.
Alpha Chi Omega alumnae chapters save $6,000+ a year
switching to Crowded
banking support
