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Petitioning Group Overview

Congratulations! You are one step away from becoming a Chapter!

From here the process picks up pace as your group starts looking ahead to the Chartering Ceremony. During this time of Petitioning you will need to complete the final tasks to become recognized as a chapter. An appropriate period of Petitioning (i.e. from the date Petitioning Group status is attained until the Application for Charter is submitted) should not be less than 28 nor more than 76 weeks in duration. Exceptions to these time periods must be approved by the Chair of the Membership and Extension Committee. 

This is the time to do your final big push for additional members before you become a chapter. In order to submit an Application for Charter your group will need a minimum total of 15 students, 12 of which will be returning next semester. However, the more members you have, the better the chance that your new chapter will be able to sustain itself for years to come.

This is also the time to recruit the rest of your advisors. At minimum, you should have a total of 4 advisors including 1 representing the community, 1 representing Scouting or other youth services, and 2 from the faculty, staff, or administration of your school. Collectively your advisors make up the Advisory Committee. Your group’s students will need to elect one of your advisors to serve as the Advisory Committee Chair.

Everyone that is a member of the group when you submit your Application for Charter needs to have gone through the Petitioning Group Ceremony and paid the Petitioning fee to the National Office. As you bring in new members to your group, you should periodically send a roster of new student members along with their Petitioning fee to the National Office.

Your service program should continue to grow during this time also. A minimum total of 12 service projects are required to receive a charter. Of these 12, there should be at least 4 that were participated in by at least 50% of your group’s students and another 3 that were participated in by at least 25% of your group’s students. At least 6 projects must have been organized by the students of your group. There should also be at least 2 projects representing each of the four fields of service (Campus, Community, Nation, Fraternity). Use Form DE-2, Service Project Report Form, and Form DE-3, Service Program Summary to document your service program.

Additional fellowship events should be held as part of the continued growth of your fellowship program. You need to have conducted and documented a minimum total of 4 fellowship events participated in by at least 25% of the group’s students. Use Form DE-4, Fellowship Project Report Form, and Form DE-5, Fellowship Program Summary to document your fellowship program.

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 Charter. Your group should also review the Fraternity’s Standard Chapter Articles of Association. A final draft of your group’s bylaws, as well as any rules, policies, or procedures will need to be approved by your group. Both the Standard Chapter Articles of Association and the final draft of the bylaws should be signed by your group’s officers and included with your Application for Charter. It is a good idea to have your Sponsor, Section Chair, and someone at your school review your bylaws and any other policies, procedures, or rules prior to submitting them with the Application for Charter, in order to confirm they are not contrary to any Fraternity or college/university policies.

At least 3 of your group’s students should participate in a sectional, regional, or national Fraternity event. This is documented on Form DE-6, Fraternity Event Report Form. They do not all have to attend the same event so long as at least 3 students have attended an event. The Sponsor and Section Chair should communicate to your group when and where these events are to take place. They can also assist you in trying to coordinate your travel with other chapters in the area who will be attending that event. In exceptional cases where geographic or other compelling circumstances make this requirement impractical to fulfill, the Membership and Extension Chair may substitute another form of interaction with chapters or active members outside of the group’s campus.

One of the final activities your group needs to complete prior to submitting your Application for Charter is to participate in a Petitioning Group Program Planning Conference. This is long meeting, or mini-conference, designed to get the whole group involved in goal setting and planning. It should be coordinated and run by the group Sponsor and/or Section Chair in conjunction with the group’s executive officers. During the P.G.P.P.C. goals are to be established and documented (including goals for service, fellowship, membership recruitment, pledge education, leadership development, and membership retention). These goals will then need to be approved by the Section Chair. Form DE-10, P.G. P.P.C. Summary, will be provided with your charter materials from the National Office.

There is some final paperwork you will need to take care of prior to submitting your Application for Charter. The Petitioning Group President should complete and sign an I.R.S. Form SS-4, Application for Employer Identification Number. If you are working to recharter a chapter you should contact the National Office to see if your group already has an E.I.N. on file. If so, you will not need to turn in a SS-4. Your group also needs to secure a letter from the appropriate school official/office on college/university letterhead granting permission for a chapter of Alpha Phi Omega to be chartered on campus. Finally, every members of the Petitioning Group must complete an individual application for either Active, Advisory, Transfer, or Honorary membership and pay the appropriate fee (if any) as listed on the application.

Finally you are ready to complete the Application for Charter and to compile your supporting documentation. There is a lot of supporting documentation that is needed in order for the Application for Charter to be considered complete. As such, you may wish to organize these materials and submit them in a binder. The Guidebook your group received at the beginning of the process can be used to submit your Charter Application paperwork. However, feel free to organize and submit them in any manner you wish. It is not necessary to resubmit any materials that have previously been submitted as part of the Application for Interest Group Status or Application for Petitioning Group Status, although you may do so if you like.

Once you believe you have compiled a complete Application for Charter it is recommended you have your group Sponsor review it to ensure that no key components are missing. Next, submit the completed application to your Section Chair for review. If the Section Chair feels the application is incomplete or changes need to be made, the application will be returned to the group with the Section Chair’s recommendations. Once the Section Chair approves the application they will attach a letter of approval and then forward the application on to the Region Director for approval in a similar manner. Once the Region Director has approved the application, it will be forwarded on to the National Office. From there, the application will be sent out for approval by the National Membership and Extension Committee as well as the National Board of Directors. Additionally, approval is required from the other Chapters in your section. Once your application arrives at the National Office the approval process typically requires 4-6 weeks.

Checklist

Checklist of Requirements for Achieving Recognition as a Chapter

1. The period of Petitioning (i.e. from the date the Petitioning status is attained until the Charter Application is submitted) has not been less than 28 nor more than 76 weeks in duration. (Exceptions to these time periods must be approved by the
Chair of the Membership and Extension Committee) 

2. The group has a total membership of at least 15 students, at least 12 of whom are returning to school next semester. (List all student members and their personal information on the Student Roster section of Form DE-12, Application for Charter.)

3. The group has a total of at least 4 advisors including at least 2 from the campus faculty, administration, or staff; 1
representing Scouting or other youth service; and 1 representing the community. (List all advisors and their
personal information on the Advisor Roster section of Form DE-12, Application for Charter. You group should
also vote on an advisor to serve as Chair of the Advisory Committee and indicate this in the appropriate place
on Form DE-12.)

4. At least 7 additional service projects (for a minimum total of 12) have been conducted and documented using Form
DE-2, Service Project Report Form, and Form DE-3, Service Program Summary. Additionally, all of the following
criteria must be met:

o       At least 2 projects have been completed for each of the four fields of service (Campus, Community,
Nation, Fraternity)

o       At least 6 projects were organized by the group’s students

o       At least 4 projects were participated in by at least 50% of the group’s students

o       At least another 3 projects were participated in by at least 25% of the group’s students

5. At least 3 additional fellowship activities (for a minimum total of 4) have been completed (with participation by at least
25% of the group’s students) and documented using Form DE-4, Fellowship Project Report Form, and Form
DE-5, Fellowship Program Summary.

6. At least 3 of the group’s students have participated (either together or individually) in at least 1 sectional, regional,
or national Fraternity event and documented their participation using Form DE-6, Fraternity Event Report Form, and
Form DE-7, Summary of Participation in Fraternity Events. (In exceptional cases where geographic or other
compelling circumstances make this requirement impractical to fulfill, the Membership and Extension Chair
may substitute another form of interaction with chapters or active members outside of the group’s campus.)

7. The group has participated in a Petitioning Group Program Planning Conference during which goals were established
and documented for service, fellowship, membership recruitment, pledge education, leadership development, and
membership retention; and these goals have been approved by the Section Chair. (Use Form DE-10, Petitioning
Group Program Planning Conference Summary, to document these goals and Section Chair approval)

8. The group’s students have completed a final draft of chapter bylaws which have been approved and signed by the
Petitioning Group’s officers.  (It is recommended that you submit a copy of these, as soon as they are completed,
to your Sponsor and Section Chair so that they may have time to provide feedback prior to the Application for
Charter being submitted)

9. All Petitioning Group members (students and advisors) have read the National Fraternity’s Risk Management Policies
and Membership Policies (located in the Pledge Manual and this Guide) 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-12, Application for Charter.

10. The group has reviewed the Standard Chapter Articles of Association (located in the National Bylaws booklet and on
Form DE-11) and the Petitioning Group’s officers have indicated the Group’s understanding of, and agreement to abide by
them, by completing and signing Form DE-11, Standard Chapter Articles of Association Certification.

11. The Petitioning Group’s President has completed and signed I.R.S. Form SS-4, Application for Employer
Identification Number unless the group is a rechartering effort and the chapter already has a number. (Rechartering
efforts should contact the National Office to determine if they already have an E.I.N.)

12. The Petitioning Group has obtained permission from the appropriate school official/office to establish a chapter of Alpha
Phi Omega on campus. (This should be in the form of a letter, on college/university letterhead, signed by the
appropriate school official)

13. Any Petitioning Group students who were not listed on the Application for Petitioning Group Status have been
through a Petitioning Group Ceremony and their Petitioning fee and personal information (as requested on the Student
Roster section of the Application for Petitioning Group Status, Form DE-9) have been submitted to the National Office.

14. Each member of the Petitioning Group has completed and signed an individual application for either Active,
Advisory, Transfer, or Honorary membership and has paid the appropriate fee (if any) as listed on the application. (If any
of the student members have previously been initiated as a Brother of APO at another chapter, they must submit
an Application for Transfer Membership.)  There is no fee for Transfer Membership.

15. The Application for Charter, Form DE-12, 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.)

16. The completed Application for Charter (Form DE-12) has been sent to the Section Chair for approval. For the
application to be considered complete, it must contain all of the following:

o       The Application for Charter (Form DE-12)

o       A Service Project Report Form (Form DE-2) for all service projects completed (You do not have to include
a copy of the Project Report Form for any service projects previously submitted, but you may if you wish)

o       The Service Program Summary (Form DE-3)

o       A Fellowship Project Report Form (Form DE-4) for all fellowships completed (You do not have to include a
copy of the Project Report Form for any fellowship(s) previously submitted, but you may if you wish)

o       The Fellowship Program Summary (Form DE-5)

o       A Fraternity Event Report Form (Form DE-6) for any sectional, regional, or national Fraternity event(s)
any members of the group have attended

o       The Summary of Participation in Fraternity Events (Form DE-7)

o       The Petitioning Group Program Planning Conference Summary (Form DE-10)

o       A final draft of chapter bylaws which have been approved and signed by the Petitioning Group’s officers

o       The Standard Chapter Articles of Association Certification (Form DE-11)

o       Application for Employer Identification Number (I.R.S. Form SS-4), signed by the Petitioning Group President.
(If you are rechartering a chapter and already have a number on file with the National Office then you
do not need to submit this form)

o       A letter from the appropriate school official/office on school letterhead granting permission for a chapter of Alpha
Phi Omega to be chartered on campus

o       An individual application for each group member for either Active, Advisory, Transfer, or Honorary membership
and the appropriate fee (if any) as listed on each application (Make checks payable to ‘Alpha Phi Omega’)

17. A Chartering Ceremony has been conducted.

Documents & Forms

Service Project Report Form

Service Program Summary

Fellowship Project Report Form

Fellowship Program Summary

Fraternity Event Report Form

Summary of Participation in Fraternity Events

Petitioning Group Program Planning Conference Summary

Standard Chapter Articles of Association Certification

I.R.S. Form SS-4, Application for Employer Identification Number

Application for Transfer Membership

FAQ & Challenges

Success Stories