Questions to Ask PNMs During Philanthropy Round
Questions to ask during philanthropy round, written for the sorority member talking with PNMs (potential new members) before and after the presentation of the cause. The 53 questions run in the order the conversation does: Opening, Our cause, Her service, How she works, Time, and Her turn for the last minute. Two or three with real follow-ups are plenty for one visit, so choose from the groups that fit the PNM in front of you. If you are the PNM, your side of the conversation is the last section of the guide.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Opening
How is today going for you so far?
Why ask it
A soft opener that tells you whether she is nervous, tired, or on her fifth party since lunch. Everything after this lands better once she has said one easy thing out loud.
How does philanthropy round feel next to the first round?
Why ask it
The first round is usually a blur of short visits, and this one tends to run longer with a presentation in the middle. Her comparison shows whether she is glad of a real conversation or already worn out by them. Round names and their order differ by campus, so swap in whatever yours calls the day before.
Where is home, and what does your town turn out for?
Why ask it
A Friday football game, a county fair, a pancake breakfast for the fire department: most places have one thing everybody shows up to. It gets her talking about community before the word service has come up, and the detail is easy to recall when you write her up.
Have you done a project like this one before, or should we work it out together?
Why ask it
For rounds built around a small activity, such as cards, care kits or tie blankets. Working side by side gives a shy PNM something to do with her hands and takes the interview feeling out of the next few minutes. Skip it if your round is conversation only.
Is this your first year here, or have you been on campus a while?
Why ask it
Sophomores and transfers go through recruitment too, and a year of college gives her a campus pantry shift or a club fundraiser to talk about. If she is one of them, say last year wherever the later questions say high school.
What have you been doing this week besides recruitment?
Why ask it
Classes may have started, she may have moved in four days ago, or she may be commuting from home between rounds. Whatever fills the rest of her week is the life a philanthropy calendar would have to fit into, so it is worth hearing early.
Can you hear me all right, or should we move a step this way?
Why ask it
A room full of paired conversations is hard on anyone soft-spoken, and she will not ask you to repeat yourself a third time. Shifting two feet toward a wall, if your floor plan allows it, can be the difference between a conversation and two people nodding.
Our cause
Have you had a chance to hear what our philanthropy is yet?
Why ask it
Some PNMs walk in having read every chapter's page and others could not name one cause. Knowing which she is saves you from repeating the video at her, and the explanation this round exists for becomes an answer instead of a speech.
What stood out to you in the video or the presentation?
Why ask it
Ask it only if your round has one, and ask it without testing her. A PNM who has watched several of these today may remember a face or a single line and nothing else, and that one thing is the right place to start explaining.
Had you heard of this organization before today?
Why ask it
A national partner she already knows needs a different explanation than a local shelter she has never come across. If she knows it through her own family, let her tell that at whatever length she chooses and do not dig.
Can I tell you what made this cause matter to me?
Why ask it
Have one short, true story ready: the first event you worked, a family you met, or the shift when it stopped feeling like an obligation. If the honest version is that it grew on you slowly, tell that one, because a borrowed tragedy is easy to hear through.
When you picture a sorority philanthropy event, what comes to mind?
Why ask it
Her picture might be a formal gala, a late-night pancake sale or a field day on the quad, and it may look nothing like what your chapter does. Describe yours next to hers, including the setup and cleanup that nobody photographs.
What makes you believe a chapter really cares about its cause?
Why ask it
By this round she has heard a string of causes described in much the same words. Her answer, whether it is members who can say what they did or an event that sounded like real work, is a direct instruction for how to talk about yours.
Of the events we just told you about, which one could you see yourself showing up to?
Why ask it
Choosing one is harder than approving of them all, and the choice is informative: a dodgeball tournament and a tutoring afternoon draw different people. Hold on to her reason, since it is the detail the member running that event would want.
Would you like to hear what a member actually does at our biggest event?
Why ask it
Say yes for her if she hesitates, then describe one shift: when you arrived, what you carried, who you talked to, when you went home. A plain account of four hours tells her more about the commitment than the total raised.
Is there anything about where the money or the hours go that I can explain?
Why ask it
Know the answer before the doors open: who receives the funds, and what members do beyond raising them. If she asks something you cannot answer, say you will find out, because a guessed figure is worse than an honest gap.
What kind of cause is easiest for you to care about?
Why ask it
Children, animals, hunger, health, the outdoors: people usually have one that needs no persuading. If hers is not yours, say so easily and tell her whether members follow causes of their own alongside the chapter's.
Her service
Have you done much volunteering, or is it something you want to start in college?
Why ask it
Offering the second option out loud keeps a PNM with a thin record from padding it. Wanting to start is a fair thing for a chapter to weigh, and you will hear a truer answer for having made room for it.
How did you first get into volunteering, or who got you into it?
Why ask it
The origin is more revealing than a total of hours, whether it was a grandmother who ran the church pantry, a teacher with a sign-up sheet or an older sibling she tagged along behind. The person she names is often the detail you still remember at voting.
What did you get involved in during high school that you actually enjoyed?
Why ask it
The words actually enjoyed give her permission to drop the college application list. Watch for the activity she circles back to later without prompting, because that is the real one.
Was any of your service required for school, and did any of it stick once the requirement ended?
Why ask it
Plenty of high schools and honor societies set an hours requirement, so a long list can mean very little. The part she kept doing after the form was signed is the part to follow up on.
What is one day of volunteering you still remember, and what were you doing?
Why ask it
One day is easier to describe than a whole record, and it pulls her out of resume language. Listen for what her hands were doing: sorting cans, reading to a first grader, directing cars in a field.
What was the least glamorous job you ended up with?
Why ask it
Cleanup, parking duty, the table nobody visited. Someone who can laugh about hauling trash bags at the end of a 5K has a realistic picture of what most philanthropy work is.
Who did you meet through volunteering that you would not have met otherwise?
Why ask it
Service puts people beside those they would not normally sit with, whether an older volunteer, a family at a pantry or a child she tutored. From her answer you can tell if she noticed the people or only the task.
Some people pick a cause because of something personal, others just because it interests them. Which is it for you?
Why ask it
Both halves are stated as fine on purpose. A round about causes can leave a PNM feeling she needs a sad story to be taken seriously, and this lets her say she simply likes working with kids.
Outside anything official, who do you end up helping?
Why ask it
Some PNMs spent their afternoons minding younger siblings, translating for a grandparent or driving a neighbor to appointments, and none of it went on a form. Count it. That is service by any fair definition, and she may not know you would think so.
Did you have a job in high school, and what did it teach you about showing up?
Why ask it
A PNM who worked weekends had less time for clubs and can feel behind in this round. Opening shifts and covering for a coworker are the same habit a philanthropy chair relies on. Keep the follow-up on the work itself and away from why she needed the job.
What would you change about how service was organized at your high school?
Why ask it
Sign-up sheets nobody checked, the same five people doing everything and fundraisers that barely covered their costs are common complaints. A criticism that arrives with a fix attached previews what she would say at a committee meeting.
How she works
Do you like the planning side of events, or the day-of side?
Why ask it
A chapter needs both and the round rarely tells them apart. Someone who lights up about spreadsheets and vendor emails is as useful as someone who wants to be at the finish line handing out water.
Have you helped run a fundraiser before, and what part of it went wrong?
Why ask it
The part that went wrong is where the real story is: rain, low turnout, a group that never showed. Only someone who helped organize it knows what failed behind the table, so you learn which side of it she was on without having to ask.
Would you rather sell tickets, post about an event, or work the table on the day?
Why ask it
Three real jobs in almost any fundraiser, and people sort themselves quickly. If your philanthropy leans on members asking friends and family for donations, this is the moment to say so plainly.
Do you prefer hands-on service, like tutoring or serving a meal, or raising money for the people who do that work?
Why ask it
Chapters differ a great deal here, and some are almost entirely one or the other. Describe your own mix accurately, because a PNM who wants to be in the room with the people being helped will be restless in a chapter that mostly writes checks.
Would you rather work on one big event a year or something small every month?
Why ask it
One big event means a single exhausting stretch, and a monthly shift means turning up when nobody is counting. Tell her which of the two your chapter's calendar really looks like.
If you were handed a free Saturday and a team of ten, what would you have them do?
Why ask it
It moves her from causes to action, whether that is painting a classroom, clearing a creek bank or washing cars for a neighbor's medical bills. You hear whether she thinks of service as something she joins or something she starts, and a named project with a reason attached is worth writing down.
What do you do when people in a group stop pulling their weight?
Why ask it
Committee work produces this sooner or later, and a high school group project is the same problem at a smaller size. Some people absorb the extra work in silence, some avoid the conflict and some talk to the person, and her story will show which she is.
What is the last thing you planned from start to finish, even a birthday or a carpool?
Why ask it
Small counts on purpose. Getting six people to the same place at the same time with food is the whole skill, and she is more likely to describe it truthfully when the example carries no title.
Have you ever talked a friend into coming to something with you?
Why ask it
Turnout is the unglamorous half of every philanthropy event, and much of it is members bringing people. How she got the friend there, by pestering, by offering a ride or by promising pizza, is a small portrait of how she persuades.
When the day comes and you do not feel like going, what gets you out the door?
Why ask it
Nearly everyone has stood in a doorway at seven on a cold morning regretting a sign-up. A promise to one particular person, a habit, plain guilt: any answer is fine, and it tells whoever pairs her for shifts what will work.
What are you planning to study, and does it connect to any of this?
Why ask it
Coursework is easier for a quieter PNM to talk about than herself. Nursing, education and social work programs sometimes build placements or service hours into the degree, and a design or accounting student may be who your philanthropy chair has been missing.
What are you good at that people would not guess?
Why ask it
After hours of the same handful of questions, this is one she has not rehearsed. Lettering a banner, backing up a trailer or speaking Spanish with families at an event are skills no application asks about and a philanthropy day uses.
Time
Honestly, how much time a week would you want to give to service?
Why ask it
She will be tempted to name the number she thinks you want, so give yours first, including the weeks when it was zero. A modest, realistic figure from her is better information than an eager one.
What else are you hoping to do on campus besides Greek life?
Why ask it
Marching band, club soccer, a research lab and a campus job are things members do as well, so name one who does. That tells her membership is not meant to be her whole life, and the list she gives is a first draft of her week.
Is there a season when your schedule is impossible, like a sport, a show or a heavy lab term?
Why ask it
Ask so that you can be truthful about timing. If your main event falls in the same month as her season, say how members in that position have managed, and admit it when the answer is that it was hard.
Have you ever given something up to make room for something you cared about more?
Why ask it
Leaving the swim team for a job or a robotics season is a decision about time, the same kind membership will ask of her. Hear it as judgment and not as quitting, and leave the reason alone if she does not offer one.
Do weekday evenings or weekend mornings suit you better?
Why ask it
Neither answer flatters her, so you get the true one. Follow it by saying when your service really happens, which might be an afternoon at an elementary school or a Sunday setup at dawn.
Would required service hours feel like structure to you, or like pressure?
Why ask it
Some people give more when there is a number to hit, and others resent the tally. Whether a chapter sets a minimum, and what happens when someone falls short, differs from one chapter to the next, so ask your recruitment chair what you may say about yours before the round.
Would it matter to you whether events are on campus or a drive away?
Why ask it
First-year students often have no car, and an event twenty minutes off campus can quietly rule someone out. Explain how members get there, by carpool or a campus shuttle, without asking what she does or does not have.
What do you want to know about how much time our members really give?
Why ask it
Time is the subject PNMs tend to wonder about and seldom raise. Bringing it up yourself makes the chapter look straight with her, so find out beforehand which hours and requirements your recruitment chair lets you quote.
Her turn
What have you wanted to ask a member today and not found the moment for?
Why ask it
PNMs carry practical questions from house to house because every conversation ran out of time. Answer hers in full if the rules let you, and if they do not, tell her who can, which is usually her recruitment counselor.
Would you like to hear about the member who runs the part you sounded interested in?
Why ask it
Linking what she said five minutes ago to a real person shows that she was heard. Describe that member's role and stop there, since promising an introduction or a later conversation can break the contact rules on many campuses.
Was anything I said about the cause unclear, or too fast?
Why ask it
You have given this explanation all day and she is hearing it once, over noise. Asking puts the fault on your delivery, so she can admit she missed the name of the organization without feeling slow.
Is there anything you wish someone had asked you today?
Why ask it
Plenty of PNMs arrive with one thing prepared, a mission trip or a team they captained, and no conversation has opened the door to it. Give her the last minute for it, because it is often the line that ends up in your write-up.
How many more parties do you have today, and do you need anything before the next one?
Why ask it
Nothing in it evaluates her. Water, the nearest bathroom or which door leads back to her group are things a member can sort out in the last thirty seconds, so the visit ends on care.
How to use these questions
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Which group fits which minute
- Before the presentation: Opening. One or two easy questions while she settles, and nothing about service yet.
- Straight after it: Our cause. Start from what she heard, fill in what the video left out, and ask which event she could see herself at.
- The middle of the conversation: Her service and How she works. Choose one question from each and follow it, because that is where the detail for your notes comes from.
- The last minute: Time if she seems to be weighing the commitment, then Her turn, so that she leaves having asked something of her own.
- Not every campus runs a separate philanthropy round, and its length differs widely. Where it is folded into another day, Our cause and Her turn are the two groups to keep.
How the round actually runs
These conversations are short, the room is loud, and the PNM in front of you has said the same sentences several times already today. Two questions with real follow-ups beat eight read off a list. Explain your cause in two or three sentences with one concrete number or one story attached, then spend the rest of the time listening. She will remember how the conversation felt long after she has forgotten what either of you said.
Keep it inside the rules
- Follow your Panhellenic and chapter rules for the round. Alcohol, dating, money and politics are off limits on many campuses, and rules about mentioning other chapters vary, so check yours before the doors open.
- Do not ask about class rank, test scores or family finances, directly or sideways.
- If she volunteers something painful, thank her and move the conversation on gently. Collecting it is not your job, and it does not belong in a recruitment write-up.
- Ask your recruitment chair in advance what you may say about dues and time commitments, because PNMs ask and vague answers cause problems later.
Listening well in a loud room
- Ask one follow-up before moving on. What did that look like, or what made that hard, gets the detail everything else is only guessing at.
- If she freezes, answer your own question briefly first. Showing the length of answer you want helps a nervous PNM more than repeating the question louder.
- Notice what she returns to without being asked twice. The subject a PNM brings up a second time on her own is usually the one she cares about.
- If she is exhausted, say so kindly and make your questions easier. You learn more from a comfortable person than from a performing one.
Writing her up afterwards
- Write one specific line from the conversation while you still remember it, not an adjective. Organized her school's blood drive twice beats seemed passionate.
- Separate what you observed from what you assumed. Quiet in a loud room is not the same as uninterested.
- Note the practical things she told you: hours she has free, other commitments, what she says she is good at.
- If thin service experience is your only concern, write that plainly. Willingness to learn is fair for the chapter to weigh, and vague notes turn into unfair votes.
If you are the PNM
PNMs look up questions to ask during philanthropy round as well, and this page is written from the member's chair. From yours, the useful questions are concrete ones: what did you personally do at the last event, how many service hours are expected of a new member, where does the money go, and can members support a cause of their own. A member who answers with a particular day and a particular job is telling you more than one who recites the total raised. She may not be allowed to answer questions about dues or about other chapters, so take those to your recruitment counselor.