National Panhellenic Conference | |
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NPC | |
Founded | May 24, 1902 Chicago, Illinois |
Type | Trade organization |
Affiliation | Independence |
Status | Active |
Emphasis | Collegiate sororities |
Scope | North America |
Members | 26 organizations active |
Former name | National Panhellenic Congress |
Headquarters | 12730 Meeting House Road, Suite 200 Carmel, Indiana 46032 United States |
Website | www |
The National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) is an umbrella organization for 26 national and international women's sororities throughout the United States and Canada. Panhellenic (lit. 'all-Greek') refers to the group's members being autonomous social Greek-letter societies of college women and alumnae.
The National Panhellenic Conference provides guidelines and resources for its members and serves as a national voice on contemporary issues of sorority life. Founded in 1902, the NPC is one of the oldest and largest women's membership organizations, representing more than 4 million women at over 650 college and university campuses and 4,600 local alumnae chapters in the U.S. and Canada. Each year, NPC-affiliated collegians and alumnae donate more than $5 million to causes, provide $2.8 million in scholarships to women, and volunteer 500,000 hours in their communities.[1]
The organization is a conference, not a congress, as it enacts no legislation and only regulates its own meetings.[2] Other than basic agreements which its member groups must unanimously vote to follow, the NPC confines itself to recommendations and advice and acts as a court of final appeal in any college Panhellenic disputes. One of its services is providing advisors for sororities.