Frequently Asked Questions

Why did the Idaho FarmHouse chapter close in 2020?

A: Covid played a part in helping the Idaho FarmHouse Association and FarmHouse International make the difficult decision to close. This decision was made after a a few years of declining membership and limited participation in collaborative efforts to renew the chapter.

How did the chapter get to that point?

Many factors played into the situation: advisor succession planning challenges, financial pressures, condition of the chapter house, recruiting struggles, and ad hoc or misunderstood processes at all levels of the organization.

What has been done to make sure this doesn’t happen again?

The Idaho FarmHouse Association board has worked closely with FarmHouse International to understand the factors that contributed to the closure. We have established clear processes, tools, and controls to provide early warnings or outright prevent some of the failures of the past. Financially, FarmHouse International has purchased the Omega Phi financial management platform to collect house bills, make payments, and provide transparency to members, parents, advisors, and FH International staff. We have expanded our advisor pool through technology tools and ensuring advisor volunteer workloads are manageable. Every chapter meeting includes a Zoom link for advisors to join, removing the geographic barrier to advising. We still aim to have an advisor or Association board member in the house at least once a week to provide that in person mentorship and check in, but bringing perspectives from alumni and friends beyond the Moscow area has strengthened our advisor corps. The Idaho FarmHouse Association, through the generous donations of many of our alumni and friends, has been working since 2021 to renovate the house, these renovations come with controls such as housing agreements and inspections to ensure we maximize the impact of those donations and work while instilling a healthy respect in our members for their home. Our current members have actively worked on room remodels, earning the pride in ownership that can only be gained through sweat equity.

Is there still a place at the University of Idaho for FarmHouse?

While trends on more urban campuses in The West may point toward decreased participation in Greek Life, Idaho is still a residential campus. Students move to Moscow to attend college and many of them make that choice for the traditional college experience. The University and campus community is excited to see FarmHouse return to campus and step back into the leadership role our fraternity and individual members have historically held as students and carry forward as alumni. Our unique chapter house with private two-person rooms is particularly appealing to many prospective members and their parents, offering a newly remodeled facility further improves that appeal.

What has been done with funds raised in the last capital campaign?

The previous capital campaign cast a fantastic vision, creating a visually exciting facility. Unfortunately, the campaign did not raise sufficient funds to make that vision a reality in one fell swoop. The Idaho FarmHouse Association Board utilized those funds raised in accordance with the donor’s desires at the time of the gift to revitalize the chapter house and ensure the house’s key systems are prepared to support the 21st century fraternity. Major projects include a new roof, replacing the facility’s original boiler, replacing all windows in the house, replacing all interior and exterior doors to meet ADA and fire codes, and renovating all common areas except the shower rooms.

What is the plan for the chapter house moving forward?

The current phase of chapter house work is focused on renovating individual rooms. The first floor is almost complete with finishing touches on the last two rooms and we’re moving onto the second floor rooms. Our next project after the rooms will either be renovating the shower rooms or implementing our plans for the landscaping and exterior of the house. As we complete those phases, we’ll evaluate future capital opportunities as we transition to a continuous improvement model. One of those major capital opportunity decisions is whether we complete the vision of a more traditional Greek house exterior, build a new house, or refine a new vision for the house.