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ideas that work:
RECRUITING / LODGE EFFECTIVENESS
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What Motivates Men to Become Masons? - May
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A lodge’s success in growing their membership doesn’t totally rely on a
strong recruiting program. Men must be motivated to join. Before they sign a
petition, they must see reasons to join, be active and to remain members.
The most effective recruiting tool available to your lodge is to build an
active and enticing program of activities that meets the interests of
today’s men.
Surveys show Masons want our fraternity to provide:
- Better fellowship and opportunities to make new friends.
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Leadership opportunities,
improved leadership training and to be well led.
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Greater civic involvement,
public charities, pride in the accomplishments of the Craft.
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Improved Masonic education and
understanding of Masonry.
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A higher profile for
Freemasonry, more open to the public, greater visibility and more pride in
the organization.
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Active commitment to the needs
of youth.
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Higher quality degrees
presented more dramatically and understandably.
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Improved meetings with
entertaining and interesting programs.
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Opportunities for family
involvement in lodge.
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Self-improvement.
This list of motivators could be the beginning point when
planning your lodge’s year of activities. Review each bulleted item above
and think of ways your lodge can answer the needs expressed here.
You can find more than 400 activity ideas in the Lodge
Leadership Manual online at
http://www.glne.org. Simply click on “Downloads” and scroll down to
“Publications.” Work through the twelve sections of the manual and when you
finish, you will have a complete plan constructed for the year you’ll be
Master.
The sad fact is that on average, after the first year of
membership, 80 percent of all new members do not return to lodge meetings
and activities.
In 2007, Nebraska
lodges raised 306 members. On the negative side of the ledger, the biggest
reason for losses was 455 suspensions, which were 41 more than deaths.
Imagine if our lodges were meeting the needs expressed by Masons in this
article. Suspensions would diminish, men would be attracted to join and our
fraternity and your lodge would be growing.
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Targeting Potential New Members - May 2008 |
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Have your lodge members hit the
proverbial brick wall when it comes to thinking of men who should join your
lodge? In every community without exception, there are men who will join.
Perhaps all you need is something to jog your members’ memories. A simple
process called targeting can do just that.
Make enough copies of the form
“Prospective Lodge Members,”
so every member has one. It lists categories of people you interact with
regularly to start your members thinking of possible candidates.
At your next meeting, reserve time to hand them out to
every member, along with a pencil. Read each category aloud and give them
time to write names on their form. Then, read the next category, etc. until
all the categories have been read.
Tell your members to hold onto them until after the
meeting at which time they need to give you each person’s address and phone
number. Your lodge phone book will be in great demand.
Collect the forms and this is your contact list of
potential new members.
This process has worked successfully in lodges across the
state, and it will work for you equally as well. Give it a try. You’ll be
surprised how many different names, no matter the size of your community,
will be on the list.
The next step is to send them an invitation to attend a “Who Are the
Masons?” meeting. See the following article, and for more details refer to
Section 7 of the Lodge Leadership Manual.
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How to Hold a "Who are the Masons?" Meeting -
May 2008 |
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A proven recruiting tool is a “Who are the Masons?” meeting, which is a
formal presentation about Masonry to prospective members. This involves
preparing a meal, a presentation about Masonry and a tour of your lodge.
Most importantly, it brings the prospect face-to-face with your brothers.
Appoint a committee to organize the meeting, and
name a chairman who is good with details and has follow-up skills. If your
lodge isn’t clean, find another location. Remember, it only costs a little
more to go first class and is well worth the effort to make a good first
impression.
The committee should study materials about Masonry so they may answer a
prospective member’s questions.
Besides prospects, also invite lodge members to attend. Mail the letter
three weeks before the meeting. Include in the letter the name of the lodge
member who will contact them who has similar characteristics and interests
to make him feel more comfortable. He should contact his prospect three to
four days after the letters of invitation are mailed, ask if he received the
invitation, and tell him he will contact him about one week before the
meeting.
At that time, he tells his prospect about the meeting plans and child
care service that will be available. Tell him suitable attire for both he
and his wife, and ask if you can pick them up or if they prefer to meet him
at the lodge.
Plan a dinner meeting (covered dish, steak fry, etc.). Be sure to serve
quality food in proper quantities.
Provide name tags prepared ahead of time for everyone
using different colors for the Masons and prospects.
Plan a program for the meeting. A
welcome and an invocation are needed before the meal.
Present the program and tell them about Masonry, what your lodge does on
the local level, the good programs the Grand Lodge sponsors, and Masonry on
a national level. Impress on prospective members the benefits of
meeting new friends, enjoying the company of other men and making new
connections with like-minded people. Mention the opportunities your lodge
offers for the involvement of his wife and the importance of the family to
the fraternity. Show the things your lodge does for the community, and how
he can participate. Mention that the Craft develops leadership.
Tell them you want them to join, handout and ask them to sign a
petition.
Give each prospect a brochure about Freemasonry from the Grand Lodge
office. The entire program should never take longer than one hour. Follow
with refreshments to provide an opportunity for fellowship and to answer
questions on a one-to-one basis.
In the week following the event, contact the prospect and ask if he has
any questions. Then, ask him to submit a petition, if he hasn’t already.
If the prospect declines to
immediately submit a petition, but indicates it is forthcoming, the sponsor
should inform him of the date it needs to be completed so it may be
forwarded to the lodge secretary.
If the prospect completes the petition during this event, tell him a
visitation committee will make an appointment to visit with him to discuss
his qualifications and answer any further questions. Ensure he understands
this is the standard procedure for all candidates for the degrees of
Freemasonry.
A successful “Who are the Masons?” meeting, followed by new petitions and
degree work, can be an exciting time in any lodge. Make your plan and carry
it out well to ensure success.
Incentives for members who bring new members into your
lodge can play a significant role in your membership efforts. Incentives,
such as the lodge paying one year’s dues, can encourage a member to talk to
a friend or relative about Freemasonry and about joining. Also, recognize
brothers in lodge meetings who bring in new members.
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Short, Interesting Meetings
Attract Members to Lodge - April
2008
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One of the biggest challenges
facing lodges is how to make meetings interesting so more members will
attend. On average, only about 10 percent of a lodge’s total membership
attends meetings.
In most youthful marriages: both partners work in
84 percent of marriages; children reduce free time by 60 percent; and
most married men have only five free hours a month. Long meetings cause
family stress.
First, every
member should make everyone feel welcome and a part of the lodge at
every meeting, but unquestionably it’s the officers who absolutely must
assume this responsibility every time.
Here are
suggestions for saving time:
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Summarize
minutes and correspondence. Hand out copies of the minutes, pass
around the correspondence, or consider posting them with the
treasurer’s report.
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Begin
meetings on time.
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Make sure
each presenter is prepared to efficiently give his report.
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Hold
introductions to a minimum, and introduce guests in a group, if
possible.
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Limit
remarks at the end of the meeting.
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Don’t
review in lodge what you can put on paper for brothers to read
later, such as upcoming events.
Masters must ensure meetings
are organized and effectively controlled by:
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Arriving
in time to organize the meeting.
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Know the
ritual so lodge can be opened and closed efficiently.
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Know the
business for the meeting. Prepare an agenda for every meeting and
discuss it with the Secretary. Talk to committee chairmen about
their reports.
Avoid these pitfalls:
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The
Secretary must remember he is not in charge of meetings or the
lodge.
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Ritual
purists can sidetrack a meeting and embarrass members by enforcing
letter-perfect ritual.
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Hold
Masonic education presentations and functions with the ladies and
youth before, during or after meetings.
Make lodge meetings an event. Consider the following when preparing for
a meeting:
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Plan all meeting details, which forces you to
consider the members’ needs.
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Hold special activities at least six times a year during stated
meetings. Involve members in the program and planning.
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Ask individuals in your community who will
provide excellent programs for your lodge, whether they are Masons
or not.
Ideas to make meetings more interesting:
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Offer a dinner before meetings.
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Ask the principal of an elementary, middle or
senior high school to talk about ways you can improve the school.
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A financial planner can help members discover the
important financial or retirement services available to them and
answer questions or concerns.
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A travel agent can talk about how to save money
on travel, and available trips.
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An insurance agent, broker or claims specialist
can speak about life, health or property insurance and offer
insights on avoiding delays in claim processing and how to reduce
premiums.
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A career counselor can talk about the changing
nature of jobs, how to find a job and how to be better trained for
the future demands of the job market.
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A real estate broker can talk about changes in
the real estate market and the importance of their home as an asset.
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A health care specialist can speak on ways to
protect good health.
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A law enforcement officer or fireman could
provide an interesting program.
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Hold a winter putting contest, Masonic Jeopardy
(like the game show with Masonic answers), or draw for prizes.
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Contact the Grand Lodge office to borrow a video
to show.
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A program about the George Washington Masonic
Memorial.
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Provide Masonic education programs. Ask members
to make presentations.
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Men Have Simple Needs When Joining a Group -
February 2008
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Men who join
organizations have relatively simple needs:
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They want to meet new friends.
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They want to have fun.
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They want to feel proud.
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They want to be well led.
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They want a role for their family.
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They want the lodge active in the community.
Plan
activities for your lodge that will meet these needs.
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Grand Master Outlines 2008 Initiatives -
February 2008
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M.W. Grand Master Reg Kuhn spelled out his programs
for the coming Masonic year to delegates attending Annual Communication.
He encouraged all Nebraska lodges to participate in the following
programs.
Who Are You?
He challenged each lodge to develop a mission
statement which will best answer the question, “Who are you?”
“It will require a lodge to seriously consider those
core values which are most important to it, and then put those values
into words,” he said. To assist lodges, resources that will be helpful
in this process will be sent in the next month. At Annual Communication
next year, the lodges’ mission statements will be displayed about the
lodge room.
Building Maintenance
The Grand Master also expressed concern about the
maintenance of Masonic buildings. To begin to address the situation, he
announced that four, $1,000 grants will be presented to lodges to make
improvements. To be eligible to submit a grant application, a lodge must
raise at least $750 of new funds to support either Masonic youth
programs, such as CHIP, our youth groups, the band camp, or a youth
program in the local community.
Ritual Work
In addition, he challenged each lodge to ensure that
its ritual is done in the best possible manner. He urged everyone to
double their efforts to maintain and improve the quality of the ritual.
“I do not believe the ritual is the holy grail of our
fraternity,” he said. “Rather, it is the bonds of fraternal brotherhood
and the lessons taught by the ritual which are of the utmost importance.
However, our ritual does set us apart from every other social order and
association, and I suggest provides many useful insights and tools to
assist us in answering the complex question which I have put before us
today.”
Grand Lodge
He added the Grand Lodge will respond to similar
questions about its own functions, including exploration of new ways of
doing business to ensure it is both relevant and nimble in these times
of rapid technological change. He said the Grand Lodge also recognizes
the current Grand Lodge committee structure is cumbersome, hard to
coordinate and leaves many committee members unable to answer the
question, “What do you do?” At the 2009 Annual Communication, he
will offer a recommendation to restructure the Grand Lodge committees.
“I hope that a new structure can make more effective use of Grand Lodge
resources and the expertise of our members,” he said.
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What an Opportunity You have Before You -
February 2008
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As a leader of your lodge, you not only have the
responsibility but also the opportunity to make your lodge enticing,
meaningful and relevant to your members.
You can accomplish this by making a plan for the year
you’ll serve as Master. Every Master can achieve a meaningful year for
his lodge if he diligently prepares himself and his lodge by entering
the year with a plan of activities aimed at meeting the needs of its
members.
It is essential that those who follow you in the line
of leadership be involved in a planning process to ensure consistency
and eliminating peaks and valleys in the performance of your lodge from
year to year.
You can do nothing greater in the year you serve as
Worshipful Master than to set a precedent by exhibiting the positive
impact of short- and long-range planning, and implementing your plan so
that your lodge benefits. The potential of developing a plan could
result in an effective year that will be felt for many years after your
term of service has passed.
Don’t miss this opportunity. Start now! Go to the
Lodge Leadership Program manual on the Grand Lodge Web site at:
http://glne.org/pdf/lodgeleadership.pdf
. The manual contains a step-by-step approach to planning a year, and
includes more than 400 activity ideas.
In addition, check out the awards programs to use as
a guide in planning your year. Forms have been e-mailed to lodge
contacts, or go to
http://glne.org/fileDownload.aspx to download the forms for the Rock
Maul Award, Nebraska Pillar Award, Grand Master Leadership Award and
Gold Pan Award.
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"Dummies" Author Offers Ideas to Make Lodges
Effective - January 2008
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Christopher Hodapp, author of Freemasons for Dummies,
proved he’s no dummy when it comes to making a lodge successful.
Hodapp was integral in helping his lodge, Broad
Ripple Lodge No. 643 in Indianapolis, Ind., rise from near extinction to
dramatic growth and good health today. To learn more, visit the lodge’s
Web site at: http://www.brlodge.org/.
Here is a list of ideas that he and others
implemented at Broad Ripple Lodge that helped it to go and grow,
including:
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All stated meetings were table lodges for a year.
Minutes were printed and circulated, and NOT read.
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Redecorated the lobby and entry area. (Ratty
furniture, no art and accessories from the 1950s made a terrible
first impression on potential new members. If you think it looks
ugly, how will a new member see it? If you don’t know, ASK YOUR
WIFE!)
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Landscaped the front yard. (Ours was full of
rocks and overgrown shrubs.) If your building looks tired, unkempt
and decayed, what does that say about Freemasonry to a potential new
member? What does it say about your own pride of membership?
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Professional look of Web site and KEPT UP TO
DATE. If a potential member sees that your site is dated 1997 and
none of the hyperlinks work, they’ll move on.
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Monthly Trestle Board with photos. Make lodge
look fun, and if they don’t participate, then they’re missing great
experiences.
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Stopped charging for meals, including
Thanksgiving. We provided catered or convenience food rather than
the same few brothers chained to the kitchen. They burn out.
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Added a stereo system and big screen TV to the
dining room. (Football and basketball nights after practices. Make
lodge a place to hang out, not “eat, meet and flee.”)
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Purchased motorized stair climbers to assist
older members up the steps.
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Started the Masonic Angel Fund for local kids.
(See our Web site for details.)
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Made $100 donation to Masonic Home Foundation for
every month a member(s) died.
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Poinsettias were personally delivered to lodge
widows at Christmastime by the Master. They’ll love you forever. Get
them on your side and their grandson may join.
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Started an Annual Chili Cook-Off with permanent
trophy at the lodge. The noisier the rivalry gets, the better.
Encourage outlandish claims and bragging rights.
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Presented Lifetime Achievement Award for older
member 64 years a Mason who comes to every meeting and degree. These
men built our lodge. Acknowledge their achievements publicly.
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Insisted on post-meeting gathering at local
tavern for members, spouses and friends. Do NOT hang out in the
parking lot of the Lodge complaining after meetings. That’s not a
way to forge new friendships.
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Regular dialogue with the OES Worthy Matron. Keep
them involved in your public events.
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Sought help for our degrees from other lodges.
Liberal use of honorary membership for regular visiting helpers.
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If you are a young Mason who does not know all
ritual for all degrees, learn ONE degree well, and have your Wardens
do the same for the other two degrees. Performing a smaller number
of parts well is more important than stumbling through many of them
badly. Do NOT get pressured into doing more than you are able by the
“In MY year I had to know all of the degrees,” crowd. If they know
it all, ask THEM to take a part. Remember: a man gets to hear each
of his degrees for the first time ONLY ONCE. If you can’t do it
properly with feeling and meaning, GET SOMEONE WHO CAN.
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Hold a joint picnic with other lodges.
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Let a lodge from a Temple that goes dark in
summer hold Craft practice at your building. Join in with them.
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Dramatically expanded our library. Write book
reviews of new books and promote them in your Trestle Board.
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Started a book exchange open to everyone in the
lodge family. Place the bookshelf in your dining room.
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Leave officers chairs empty for two years rather
than push new members into them immediately.
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Make sure lodge name is seen in the community.
Business cards, pins, jackets with the square and compass and lodge
name, who to contact for information on the door of the lodge as
well as your lodge’s Web address. If the building is closed, how
will a new man find someone to ask?
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Extend invitations to Prince Hall lodges to
visit. Check with the Master of the PHA lodge if you need permission
from the Prince Hall Grand Master. We have helped a group of PHA
lodges with their annual Thanksgiving dinner for the poor and we
made Indiana Masonic history by conferring the Master Mason degree
on two Prince Hall Candidates.
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Always keep petitions in your car.
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If 200 members stay away, get new ones who won’t!
If only seven show up, have fun with each other.
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Make a new member’s notebook containing:
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Introduction to lodge etiquette.
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Lodge history.
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List of Masonic Web sites, research and
recommended book list.
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Directory of lodge members, their addresses and
phone numbers.
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Introduction to Freemasonry for a Mason’s lady.
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List of all lodge widows.
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List of all lodge committees.
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List of area lodges to visit.
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Lodge by-laws.
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Brochures from the York Rite, Scottish Rite and
Shrine, but not petitions. Encourage them to wait at least one year
before joining.
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Our lodge Masonic Angel Fund brochure.
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The latest Lodge Trestle Board.
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Three petitions and Grand Lodge Masonic brochures
and DVD.
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Masonic license plate form.
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Freemasonry IS NOT RITUAL. If you can do all
parts flawlessly, yet never have candidates and no one comes to
meetings, how will the ritual save your lodge?
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Plan with your wardens so there is continuity for
years to come. Stop re-inventing the wheel every year. Do NOT hide
good ideas from your Master so you can claim victory during your
year. Do NOT pass on problems to the next Master. Solve them now!
To purchase Hodapp’s book, visit:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0764597965/bookstorenow600-20.
To read his blog, go to:
http://freemasonsfordummies.blogspot.com/.
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