Transitioning Graduating Members

Affiliate Member Initiative:

At the end of each fraternal year, it is imperative for college councils to have a strategy in place for transitioning graduating seniors.  With the advent of the Affiliate Member Initiative (AMI), the Order now maintains an avenue for college councils to transfer graduating seniors off their rosters into affiliate membership so that they will continue to receive important messages from the Supreme Council office and remain engaged members of the Knights of Columbus as they move into the next stages of their lives.

To this end, college councils are strongly encouraged to consider transferring their graduating seniors to affiliate membership unless they will be remaining at school as graduate-level students during the next term.

The process will be as follows:

• Generate a list of seniors that will graduate during the current academic year.
• Hold an exit interview (see details below) with each senior prior to their being made an affiliate member. Ideally this occurs early in the spring semester.
• Your council’s Graduating Senior List should be reviewed by the grand knight and the council trustees for any mitigating circumstances as to why a graduating senior might not be assigned to affiliate.
• The list will then be submitted to the district deputy for approval who will then submit the final list to affiliate@kofc.org for processing.
  • Please copy the college inbox, college@kofc.org, when submitting the final list
• As an affiliate member, one can transfer into a new council at any time by the ordinary process of submitting a Form 100. College Councils Alumni should transfer into a local council wherever they land post-graduation.

Please feel free to contact the the Affiliate Membership Team at affiliate@kofc.org with any questions.

Exit Interviews:

Exit interviews give your council the opportunity to thank graduating members for their service and dedication to the council. They are also an opportunity to update member information and to ask seniors about their post-graduation plans. Exit interviews should be held before a member is transferred into affiliate membership.

During this process, college councils should gather updated contact information, including a permanent (non-school) email address, mailing address, and phone number. Updated contact information should be reported to the Supreme Council office by updating your council’s files via Member Management on Officers Online.

Your council should maintain its own list of graduated alumni in order to drive alumni engagement. Councils should consider periodic communication with alumni especially with regards to council homecoming and charter anniversary celebrations

Celebrate your Council’s Graduates:

Your council's graduates have worked hard for their degrees, and they have a lot to celebrate. During the spring semester, councils should consider hosting a farewell event (e.g. cookout, dinner, etc.) to honor the graduating seniors and their contributions to the council. Councils might even consider giving their seniors a sendoff gift in gratitude for their service to the council. Sending off graduates in a way that values their commitment to the Knights of Columbus will encourage their lifelong engagement with the Order as Brother Knights.