The Supreme Knight on MembershipA Message to Recruiters
Carl A. Anderson
Time and again, I have stressed that we have nothing less than a moral obligation to offer membership in the Knights of Columbus to every eligible Catholic man. To accomplish this, I am asking dedicated brother Knights like you to be ambassadors, to reach out to Catholic men and their families and invite them to become part of our Order.
The Servant of God Father Michael J. McGivney founded our Order more than 134 years ago, and yet we have only just begun to realize our true potential. New members are essential to our success; the Order’s tomorrow depends on our recruitment today!
We must be creative in our recruitment efforts, and I am pleased to promote an exciting web site feature that we hope will facilitate membership recruitment. Please visit the Why Join? feature and see how it can help in your recruitment efforts. This multimedia presentation offers powerful testimonials from Knights like you about their experiences in the Order.
Please encourage prospective members and their families to visit the “Why Join?” feature at their convenience and in the comfort of their own homes. In so doing, they can see why being a Knight of Columbus truly is an experience of a lifetime.
Thank you in advance for your efforts to bring new members into our ranks. Working together, I am confident that the Knights of Columbus will continue to thrive as the preeminent lay Catholic organization in the world.
Member Retention
The task of member retention begins as soon as the Admission (First Degree) Ceremonial is conferred upon a new member. From the start, new members should be encouraged to be active and to participate in the Formation (Second Degree) and Knighthood (Third Degree) Ceremonials. Here are some steps to take to ensure your members succeed:
- Set the service program calendar early in the fraternal year and publicize it to the membership.
- Regularly review service programs to determine if they were successful.
- Send out a Member/Prospect Interest Survey (#1842) annually to determine the interests of your members.
- Utilize the suggestions of members for new service programs or to improve current service programs.
- Ask different members to take leadership roles in service programs and your council.
- Make council meetings productive.
- Utilize members’ time efficiently on meeting nights.
- Present information in a clear and concise manner.
- Hold officer meetings to limit lengthy discussion in council meetings.
- Follow a meeting agenda.
- Provide a schedule of Formation (Second Degree) and Knighthood (Third Degree) Ceremonials.
- Encourage First Degree members to advance to higher degrees.
- Council members of higher degrees should accompany members to the Formation (Second Degree) and Knighthood (Third Degree) Ceremonials.
- Ask members to take leadership roles in your council.
- Host fraternal benefits nights.
- Invite the field agent to council meetings and allow him to speak.
- Ask the field agent to contribute an article to your council's newsletter or Web page.
- Ensure that the financial secretary forwards Membership Documents (#100) to the general agent immediately after Admission (First Degree) Ceremonials.
- Schedule monthly Admission (First Degree) Ceremonials.
- Your council’s financial secretary should provide your retention committee with a list of brother Knights in danger of being suspended. Contact these members and discuss their reasons for being inactive. Urge them to become active again in an upcoming charitable or fraternal activity.
- The Supreme Council has established the Proper Billing Procedures Including Use of the “Notice of Intent to Suspend” (#1845A). Please be sure to follow these procedures in an effort to retain members in danger of being suspended. Through implementing the points above, your council will keep all members involved and active.
