October 2017
Brothers All,
Membership has 2 concerns now that the first quarter of the year has come and gone: Lack of new members coming in and amount of members leaving the Order.
On the first concern, I ask if your Councils or District are aware of expectations. Have you or they broke that down to "only" ____ each month/quarter? I have realized that when you do that, the local council members see that the quota is really not a lot. Are your Councils/District actively recruiting both by planned events specifically for that AND by all members at ALL other activities (no matter if KofC sponsored or just a ministry event they are participating in)? What about partnership in the Parish? New parishioners welcome committee, RCIA sponsors, That Man Is You, or Building the Domestic Church? So many opportunities. MAYBE you and your members are simply failing to ask? The "number one" reason people didn't join is still because someone has to ask! It is Order wide Church Drive Month and if you cannot get a pulpit announcement or permission in the Parish be creative and come up with a Recruiting Event at each Council.
On the latter concern, do you have a committed membership team in each Council? Do the Councils change with the membership or expect members to accept this is what we do and have always done? We must attract AND retain. It’s a balance of the new and the tried and true. If people no longer come to xxxx then ask why and what would they prefer. It also may be a personal situation (family or illness), but if no one is reaching out then that member may feel that his membership no longer means what it once did. GK's should insure that his Council is included and informed so can reach out with time or good words. It really does take time, but it really is needed.
We are one quarter into the year and several Councils still have not recruited ONE new Member. That is amazing to me. We have a Hispanic Council Chairman to help if that skill set is needed. We have a Retention Chairman if you need assistance in retaining Membership. We have a Ceremonials Chairman to help with Degrees to get them on board. We have a business card program for you and others to use when asking someone to consider joining. We have a State Family that cares and wants you to be successful. Reach out to any of them.
God Bless,
Frank Joseph
State Membership Director
317-587-7428 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Four Pillars, One Mission,
The Indiana Knights