Illinois Freemasonry
It’s About Membership
Translating Leadership into New Brethren
Introduction
 Administrative matters
 Development and implementation of the
programme
Scope of the Problem
 Membership in 1955 – approximately 250,000
 Average Age in 1955 – approximately 43
 Membership in 2007 – approximately 70,000
 Average Age in 2007 – approximately 68
 Average life expectancy – 75 years +/-
Recruitment
 First-time candidates (i.e. “profanes”)
New Grand Lodge Programme
Billboards
 Advertisements in college newsletters
 New web site
 All lodges in the state may be involved
Membership at Every Meeting
 Should be discussed at every meeting
 Read
 Ballot
 Ask Why
 Work the prospect list
 Plan the next step
Membership at Every Meeting
 Not a one-man show
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Together
Everyone
Achieves
More
 TEAM
 There is no “I” in TEAM
The Process
 5-Step Process
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Meet Him
Make Him a Friend
Introduce Him to Your Friends
Introduce Him to the Fraternity
Ask Him to Join
The Masonic Process
 3-Step Process
 Introduce Him to Your Friends
 Introduce Him to Masonry
 Ask Him to Petition
Membership Recruitment Strategy
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Invitational (friend to friend)
Builds relationship
Built on sharing stories (not a sales pitch)
Materials ready to be adapted for easy use
(see the resource list in Section 2, page 3)
 Consistency and organisation; not haste
Commitment to the Programme
Step by Step
 A recipe for success
 Follow the plan
 Make adaptations to the plan once you
have been successful
 Edit as needed and appropriate
Step by Step
 Prospect List
 Letter
 First Call
 Second Call
 Event
 Follow-Up Call
 Event
 Follow-Up Call
 ITP
Gathering Names & Basic Information
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An individual effort or a team effort
Set a goal
Build a list of names
Use a prospect information sheet
Utilise an ITP when appropriate
Involvement
 Try to link up prospect with a similarly-aged
contact.
 Invite prospects to functions.
 Get involved in your lodge’s degree work.
 Ask for referrals ASAP.
 Get new brethren engaged, including
Entered Apprentices and Fellowcrafts.
 Must use the intender programme.
Brethren Whom The Prospect Knows
 Men whom he may already know
and think well of
 Someone he might talk to
 For use in phone call and other discussions
Creating a “Hot List”
 Pared down list for current focus
 What is the magic number???
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Facility
Letters
Telephone calls!
Budget
 Based on optimum performance
Mailing Prospects’ Letters
 A friendly, invitational letter
 Invitation to see a video and hear some
information
 Does not seek membership decision
 Merely opens the proverbial door
 Letter formats
The First Telephone Call
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Essential part of the process
Needs to be done well
Utilise the outline but do not read from it
Practice, practice, practice
Keep it invitational in tone
The Follow-Up Telephone Call
 Within an appropriate window of time (3, 5
or 7 days)
 Set prospect at ease
 Answer questions
 Clarify arrangements
 Reinforce the commitment
The Gathering or Contact
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Individual, small or large group
Welcoming atmosphere
Very well planned and executed
Brief
Story-based (with video)
Make the invitation !!
Rules of Engagement
 DO wear one or two pins. It
shows that Freemasonry is a
fraternity of which to be proud.
 DO use first names. It’s more
engaging, more casual, and
friendlier.
 DO look for potential in a man,
and not a finished product.
 DO know enough about
Freemasonry to answer his
questions.
 DO be honest. If you lie and he
finds out, he will not be
impressed.
 If you don’t know the answer to
a question, DO ask someone
who does.
 DO find out a man’s interests
and DO introduce him to
brothers with similar interests.
 DO involve your brethren in
progress in events. Because of
their enthusiasm, they make
good promoters.
 DO let your guest do most of
the talking. This gives him a
chance to ask the questions
that are important to him.
 DO make sure all guests have
left before commenting on any
of them.
 DO give your guests
something to take home.
Rules of Engagement
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DON’T wear more than two pins; it
looks like an uneducated kook.
DON’T gang up on, or
monopolise, a guest for the entire
evening. The first practice makes
him uncomfortable, and the
second makes it hard for the rest
of the members to get to know
him.
DON’T ever, ever leave a guest
alone.
DON’T use “inside” jokes or
nicknames. It’s rude and makes
your guests feel even more like
outsiders.
DON’T talk fraternity business in
front of a guest.
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DON’T congregate in large
groups.
DON’T wait to be introduced –
introduce yourself. But DON’T butt
rudely into a conversation.
DON’T forget that the average
man knows very little about
Freemasonry. Take the time to
explain the basics and clear up
any misconceptions he may have.
DON’T use foul language. You’ve
got to first be a man’s friend
before you can act like a jerk in
front of him and get away with it.
DON’T criticize brothers. You’re
trying to sell brotherhood, not
backstab.
Answers You Will Need
 How much does it cost to join?
 On average, how much will the
fraternity cost me?
 Are you “really” close to every
brother in your lodge?
 Why is your lodge so small or
so large?
 What do you do for service
projects? Does everyone have
to do them?
 What do I have to do to be
initiated, passed, raised?
 Have you noticed a change in
your lodge since you joined?
 I don’t think I can afford the
fraternity...
 My family don’t want me to
join. What if I just didn’t tell
them?
 I don’t think I have time to join
a fraternity...
 Will I be hazed? What will you
guys make me do?
Follow-Up Contacts
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Avoid “buyer’s remorse”
Answer questions
Finalise or facilitate petition
Facilitate fees
Confirm and reinforce his interest and your
interest in him
Prepare Candidates for Initiation
 See that he has all the information he
needs
 Schedule
 Location
 What he needs to know . . .
 Refer him to any information provided and
web sites
Invitation to Petition
 Could be the first step in the process, but
should the last.
 Used when you can’t get a man to ask.
 Will likely result in objections.
 Be prepared to answer objections.
Tracking Your Prospects
 Know where each prospect is in the
process.
 Know when to take the next step.
 Post it somewhere visible in the lodge.
Prospect Matrix
Letter
Call 1
Call 2
Event 1
FollowUp Call
William
5 Jan
20 Jan
2 Feb
7 Feb
12 Feb
Andrew
2 Feb
15 Feb
Event 2
FollowUp Call
ITP
Utilise Your Newer Brethren
 Get a “hot list” from each new brother
 Newly-raised
 Work-in-progress
 Involve them in events
 Be sure they can speak intelligently
 Start meeting their friends
Recruitment-Retention-Reclamation
Membership
Chairman
Recruitment
Chairman
Retention
Assimilation
Chairman
Enrichment
Chairman
Reclamation
Chairman
Retention
 Assimilation
 Incorporation
Intender Programme
 Choose the correct coach
 Should be someone the candidate knows
 Should understand the candidate’s and
lodge’s goals
 Can’t be a forced relationship
 Continues after raising
Communication
Regular contact by intender and lodge
 Add to mailing list
 Add to email lists
 Add to call lists
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Invited to all lodge events – personally
Participation/attendance at degrees
Introduce to travel, where feasible
If we do a good job, we won’t need reclamation
Retention Through Enrichment
 Enrich the mind with knowledge
 Enrich the soul with fellowship and activity
Programming
 Interest survey
 Generational differences – workbook
elements
 If we do a good job we won’t need
reclamation.
What is a good event?
 Meets goals.
 To measure the success of an event (or
anything), there must be a goal, be it explicit or
implied.
 To control and event, state the goals.
Planning
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No successful event is accidental.
Discover the details for your programme.
Form an event team.
Define the team’s duties.
Set deadlines.
Publicise.
Follow up.
Critique the event afterward.
Elements of Reclamation
 At risk: one year of non-payment of dues.
 180 days – Don’t wait!
 Best face-to-face
 Ask why.
 Done by team.
 Not the dais nor secretary.
 Use the script – but don’t read from it.
For More Information
 Please visit www.ILMason.org
or
 Resource list (Section 2, pages 19-20)
Special Requests
 Please send all home-grown and enhanced
 Forms
 Ideas; and
 Techniques
 Electronically (e-mail, CD, flash drive, etc.)
Special Requests
Benny L Grisham MWPGM
Grand Secretary
Grand Lodge of Illinois
2866 Via Verde St
Springfield IL 62703-4325
BGrisham@AFAM-IL.org
Earl F Wys
2625 N Woodhaven Dr
Peoria IL 61604-2015
EarlWys@InsightBB.com
or
WysEF@Cat.com
Questions?
 John Dorner – john@ilorlibrary.org
 Barry Weer – barry@ilorlibrary.org
Thank you!