South Carolina Elks Membership 2018

1. South Carolina Elks Membership 2018

2. Membership Statistics Did You Know? • Our last increase in membership was in 1980 The combination of the drastic decline (by 50%) in initiated members along with the enormous 65,000 average of annual non-pays is creating an annual average loss of 25,000. • When we were growing in the late 1970’s through 1980, we initiated more than 100,000 new members every year. • Our annual non-pays average was 75,000. • While we were growing membership, the enormous average of annual non-pays was less of a concern than today.

3. Current Status • We initiate or reinstate approximately 60,000 new members a year. • However, with 60,000 annual non-pays, 9,000 annual absolute demits, and 16,000 annual deaths, we lose more than 85,000 members each year. • We have an annual deficit of approximately 25,000 each year. • Simply, we need to increase our annual new member initiated and reinstatement totals to above 70,000. • We need to reduce non-pays and absolute demits to fewer than 50,000 annually. • This requires a promotional plan which will help us increase our new initiated members with a focus on adding quality more than quantity. We want to add “active Elks”, not just short-term card carrying members.

4. Do you have the answers to these questions? • Why did you join? • Why do you stay a member? • Why did you propose new members? • Why did they leave? • What are you doing to keep them? • Are you asking if there was a problem? • If you have the answer to all these questions you are better then most.

5. Grand Lodge Objectives: Increase new initiated members by 10,000 through two national campaigns. Drive enthusiasm and results with a low-cost, highly visible recognition program. Focus on adding quality more than quantity. We want to add active ‘Elks”, not just short-term card carrying members. Reduce non-pays and absolute demits by 20,000. Focus on payment solutions and inspired collection campaigns. These are Grand Lodge Objectives What about our State Objectives? What about your local Lodge Objectives?

6. SCEA Objectives: Increase new initiated / reinstatements members state wide 10% = 536 new or reinstated members Focus on adding quality more than quantity. Add members that we know will stick around for more then a year or two. Reduce non-pays state wide to 5%. Work on keeping the members we have.

7. Where do we stand as of 3/10/2018 ?

8. Northeast District

9. Southeast District

10. West District

11. SCEA State Totals 2018

12. What should your Lodge Objectives Be? The ER must make sure that he has an active Membership Committee. Focus your attention on adding Quality members. If you are going to go for Quantity turn those new members into Quality members, get them involved right away. Work on keeping the members you have. Review duties and timelines with your membership lapsation committee.

13. LODGE MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE Do you have the correct size Committee to get the job done? Exalted Ruler Lodge Secretary Leading Knight Membership Chairperson Plus one additional committee member for every 100 Lodge members: 100 members = 1 additional committee member 500 members = 5 additional committee members 1,000 members = 10 additional committee members

15. Invite them for a FREE bite to eat before the program starts! Have a social gathering and a “get to know you hour” with the officers and committee chairs – builds fellowship right away! A tour of the lodge - Tell them what takes place in each area of your Lodge. How to accomplish basic tasks - How to go about volunteering, who to ask, how to sign in guests, how to use the key card. Develop a Welcome packetand provide the “My Journey Link”, supply Lodge hours and house rules. Birds of a Feather – Give 3 applications and explain how they earn the GER Award pin. Chain of Command- Provide them with a written list of Officer contact information. Communicate- Copy of the Lodge bulletin, website and social media page.

16. The “My Journey” link on the Elks.Org! www.elks.org/myjourney

17. Letter explaining membership benefits and charitable works of the Lodge Calendar of Events “What You Should Know” brochure Business card with Lodge contacts Grand Lodge and State Websites Copy of Lodge Newsletter

18. Guidelines for Initiation Celebration Consider holding Initiation Celebration other than meeting nights. (special meeting called by the ER – 15.070) Make it an event they will always remember! Socialize prior and after the Initiation Celebration to create and build friendships. Invite the families and keep them entertained during the Initiation! The new Member should leave the Initiation with an invitation to an upcoming Lodge activity or event.

19. Top Recruiter Incentive Ideas Members initiating or reinstating 3 members into the Order will receive the prestigious GER pin award. Members initiating or reinstating 11 or more members into the Order will receive the prestigious and attractive Elks watch (male or female sizes available.)

20. The Exalted Ruler Your JOB is to make sure the JOB gets done. As ER you do not have to do it all, that is why you have committees. Make sure you Membership, Lapsation, Investigating and Indoctrination committees are active and functioning. These committees are the LIFE BLOOD of the lodge. Monitor the monthly duties and schedule. Verify the Secretary’s Membership work is getting done.

21. The Secretary Bill all delinquents monthly Use personal notes on late notices Cooperate with the Exalted Ruler and Membership Committee with up-to-date figures. Secretary is a paid Officer of the Lodge, who is largely responsible for dues collection.

22. Membership Renewals By mailbox, inbox or mobile device, your renewals must connect with your members on a monthly basis! Consider placing a personal note inside your membership renewals with all the good things your Lodge does for Charity! (This may get that member that’s sitting on the fence to renew!) Let them know by… “Renewing their Membership” they are helping to make a difference!” Consider a PayPal program! (CHECKS are becoming a thing of the past!) Debit and Credit Cards are the way to go!

23. We have a Collection Problem! We all know getting members to pay dues in a timely manner can be a gruesome task. In fact, nearly 40% of our membership does not pay their dues by the first week in April. More than 30% of our members will be more than 90 days past due. More than 15% of our members will be more than 180 days past due. We know that more than 6% of our membership will not pay at all. We dropped more than 60,000 Elks on March 31, 2014 for non-payment of dues. Nationally we lost more than $4.5 million dollars in uncollected dues revenue. Yes we have a BIG collection problem.

24. Top Tips to get ‘em to pay! Let your members pay – in any way possible and as quickly as possible. Online, mobile, snail mail, or in person. At the end of the day, you need to provide your members with a quick and easy way to pay you in a method they prefer. Let the member click one link to pay you online via credit card. Don’t make paying a chore. Period. If it doesn’t lookprofessional, you’re not a professional. Make the dues invoice look nice and branded to your lodge. While still remembering its primary purpose. Everybody could use a reminder. Make sure all dues invoices are on a healthy 30 day cycle. Bill every month starting on May 1st.

25. Top Tips to get ‘em to pay! Watch your tone with collection letters and calls. Don’t get all “official” just because this is a late invoice and you’re talking about money. Remember that you have formed a fraternal and social relationship that’s supposed to be mutually beneficial. Be personable, humble and friendly. It’s time to get over it find a solution in your collection letters and calls that takes the edge off things like understanding that times are hard, or understanding that many (not just seniors) are on fixed incomes. The sluggish economy has made an impact. Life (membership) should be reviewed annually by the Lodge Secretary to see who is eligible well before the close of the fraternal year. In general people are living much longer…well into their 80’s. However many are not financially prepared to maintain their membership.

26. Revamp Dues Invoices Make themProud to be a Member Make it Easy for them to understand Make it Convenient for them to pay Make it Easy for them to donate online Allow them to be Active from anywhere

27. Share the Pride of Elkdom! Share Your Lodge Impact You've likely heard it time and time again, but it bears repeating; you need to routinely share where your Lodge has made an impact. Not only does this help recruit new members, it also allows Lodges to retain the support of current members. Regardless of whether people support the Lodge by donating or volunteering time, they'll likely want to know they're contributing to making the community and nation a better place. It's your job to make sure they're able to see the impact they're having through their involvement with your Lodge.

28. Share the Pride of Elkdom! Increase New Members When deciding whether or not to join the Elks and volunteer, many people want to get a feel for the impact they'll be having. Effectively helping them visualize this impact through advanced Public Relations programs can boost your recruiting efforts. The more they see in the local papers the more they will feel a sense of involvement after they join.

29. Share the Pride of Elkdom! Increase Membership Retention Even after candidates have joined your Lodge, they likely want to know what impact their work had. Studies have shown that members are more likely to stop supporting the local Lodge and leave the Order if they're unsure if the Lodge was making an impact in the community. Sharing the fruits of their labor through Public Relations can improve the chance they'll volunteer more and remain members.

30. Share the Pride of Elkdom! Maintain Relationships With Current Members It can be tough to find volunteers who are dedicated to helping your cause through donating or working with your Lodge. But once you've managed to find such people and make them members of the Order, maintaining these relationships should be of prime importance. Cultivating long-term relationships with members who have demonstrated their willingness to support your Lodge should be mutually beneficial.

31. Share the Pride of Elkdom! Connect With New Members No matter how good you are at retention, you'll need to recruit new members. A person will likely be more receptive to joining your Lodge if your message comes with an endorsement from someone they value. Public Relations provides a huge opportunity for such peer recommendations to help spread your communications to prospective new members. And since your members are the ones sharing your message with their friends and family, those friends and family will be more likely to actually listen to what you have to say and join your Lodge.

32. Share the Pride of Elkdom! Pictures Speak 1,000 Words • When you complete a community or committee project, It’s essential for our members to see their impact with photos. Replace the typical long-winded article with photos.

33. Membership Growth Lodges that are growing membership have a strong presence in their communities. Each have from one to four community service projects which are well publicized. The Lodges are well known for these community projects.  All have successful Legacy recruitment drives. Member’s spouses, children and grand children are joining. Making the Elks a true “American family tradition”

34. DARE TO SOAR Recruiting in the Community What We do and How to Join All community events should include a strong Public Relations and Membership presence. Set up a table with handouts. Think of an airplane. Public Relations and Membership are wings that allow the plane to take flight. Earn a good reputation as a premier chartable organization in your community. Provide a family friendly and member friendly environment.

35. Dropping of members for non-payment!!!!! Written notice is required before a Member can be dropped for nonpayment of dues. Section 14.160. A Member delinquent and owing at least six month’s dues to the Lodge shall be dropped from the rolls prior to April 1st without the vote of the Lodge thereon. The effective date for dropping the Member shall be not later than March 31, provided the delinquent dues are not paid. The procedure to drop a delinquent Member shall be as follows: (a)After five months of delinquency but before March 1 of each year, the Secretary shall provide notice as provided in Section 1.115 informing the Member that such Member may be dropped if dues are not paid within 30 days of mailing the notice. (b) At the time the Secretary gives notice to the Member, the Secretary shall post a list of all Members given notice on the Lodge Bulletin Board and report the posting of the list at the next Lodge Meeting. (c) The notice shall confirm to the delinquent Member that during the period of delinquency the Member is not entitled to the privileges of membership and that in the event of being dropped for nonpayment of dues, the Member can be reinstated only in the manner provided by the Laws of the Order. (d) At the first regular Lodge meeting after a delinquent Member is dropped, such action shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting by attaching a list of the dropped Members thereto.

36. OFFICIAL FINAL NOTICE February 1, 2018 Dear__________ In accordance with Section 14.160, Statues of the Order, you are hereby notified that your dues are delinquent in the amount of $_____and unless these dues are paid in full my March 31, 2018, your name will be stricken from the membership roll for non-payment of dues. Section 14.160 also requires us to notify that if you that you are suspended for non-payment of dues you can be reinstated only by a favorable vote of the Lodge and compliance with other requirements of Section 14.180, Statues of the Order. This can be done during April, 2018 with no penalty, but thereafter the other provisions of this section must be complied with. You are reminded that if you do not care to continue active membership, the laws of Order provide legal means of obtaining an in-active non-paying status. This can be accomplished by payment of delinquent dues and your written request for an Absolute Dimit. We hope that if your mind is made up to drop your membership, you will choose this honorable method of retirement. It must be done, however, by the last Lodge meeting this year on March _____, 2018. Sincerely and Fraternally, Lodge Secretary

37. MEMBERSHIP CHECKLISTPlease place a check in the box next to all items which you have completed • Did you get a copy of the Membership Manual from the Lodge Secretary? • Did you print or order additional copies for your Membership Committee which is based on the size of your Membership (one extra Manual per every 100 Members for the committee)? • Have you read it from cover to cover? • Did you make any additional appointments to the Membership committee so it is staffed at the “right size” to succeed?  • Is the Membership committee meeting and reporting with minutes? • Do you attend your Lodge membership meeting, always leading by example? • Did you review the duties and timelines with your Membership Committee? • Did you get a printout of the delinquent Members from your Lodge Secretary? • Have you learned more about the delinquent members, their number of years in the Order? • Is best judgment being used to consider Members in distress? • Is your Lodge Secretary billing delinquents monthly? • Is your Lodge Secretary using personal notes on late notices? • Is your Lodge Secretary providing you and the Lodge Membership Committee with up-to-date Membership figures? • Did you ask the Lodge Secretary to run a list of all former Members who were dropped for non-pay over the past three to five years to increase reinstatements? • Did you use the sample reinstatement letter from the Membership Manual to reach out to former Members who were dropped for non-pay over the past three to five years? • Did you schedule dates to initiate new Members into the Order? Exalted Ruler_______________________________________ Date Completed_________________

38. In Summary • Work to bring in Quality members. • If you go for “Quantity” turn them into “Quality” as soon as possible. • Work to keep the members you have by making them feel welcome. • Make it easy for members to pay their dues. • Make sure the lapsation and membership committees are active. • Be active in your community. • Make sure you let people know what you are about, advertise ELKDOM. • Make your Lodge Family Friendly. • Make sure to thank people for what they do for the Lodge. • Make some kind of Recognition Program for the members. • Make good use of Social Media.

39. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS