We all know that Freemasonry doesn’t recruit members.
To become a Mason, one must ask a Mason.
Or as a friend put it to me yesterday, an interested man must find out about us, then find a local Lodge, then find an individual Mason, then ask for a Petition.
Now, in fairness, there is a bit of wiggle room in all of this. We have beafreemason.org. In some Jurisdictions it is considered acceptable to vaguely suggest that a good man of our acquaintance might enjoy Freemasonry. And as I heard years ago from a very wise Grand Master’s wife, there are no rules against our wives recruiting till their heart’s content. Indeed my daughter has convinced a fellow or two to reach out to a Lodge.
But, most of us don’t take advantage of that wiggle room.
And, of course, countless men who might be interested in Freemasonry have no idea that they must ask to become Freemasons.
Indeed, I’ve encountered lots of men through the years who wrongly believed that Freemasonry is invitation only. I admit that for years, I believed it to be such. And I wondered why on earth the Freemasons of my City didn’t ask me to join their Lodge. Indeed, I was the Mayor, and invitations came from everyone else. So I did wonder, just what the hell was wrong with the Masons!
Eventually, I saw a goofy 2b1ask1 bumper sticker and figured it out.
Certainly Freemasonry changes over time, but only extremely slowly and painfully. Change is not a watchword of the Craft. And that can be both good in some ways, and bad in others.
As for internal division, I'm assuming you're referring to dissent. In my view, Freemasonry is extremely intolerant of internal dissent. And that is not a good thing.
To put it into a more realistic wording, Freemasonry does not publicly recruit. In my opinion it is better to leave it the way it is, mainly because that is going to start an avalanche of unwanted and useless petitions.
We always have to think in terms of quality and not quantity and unfortunately some Lodges are falling victims of wanting to monetize the Order.
Certainly my Jurisdiction has fallen prey to deciding (probably unconsciously) that quantity is more important than quality. And that of course is very badly counterproductive, for a single unsuitable man will drive good men away in droves.
But, I think we are improving that here. For a great many years it seemed almost as if the only question an investigation committee would ask is: Is he Breathing? After years of begging Lodges and Brothers to take Guarding the West Gate more seriously, by all sorts of Masons, the message seems to be sinking in, and quality is again being sought.
If we want more members, then we should ask men to join. If we want more Masons, we should concentrate on building an organization that is so desireable to join that men will ask. The subject of solicitation is an old one. Here is a link to MWB Dwight L Smith's essay Why This Confusion in the Temple? Read chapter two for his thoughts. https://masonsleadbetter.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/WhyThisConfusion-Dwight-Smith.pdf
Ask that man to join in on a dinner on a special occasion, or even have a guest night. Don't hand out petitions at that event, make it a night to get them curious.
Invite him and spouse to a special event, baseball game, music fest, etc.....
If your installed in the East, invite him and family as guests to the Open installation.
Some years ago one of my Lodges was growing at a tremendous pace. Raising excited young men, one after the other. And it required no solicitation. We simply went on two weekend adventures a year. Not specifically Masonic adventures, but man adventures. And we allowed the Masons who attended to bring their friends if they wanted. That resulted in a lot of petitions over time.
But, as with many Lodge programs, a WM came in who hated the idea of adventure, so he put a stop to it. He was followed by another, and then a string. So, it has never come back, and that excellent source of new young men for the Lodge completely dried up.
One of the members of my Tenino Lodge still remembers those retreats. While he didn't join the Lodge that hosted it, he DID join a neighboring Lodge, and became active.
Yes indeed Brother! A really small number of guys can't do everything. We need everyone involved. That's kind of the point with the Officer series of posts here now. We can't expect a WM and a Secretary and another guy or two to do everything, everybody has to lend a hand if we are to have a truly wonderful Lodge!
I think that with the internet, all of the bumperstickers, and other forms of media (including TV ads) that the public who want to know about us can find us. I think that many men today aren't going to join any organizations or clubs. Inviting men to join would become a contest to see who can get the most. Lodge numbers might grow but attendance will not. You will be doing degree work for the sake of the work and not the lodge or the brother.
>>> I think that many men today aren't going to join any organizations or clubs.
Undoubtedly this is true. Membership in all traditional organizations in the US has collapsed in recent decades. Personally, I think that is really sad, and clearly a major driver of the loneliness epidemic so many talk about, but nevertheless it is the reality we face.
I have never directly asked someone, but I have gotten a couple men to join simply by talking about freemasonry in social conversations. I’d then invite them to dinner before a stated, show them around the lodge, and get them curious. Doesn’t always work, I’m still waiting for my brother to ask.
This jurisdiction does more than enough to facilitate men to our front doors. It’s what the lodges do afterwards that matter. I don’t think we need to actively recruit, or change the rules. The issue is, does the community know that we exist in the first place? I don’t think so. Too many people when they find out I am a Freemason either don’t know what that means, or gobsmacked to find out we exist in the community. That is a problem. Back 100 years ago, the major players in town were all well known Freemasons. The business owners, politicians, bankers, etc. people whose names get on street signs.
You are over the target. “That is a problem. Back 100 years ago, the major players in town were all well known Freemasons. The business owners, politicians, bankers, etc. people whose names get on street signs. Not anymore.”
It isn’t a matter of getting good men into the Lodge, it is a matter of getting better men out of the Lodge and back into the community. In each degree the obligation and the charge has something to say about a Freemason’s duty to mankind. Those men 100 years ago and beyond held a more profound understanding of duty and responsibility. Spreading brotherly love, relief and truth were privileges. Fish frys and chili suppers are great, but I don’t remember any mention of them in the charges.
One of my signers was (is) an upstanding man in the community. A gentleman in every respect. I had no idea he was a Freemason, until one day, sitting next to him at dinner, I noticed his ring. Quietly, I inquired. Then he pointed to two other men across the table, also men I looked up to- he said they too were Freemasons. Another few inquires on my part, and conversations, and the next time I saw him he pulled a petition out of his coat pocket. Already signed. It wasn’t the fish fry that drew me to the Lodge, it was the men of good quality being active in other parts of the community.
George Washington understood this old axiom, “Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation.” When men of good quality go out of the Lodge, other men will want to associate with them. Tell your Brothers to go out of the Lodge.
>>>When men of good quality go out of the Lodge, other men will want to associate with >>>them. Tell your Brothers to go out of the Lodge.
I do agree with this, very much.
It seems that in a lot of Lodges we are extremely insular. We go to our meetings, hang out together as Masons within them, but only do so outside of the Lodge on very rare occasions. If we were to, as our ritual says, practice outside of the Lodge that which we learn within it, we would be much better off.
>>>gobsmacked to find out we exist in the community.
Agreed. I've encountered this as well. Lots of people seem to believe that Freemasonry died long ago. In some communities, the sorry state of our Masonic Temples certainly serve to further that belief.
This is one of those areas where I think "beauty for the sake of beauty", like I mentioned the other day, can make a huge difference. If the building looks like a community center that closed 40 years ago, nobody is dropping in.
The horrid decline of architecture is sad as hell. Not just with our Masonic Buildings.
When I used to drive to our State's Capitol every day for work, it was almost impossible not to marvel at the beauty and grandeur of our Legislative Building. But, it is surrounded by the most God awful, ugly ass, 1960's and 1970's monstrosities. Brutalism I think they are called. They always looked to me like communism in visual form.
I think you are exactly right. It might take over this thread, which isn't my intent. But I believe that they deaden the spirit. That kind of building is the active negation of the impulse to beauty.
Change can be a good thing, in this case I don't believe so. Yes, we would increase our petitions but at what cost to our Lodges, we would increase our work for some who are looking to join for the wrong reasons. "I Just want to know what's going on in there" or "why not". Then we go through the work, time and effort to get them to the third degree and never see them again, IMO that's not a Mason, that's someone looking for the title other than being a part of something greater than himself. If someone comes knocking and takes the initiative to come speak with us or use the website to contact us then I believe they have a genuine interest in Masonry. We have had several who fall into the "I have my 3rd degree and I'm done" and fall away for NPD. You want to discourage Brothers from coming to Lodge or events, just ask them to keep doing the work with very few or no results afterwards. I belong to the oldest and greatest fraternity in history, have met amazing individuals all with the common mindset and every one of them did it by asking about Masonry.
It is super easy to say 'sure' in response to an invitation. I suppose we see a lot of that with beafreemason.org. It's really easy to click a button indicating interest, but as we know, not all who do are actually interested.
Most Lodges have absolutely no process or outline as to how either attract and vet new members. Oregon uses Grandview software as a CRM tool. Unfortunately only about 27% of the members utilize the program. In the Oregon jurisdiction the Grand Lodge implemented a program called the Westgate Strategy / Experience. It is a voluntary program that Lodges can use to determine if a prospect is suitable and will be a successful Mason. The Lodge has a responsibility to contact these inquiries in a timely manner. I have seen Lodges that have as many as 25 inquiries over a years time, completely ignore those inquiries. They are ignoring at least 7 potential new members simply because they will not utilize a proven process, because...wait for it....it involves CHANGE !!!!
Since virtually all new leads about becoming a Mason come in via internet contacts a management system is needed. Grand Lodge receives the inquiry, assigns it to a Lodge near the prospects living area. The Secretary and Membership Chair receives a notification and a process begins. Lodges that utilize our Westgate program then have a process where the prospect is emailed and asked for a good time to have a phone calls is.
Every step in the process is a measurement of the prospects interest and suitability for Masonry. If the prospect responds quickly, that is a good sign. An appointment is then set with at least 3 members of the Lodge. He is then emailed a document that clearly outlines what the process is, what he should expect, what we are looking for, and a basic timeline. The prospect and his family is invited to our dinners before Lodge to allow members to meet him and vice versa. The process involves 4 meetings with the prospect over at least 2 months. We are looking for them to attend at least 2 of 4 dinners.
The process gives the prospect several questionaires and asks them to write a personal letter of introspection as to what lead them to the Fraternity and what they expect to gain from it. At this point the Lodge members have a pretty good idea if this person is suitable. We more or less have them ask to join, but we impress on them they will have to meet this standards and after the evaluation we offer them a petition.
Masonic code says all members of a Lodge must vote on a petition. For too many years members have voted on petitions of men they have never met, trusting the Investigating committees one meeting with the prospect to good enough. This is a huge disservice to the members. It is the fog a mirror approach that has not worked for a long time. If he can fog a mirror give that man a petition.
In my own experience we are actually capturing about 50% of our inquires using this process. This is one element of a membership process. Our rate of EAs to MMs is increasing from a paltry 33% of EAs making MM, to over 70%. That says the program works.
If anybody is interested in a copy of the Westgate Strategy / Experience and our pre qualifying process our Lodge has added to it, you can send me an e mail to redmondmaster154@gmail.com
>>>Unfortunately only about 27% of the members utilize the program.
Our utilization is higher here, I had hoped to get you an exact percentage, but Grandview is updating itself and seems to have cut me off from most of my access. Hopefully that will be fixed soon!
>>>Westgate Strategy / Experience. It is a voluntary program that Lodges can use to determine if >>>a prospect is suitable and will be a successful Mason.
I presume that our program is similar, but named differently.
>>>I have seen Lodges that have as many as 25 inquiries over a years time, completely ignore >>>those inquiries. They are ignoring at least 7 potential new members simply because they will >>>not utilize a proven process
Oh, yes. This is a huge issue here as well. I know for a fact that we have inquires come to Lodges that are completely ignored, or ignored for months or more.
>>>Grand Lodge receives the inquiry, assigns it to a Lodge near the prospects living area. The >>>Secretary and Membership Chair receives a notification and a process begins. Lodges that >>>utilize our Westgate program then have a process where the prospect is emailed and asked >>>for a good time to have a phone calls is.
Similar here, but many Lodges are now designating a member to serve as 'prospect manager' as are some Districts. That seems to work better, in those Districts that are really working it.
>>>asks them to write a personal letter of introspection as to what lead them to the Fraternity >>>and what they expect to gain from it.
We do not do this, but it seems like a really superb idea. I'll take it back to my Lodges for their consideration.
>>>Masonic code says all members of a Lodge must vote on a petition. For too many years >>>members have voted on petitions of men they have never met, trusting the Investigating >>>committees one meeting with the prospect to good enough. This is a huge disservice to the >>>members.
Agreed. That is how it was here too, for a very long time. And it was a disaster.
>>>In my own experience we are actually capturing about 50% of our inquires using this process.
My hunch is that we are doing no better than that here.
>>>This is one element of a membership process. Our rate of EAs to MMs is increasing from a >>>paltry 33% of EAs making MM, to over 70%. That says the program works
Yes! That is superb!
I was told once, by a Mason in a position to know, that long ago this EA to MM progress was over 90%. We need to get back there. And the way to do that it to make absolutely certain that the man is suitable, and interested over the long haul before giving him a petition.
After reading all of the responses to this interesting topic, I feel like I must comment with my own humble opinion. I have always been one to state my feelings honestly and true to my heart. I love Freemasonry and was raised in 1968. Before that I was a DeMolay since 1960. I owe much of my life and career to the teachings of those two fraternities, but I am concerned about the future of this great organization. We are all resistant to change but change is the only constant in our lives.
If Freemasonry is to survive, changes in practices, understanding of the outside world, and having the courage to move forward is paramount.
I do not wish to single anybody out and the comments made in some of the posts are comments that I have heard many times before from several Masons.
• I would like to address some of the “negative” comments that I read.
• Going to start an avalanche of unwanted and useless petitions. Quality not quantity. Monetize the Order.
• Yes, we would increase our petitions but at what cost to our Lodges, we would increase our work for some who are looking to join for the wrong reasons.
I am ashamed of these comments. As a Blue Lodge, our mission is to make Masons. I think it is our responsibility to accept and investigate any person who has submitted a petition. As we improve our practices to Guard the West Gate we would be able to eliminate many of the so called “unwanted and useless petitions.” Quite frankly, I don’t believe there is any such thing as “unwanted and useless petitions” and if there are they would be eliminated.
Monetize the Order – Has anyone noticed that it takes membership, their dues, their work on fundraising projects, their participation in the lodge to keep the ever increasing costs of taxes, maintenance, and every other type of costs. These additional funds are not the main goal of making new masons but are an additional benefit and necessary for our subsistence.
At what cost to our lodges – OK, I give up. What cost? Increase our work? Unbelievable.
There is always the comment of “Quality not quantity.” In my Lodge, I want a large quantity of quality members. The idea that we cannot trust our members to only bring quality individuals is a vote of no confidence and a slap in the face to them.
• Many men today are not going to join any organizations or clubs.
I agree with that statement which makes it even more necessary to achieve a thriving, active organization.
• If we want more members, than we should ask them to join. If we want more Masons, we should concentrate on building an organization that is so desirable to join that men will ask.
Once again, there is no reason why we can’t have both. We already have the organization, we just need to develop methods to increase, introduce, inform, and seek new prospective candidates.
• Inviting men to join would become a contest to see who can get the most. Lodge numbers might grow but attendance will not. You will be doing degree work for the sake of the work and not the lodge or the brother.
I guess that could happen if the Lodge executives were to present it as a competition or not control the process, but if that happened it would seem to me to be poor management.
• Lodge numbers might grow but attendance will not. - Huh! Where does that come from?
• doing degree work for the sake of the work and not the lodge or the brother. - ???
• Back a hundred years ago
Talk of back a hundred years ago make me think of the “It’s never been done that way” excuse for not moving forward.
But for those of you who want to refer to the past, George Washington even saw that it was Masons going out of the Lodge and “recruiting?” others when he said “When men of good quality go out of the Lodge, other men will want to associate with them.”
Positive
As a Blue Lodge, our purpose is to make Masons and it is our responsibility to efficiently Guard the West Gate.
If we don’t actively tell people who we are and what we do they will never know
The use of recruiting new members would be a voluntary practice that Lodges can choose to adopt.
We need to do something to stay alive. There may be many of the big Lodges who feel they can survive as is but the figures don’t support that view,
The average masonic age in the state of Washington is 68 years. When us old farts die off in the near future, who will continue if we don’t get a quantity of quality members.
But alas, this has just been an interesting topic because the following is an exact selection from the last page of the current Washington State Grand Lodge Jurisdiction Standard work. It is the answer to the question of “recruitment.” In my Lodge, I will strive to change the culture to understand just how far each individual mason can go in questioning someone who the member believes is worthy of becoming a mason. It will be an expression of faith in my fellow members that they can actively contact and encourage only those who they would be proud to call Brother and confident that they would be a credit to our Fraternity.
INQUIRY OF WORTHY, QUALIFIED PERSONS
Masons under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Washington may properly inquire of a worthy, qualified person “if he had ever considered petitioning for membership in
Freemasonry?” This, or a similarly phrased question, is a proper question to determine intent; this in addition to advising said person that “he must petition of his own initiative-that he will not be asked to petition.” Further, “that enlightening Masonic literature is available and may be furnished upon request.”
Certainly Freemasonry changes over time, but only extremely slowly and painfully. Change is not a watchword of the Craft. And that can be both good in some ways, and bad in others.
As for internal division, I'm assuming you're referring to dissent. In my view, Freemasonry is extremely intolerant of internal dissent. And that is not a good thing.
To put it into a more realistic wording, Freemasonry does not publicly recruit. In my opinion it is better to leave it the way it is, mainly because that is going to start an avalanche of unwanted and useless petitions.
We always have to think in terms of quality and not quantity and unfortunately some Lodges are falling victims of wanting to monetize the Order.
Certainly my Jurisdiction has fallen prey to deciding (probably unconsciously) that quantity is more important than quality. And that of course is very badly counterproductive, for a single unsuitable man will drive good men away in droves.
But, I think we are improving that here. For a great many years it seemed almost as if the only question an investigation committee would ask is: Is he Breathing? After years of begging Lodges and Brothers to take Guarding the West Gate more seriously, by all sorts of Masons, the message seems to be sinking in, and quality is again being sought.
In the UK for the last 20 odd years we have stickers that say JUST ASK. I think if we don't tell people what we do then they will never know
'Just Ask' certainly seems simple and direct.
Plus, I can see where it might open up other conversations, not only from folks who think that they might want to join.
If we want more members, then we should ask men to join. If we want more Masons, we should concentrate on building an organization that is so desireable to join that men will ask. The subject of solicitation is an old one. Here is a link to MWB Dwight L Smith's essay Why This Confusion in the Temple? Read chapter two for his thoughts. https://masonsleadbetter.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/WhyThisConfusion-Dwight-Smith.pdf
Thank you for this link Brother. It's been a lot of years since I read that essay, but I did it again because of your post here.
You don't have to ask them directly.
Ask that man to join in on a dinner on a special occasion, or even have a guest night. Don't hand out petitions at that event, make it a night to get them curious.
Invite him and spouse to a special event, baseball game, music fest, etc.....
If your installed in the East, invite him and family as guests to the Open installation.
Give them something to think about.
Your point is very well taken.
Some years ago one of my Lodges was growing at a tremendous pace. Raising excited young men, one after the other. And it required no solicitation. We simply went on two weekend adventures a year. Not specifically Masonic adventures, but man adventures. And we allowed the Masons who attended to bring their friends if they wanted. That resulted in a lot of petitions over time.
But, as with many Lodge programs, a WM came in who hated the idea of adventure, so he put a stop to it. He was followed by another, and then a string. So, it has never come back, and that excellent source of new young men for the Lodge completely dried up.
We still need to work on that...
One of the members of my Tenino Lodge still remembers those retreats. While he didn't join the Lodge that hosted it, he DID join a neighboring Lodge, and became active.
Yep. It is crazy to me that we (using the collective 'we' here) won't do something to solve a problem that we absolutely know works.
Oh, I totally get it. Because the non-collective "We" HAVE been doing something. Starlight comes to mind...
Yes indeed Brother! A really small number of guys can't do everything. We need everyone involved. That's kind of the point with the Officer series of posts here now. We can't expect a WM and a Secretary and another guy or two to do everything, everybody has to lend a hand if we are to have a truly wonderful Lodge!
I think that with the internet, all of the bumperstickers, and other forms of media (including TV ads) that the public who want to know about us can find us. I think that many men today aren't going to join any organizations or clubs. Inviting men to join would become a contest to see who can get the most. Lodge numbers might grow but attendance will not. You will be doing degree work for the sake of the work and not the lodge or the brother.
>>> I think that many men today aren't going to join any organizations or clubs.
Undoubtedly this is true. Membership in all traditional organizations in the US has collapsed in recent decades. Personally, I think that is really sad, and clearly a major driver of the loneliness epidemic so many talk about, but nevertheless it is the reality we face.
I have never directly asked someone, but I have gotten a couple men to join simply by talking about freemasonry in social conversations. I’d then invite them to dinner before a stated, show them around the lodge, and get them curious. Doesn’t always work, I’m still waiting for my brother to ask.
This jurisdiction does more than enough to facilitate men to our front doors. It’s what the lodges do afterwards that matter. I don’t think we need to actively recruit, or change the rules. The issue is, does the community know that we exist in the first place? I don’t think so. Too many people when they find out I am a Freemason either don’t know what that means, or gobsmacked to find out we exist in the community. That is a problem. Back 100 years ago, the major players in town were all well known Freemasons. The business owners, politicians, bankers, etc. people whose names get on street signs.
Not anymore.
You are over the target. “That is a problem. Back 100 years ago, the major players in town were all well known Freemasons. The business owners, politicians, bankers, etc. people whose names get on street signs. Not anymore.”
It isn’t a matter of getting good men into the Lodge, it is a matter of getting better men out of the Lodge and back into the community. In each degree the obligation and the charge has something to say about a Freemason’s duty to mankind. Those men 100 years ago and beyond held a more profound understanding of duty and responsibility. Spreading brotherly love, relief and truth were privileges. Fish frys and chili suppers are great, but I don’t remember any mention of them in the charges.
One of my signers was (is) an upstanding man in the community. A gentleman in every respect. I had no idea he was a Freemason, until one day, sitting next to him at dinner, I noticed his ring. Quietly, I inquired. Then he pointed to two other men across the table, also men I looked up to- he said they too were Freemasons. Another few inquires on my part, and conversations, and the next time I saw him he pulled a petition out of his coat pocket. Already signed. It wasn’t the fish fry that drew me to the Lodge, it was the men of good quality being active in other parts of the community.
George Washington understood this old axiom, “Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation.” When men of good quality go out of the Lodge, other men will want to associate with them. Tell your Brothers to go out of the Lodge.
>>>When men of good quality go out of the Lodge, other men will want to associate with >>>them. Tell your Brothers to go out of the Lodge.
I do agree with this, very much.
It seems that in a lot of Lodges we are extremely insular. We go to our meetings, hang out together as Masons within them, but only do so outside of the Lodge on very rare occasions. If we were to, as our ritual says, practice outside of the Lodge that which we learn within it, we would be much better off.
>>>gobsmacked to find out we exist in the community.
Agreed. I've encountered this as well. Lots of people seem to believe that Freemasonry died long ago. In some communities, the sorry state of our Masonic Temples certainly serve to further that belief.
This is one of those areas where I think "beauty for the sake of beauty", like I mentioned the other day, can make a huge difference. If the building looks like a community center that closed 40 years ago, nobody is dropping in.
The horrid decline of architecture is sad as hell. Not just with our Masonic Buildings.
When I used to drive to our State's Capitol every day for work, it was almost impossible not to marvel at the beauty and grandeur of our Legislative Building. But, it is surrounded by the most God awful, ugly ass, 1960's and 1970's monstrosities. Brutalism I think they are called. They always looked to me like communism in visual form.
I think you are exactly right. It might take over this thread, which isn't my intent. But I believe that they deaden the spirit. That kind of building is the active negation of the impulse to beauty.
Agreed. Living, working, or even being surrounded by buildings like that certainly removes any sense of awe and wonder.
Change can be a good thing, in this case I don't believe so. Yes, we would increase our petitions but at what cost to our Lodges, we would increase our work for some who are looking to join for the wrong reasons. "I Just want to know what's going on in there" or "why not". Then we go through the work, time and effort to get them to the third degree and never see them again, IMO that's not a Mason, that's someone looking for the title other than being a part of something greater than himself. If someone comes knocking and takes the initiative to come speak with us or use the website to contact us then I believe they have a genuine interest in Masonry. We have had several who fall into the "I have my 3rd degree and I'm done" and fall away for NPD. You want to discourage Brothers from coming to Lodge or events, just ask them to keep doing the work with very few or no results afterwards. I belong to the oldest and greatest fraternity in history, have met amazing individuals all with the common mindset and every one of them did it by asking about Masonry.
Your point is very well taken. Thank you Brother.
It is super easy to say 'sure' in response to an invitation. I suppose we see a lot of that with beafreemason.org. It's really easy to click a button indicating interest, but as we know, not all who do are actually interested.
Most Lodges have absolutely no process or outline as to how either attract and vet new members. Oregon uses Grandview software as a CRM tool. Unfortunately only about 27% of the members utilize the program. In the Oregon jurisdiction the Grand Lodge implemented a program called the Westgate Strategy / Experience. It is a voluntary program that Lodges can use to determine if a prospect is suitable and will be a successful Mason. The Lodge has a responsibility to contact these inquiries in a timely manner. I have seen Lodges that have as many as 25 inquiries over a years time, completely ignore those inquiries. They are ignoring at least 7 potential new members simply because they will not utilize a proven process, because...wait for it....it involves CHANGE !!!!
Since virtually all new leads about becoming a Mason come in via internet contacts a management system is needed. Grand Lodge receives the inquiry, assigns it to a Lodge near the prospects living area. The Secretary and Membership Chair receives a notification and a process begins. Lodges that utilize our Westgate program then have a process where the prospect is emailed and asked for a good time to have a phone calls is.
Every step in the process is a measurement of the prospects interest and suitability for Masonry. If the prospect responds quickly, that is a good sign. An appointment is then set with at least 3 members of the Lodge. He is then emailed a document that clearly outlines what the process is, what he should expect, what we are looking for, and a basic timeline. The prospect and his family is invited to our dinners before Lodge to allow members to meet him and vice versa. The process involves 4 meetings with the prospect over at least 2 months. We are looking for them to attend at least 2 of 4 dinners.
The process gives the prospect several questionaires and asks them to write a personal letter of introspection as to what lead them to the Fraternity and what they expect to gain from it. At this point the Lodge members have a pretty good idea if this person is suitable. We more or less have them ask to join, but we impress on them they will have to meet this standards and after the evaluation we offer them a petition.
Masonic code says all members of a Lodge must vote on a petition. For too many years members have voted on petitions of men they have never met, trusting the Investigating committees one meeting with the prospect to good enough. This is a huge disservice to the members. It is the fog a mirror approach that has not worked for a long time. If he can fog a mirror give that man a petition.
In my own experience we are actually capturing about 50% of our inquires using this process. This is one element of a membership process. Our rate of EAs to MMs is increasing from a paltry 33% of EAs making MM, to over 70%. That says the program works.
If anybody is interested in a copy of the Westgate Strategy / Experience and our pre qualifying process our Lodge has added to it, you can send me an e mail to redmondmaster154@gmail.com
>>>Unfortunately only about 27% of the members utilize the program.
Our utilization is higher here, I had hoped to get you an exact percentage, but Grandview is updating itself and seems to have cut me off from most of my access. Hopefully that will be fixed soon!
>>>Westgate Strategy / Experience. It is a voluntary program that Lodges can use to determine if >>>a prospect is suitable and will be a successful Mason.
I presume that our program is similar, but named differently.
>>>I have seen Lodges that have as many as 25 inquiries over a years time, completely ignore >>>those inquiries. They are ignoring at least 7 potential new members simply because they will >>>not utilize a proven process
Oh, yes. This is a huge issue here as well. I know for a fact that we have inquires come to Lodges that are completely ignored, or ignored for months or more.
>>>Grand Lodge receives the inquiry, assigns it to a Lodge near the prospects living area. The >>>Secretary and Membership Chair receives a notification and a process begins. Lodges that >>>utilize our Westgate program then have a process where the prospect is emailed and asked >>>for a good time to have a phone calls is.
Similar here, but many Lodges are now designating a member to serve as 'prospect manager' as are some Districts. That seems to work better, in those Districts that are really working it.
>>>asks them to write a personal letter of introspection as to what lead them to the Fraternity >>>and what they expect to gain from it.
We do not do this, but it seems like a really superb idea. I'll take it back to my Lodges for their consideration.
>>>Masonic code says all members of a Lodge must vote on a petition. For too many years >>>members have voted on petitions of men they have never met, trusting the Investigating >>>committees one meeting with the prospect to good enough. This is a huge disservice to the >>>members.
Agreed. That is how it was here too, for a very long time. And it was a disaster.
>>>In my own experience we are actually capturing about 50% of our inquires using this process.
My hunch is that we are doing no better than that here.
>>>This is one element of a membership process. Our rate of EAs to MMs is increasing from a >>>paltry 33% of EAs making MM, to over 70%. That says the program works
Yes! That is superb!
I was told once, by a Mason in a position to know, that long ago this EA to MM progress was over 90%. We need to get back there. And the way to do that it to make absolutely certain that the man is suitable, and interested over the long haul before giving him a petition.
After reading all of the responses to this interesting topic, I feel like I must comment with my own humble opinion. I have always been one to state my feelings honestly and true to my heart. I love Freemasonry and was raised in 1968. Before that I was a DeMolay since 1960. I owe much of my life and career to the teachings of those two fraternities, but I am concerned about the future of this great organization. We are all resistant to change but change is the only constant in our lives.
If Freemasonry is to survive, changes in practices, understanding of the outside world, and having the courage to move forward is paramount.
I do not wish to single anybody out and the comments made in some of the posts are comments that I have heard many times before from several Masons.
• I would like to address some of the “negative” comments that I read.
• Going to start an avalanche of unwanted and useless petitions. Quality not quantity. Monetize the Order.
• Yes, we would increase our petitions but at what cost to our Lodges, we would increase our work for some who are looking to join for the wrong reasons.
I am ashamed of these comments. As a Blue Lodge, our mission is to make Masons. I think it is our responsibility to accept and investigate any person who has submitted a petition. As we improve our practices to Guard the West Gate we would be able to eliminate many of the so called “unwanted and useless petitions.” Quite frankly, I don’t believe there is any such thing as “unwanted and useless petitions” and if there are they would be eliminated.
Monetize the Order – Has anyone noticed that it takes membership, their dues, their work on fundraising projects, their participation in the lodge to keep the ever increasing costs of taxes, maintenance, and every other type of costs. These additional funds are not the main goal of making new masons but are an additional benefit and necessary for our subsistence.
At what cost to our lodges – OK, I give up. What cost? Increase our work? Unbelievable.
There is always the comment of “Quality not quantity.” In my Lodge, I want a large quantity of quality members. The idea that we cannot trust our members to only bring quality individuals is a vote of no confidence and a slap in the face to them.
• Many men today are not going to join any organizations or clubs.
I agree with that statement which makes it even more necessary to achieve a thriving, active organization.
• If we want more members, than we should ask them to join. If we want more Masons, we should concentrate on building an organization that is so desirable to join that men will ask.
Once again, there is no reason why we can’t have both. We already have the organization, we just need to develop methods to increase, introduce, inform, and seek new prospective candidates.
• Inviting men to join would become a contest to see who can get the most. Lodge numbers might grow but attendance will not. You will be doing degree work for the sake of the work and not the lodge or the brother.
I guess that could happen if the Lodge executives were to present it as a competition or not control the process, but if that happened it would seem to me to be poor management.
• Lodge numbers might grow but attendance will not. - Huh! Where does that come from?
• doing degree work for the sake of the work and not the lodge or the brother. - ???
• Back a hundred years ago
Talk of back a hundred years ago make me think of the “It’s never been done that way” excuse for not moving forward.
But for those of you who want to refer to the past, George Washington even saw that it was Masons going out of the Lodge and “recruiting?” others when he said “When men of good quality go out of the Lodge, other men will want to associate with them.”
Positive
As a Blue Lodge, our purpose is to make Masons and it is our responsibility to efficiently Guard the West Gate.
If we don’t actively tell people who we are and what we do they will never know
The use of recruiting new members would be a voluntary practice that Lodges can choose to adopt.
We need to do something to stay alive. There may be many of the big Lodges who feel they can survive as is but the figures don’t support that view,
The average masonic age in the state of Washington is 68 years. When us old farts die off in the near future, who will continue if we don’t get a quantity of quality members.
But alas, this has just been an interesting topic because the following is an exact selection from the last page of the current Washington State Grand Lodge Jurisdiction Standard work. It is the answer to the question of “recruitment.” In my Lodge, I will strive to change the culture to understand just how far each individual mason can go in questioning someone who the member believes is worthy of becoming a mason. It will be an expression of faith in my fellow members that they can actively contact and encourage only those who they would be proud to call Brother and confident that they would be a credit to our Fraternity.
INQUIRY OF WORTHY, QUALIFIED PERSONS
Masons under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Washington may properly inquire of a worthy, qualified person “if he had ever considered petitioning for membership in
Freemasonry?” This, or a similarly phrased question, is a proper question to determine intent; this in addition to advising said person that “he must petition of his own initiative-that he will not be asked to petition.” Further, “that enlightening Masonic literature is available and may be furnished upon request.”