Brothers,
The new e-Membership website is up and running. Please take a minute to take a look. Kofc.org/joinus
Please let me take this opportunity to answer a few questions about e-Membership, starting with our vision statement. While our mission is to carry forward our founder’s vision. Our vision for the Arizona Knights of Columbus is to create a Catholic, family, fraternal service organization consisting of a council at every Parish and a member in every Catholic family, who carry forward the teachings and values of our Church, while serving the needs of our members, and our communities.
Why recruit through e-Membership?
· This new membership class offers possibilities for those men who are not yet ready to fully commit to council membership and the responsibilities required. This especially applies to those Catholic men who are currently working to build careers and families, both of which require major time commitments.
· It allows men the opportunity to participate in our service functions as desired, to strengthen their and their families’ faith and to financially protect their Catholic families. It allows us the opportunity to act as mentors to these Catholic men and their families, while encouraging the strengthening of the domestic Church while providing benefits to our Church and our communities.
· It allows an opportunity for e-Members to get to know us and the Order prior to making the full commitment of council membership.
How do we apply e-Membership into our recruitment efforts?
Let me propose three ideas:
1) It is our duty as Knights to invite every eligible Catholic man and his family to join our Order but not every Brother is comfortable recruiting. To some approaching an unknown person and asking him to join can be nerve wrecking. So let me propose e-Membership recruiting in its simplest form. This week take a couple KofC prayer cards and write the website Kofc.org/joinus on the front. When you attend Mass this week, simply hand the prayer card(s) to your fellow parishioner and his family. Commenting something like “You should be a Knight. Check out our website when you have a minute.” In this case the website is going to do the sales work for you.
2) How many times have we received a completed prospect card or Form 100 from an enthusiastic candidate and in the time it take us to organize an admission committee meeting and the first degree he loses interest? In today’s fast paced world, immediate action has become the norm. So let’s not make him wait, simply use e-Membership as the first step in the process. Have him use his own smart phone to register at Kofc.org/joinus right there. As he is doing so, you can explain the first degree process and the importance council membership plays in his Parish and community.
3) We are constantly discussing the importance of the prospect list. E-Members are men, known to us, who have a vested interest in our Order. They receive regular emails from Supreme. They receive regular visits from field agents. And, they should receive regular invitations to participate in state and local Council activities. While some may not become council members immediately, they will become council members eventually.
How does e-Membership count towards our council membership goals?
E-Membership does not currently count towards the state or local council goals. However, as I mentioned above, if we employ the right strategies they will eventually become council members. Councils will receive credit as a new member when e-Members transfer into their council.
What is e-Membership in comparison to council membership?
· E-Members are placed into a State Division, a holding place overseen by the State Council. They pay dues ($30) directly to the Supreme Council. The State Council in turn bills Supreme for State Per-Capita payments.
· E-Members are encouraged to participate in local council’s meetings, service projects and social meetings. As they have not received their first degree, they are unable to vote or hold council positions (officers or directors). Also discretion must be exercised when discussing degrees at meetings.
· E-Members are issued traveling cards. These cards are easily distinguishable from the regular council membership cards.
What is required to convert an e-member to a council member?
As mentioned above, e-Members have not received their first degree. Admittance should be handled similar to that of a new candidate. The admission committee should interview the e-Member and present his application to the council for approval. Following council approval he must attend a first degree to become an official council member.
His Form 100 should be scanned and emailed to membership@kofc.org as soon as possible, following the degree, noting a transfer from the State Division to the local council. At this point, new membership credit is given to the state and local council. As with any transfer, Supreme Council will credit the local council for dues paid by the e-Member.
This new class of membership will no doubt change the way we operate. As with any new process, there will be changes and adaptations made along the way to help make this an even better opportunity going forward. This initiative has the possibility to expedite our Orders growth exponentially in Arizona. Note that there are well over 200,000 Catholic men in Arizona who are not yet Knights. It is up to us as fraternal leaders to adapt this growth into strong councils that are the go in to ministry of our Parishes and our communities.
Vivat Jesus!
Larry Becker
Immediate Past State Deputy
E-Membership Chairman
Arizona State Council
Knights of Columbus
azlarry@cox.net
