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Kind of a Roll Call- 4 questions

MasterBulldawg

Registered User
Brothers,

I am looking to find info on lodges in other parts of the country or in other countries:

Q1- What is the initiation fee?

Q2- What is the dues for your lodge?

Q3- How many members do you have at a stated or call meeting vs. total membership?

Q4- What kinds of meetings do you have? i.e. 2 stated or 1 stated & family night etc.

thanks for you time in responding.
 

MasterBulldawg

Registered User
Here is my lodges info:
Brothers,

I am looking to find info on lodges in other parts of the country or in other countries:

Q1- What is the initiation fee? Ours is $50 for each degree

Q2- What is the dues for your lodge? Ours is $55 a year

Q3- How many members do you have at a stated or call meeting vs. total membership?
We have about 150 members at a stated meeting we have between 6 to 12 member on the sideline with the all the chairs filled.


Q4- What kinds of meetings do you have? i.e. 2 stated or 1 stated & family night etc. We have 2 stated a month with 2 open events ( widows lunch and Americanism night) a year.
 

Companion Joe

Premium Member
1. Our initiation fee is $100 paid up front before the EA.
2. Our dues are $64.
3. Our membership is about 150. We generally have 25-30 at stated meetings and 35-50 for degree work.
4. We have one stated meeting for business. We do degree work as needed. Some months, we might have 3-4 degree nights in addition to the stated meeting. Some months, none.
 

JJones

Moderator
Q1- What is the initiation fee?

My lodge charges $100 for each degree if I'm not mistaken. We also charge $40 for a background check when a petitioner turns in his paperowrk.

Q2- What is the dues for your lodge?

$75

Q3- How many members do you have at a stated or call meeting vs. total membership?

About 10-20/70 on average. It's a pretty good ratio when you compare it with other local lodges.

Q4- What kinds of meetings do you have? i.e. 2 stated or 1 stated & family night etc.

1 stated per month with practices on a weekly basis.
 

KSigMason

Traveling Templar
Site Benefactor
Q1- What is the initiation fee?
$300

Q2- What is the dues for your lodge?
$125

Q3- How many members do you have at a stated or call meeting vs. total membership?
20-25 active members vs ~170 total members

Q4- What kinds of meetings do you have? i.e. 2 stated or 1 stated & family night etc.
Stated meetings, initiations, practice nights, table lodges, picnics, and fellowship nights (go somewhere fun to hang out).
 

rfuller

Premium Member
1) $185 (I think)
2) $60
3) 20-30 out of 200
4) 1 stated meeting, weekly floor practice, degrees as needed.
 

MarkR

Premium Member
Total of fees and assessments for initiation: $122.50. $30 application fee, $25 at each degree, $12.50 Minnesota Masonic Foundation, $5 George Washington Masonic Memorial fee

Annual dues $70

20-30 out of about 140 (but being a northern lodge, a lot of the brothers still on the rolls don't live in the area anymore.)

Two stated communications a month; one for business and lodge education, one for business and conferring degrees. Nothing in Minnesota Masonic Code prohibits conferring degrees at stated communications. Dark in July and August, only one stated in December.
 

Brother_Steve

Premium Member
Q1- What is the initiation fee?
$350. 100 dollar app fee. 250 due at initiation. Covers dues for the year and other degree items passed out.

Q2- What is the dues for your lodge?
104 if you go through paypal so figure three dollars off that fee.

Q3- How many members do you have at a stated or call meeting vs. total membership?
Our average is roughly 20 not including officers. We have 250ish members. We could not seat every member if they came out though.

Q4- What kinds of meetings do you have? i.e. 2 stated or 1 stated & family night etc.
- 1st monday of the month = Craftsman's Club. It is an informal dinner open to members and friends. Our senior warden discusses fundraising ideas here. Sometimes we have a presentation from the fire department or police department.

- 2nd and 4th Monday is our stated meeting.

- 3rd Saturday is our Breakfast with Hiram. It is open to the public and we cook breakfast to order. If it is in our fridge we will cook it up (so long as it is breakfast food!)

thanks for you time in responding.
Anytime.
 

DJGurkins

Floresville #515
Premium Member
Brothers,

I am looking to find info on lodges in other parts of the country or in other countries:

Q1- What is the initiation fee? EA $50 FC $50 MM $75+prorated dues for remainder of year

Q2- What is the dues for your lodge? $130

Q3- How many members do you have at a stated or call meeting vs. total membership? 15 to 20 vs 55to 60

Q4- What kinds of meetings do you have? i.e. 2 stated or 1 stated & family night etc. 1 Stated 3 Practice called meetings when necessary

thanks for you time in responding.

We don't go dark any time thru the year. we will probably start opening up for socializing 2 Saturdays a month.
 

goomba

Neo-Antient
Site Benefactor
Q1- What is the initiation fee? Going to $200.00 this year plus a $15.00 back ground check.

Q2- What is the dues for your lodge? Going to $100.00 this year.

Q3- How many members do you have at a stated or call meeting vs. total membership? 7-15
out of 70.

Q4- What kinds of meetings do you have? i.e. 2 stated or 1 stated & family night etc. Two stated meetings per month, two degree practices per month, family meals at local establishments as often as possible (usually once a month).
 
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cacarter

Premium Member
Q1- $100 for EA/FC, $125 for MM. $325 total

Q2- $100

Q3- ~20 at practice, ~30 at meetings. Total membership is ~100.

Q4- Monthly stated. Practice weekly. Degrees as needed. Widow's night, family night, etc.
 
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Companion Joe

Premium Member
Here is a question for those of you from Lodges with (what I consider) high fees/dues $100+:

How does this impact your Lodges trying to bring in young members or retaining older ones? In our area, I honestly think it would destroy the Craft. How does a young man just starting out afford dues/fees that high - especially if he has a family to support? How does an older member on a fixed income do it? We have a Grand Lodge officer that keeps telling about these Lodges elsewhere with high dues and saying "We are selling Masonry too cheap. We need to raise the price to make people want to come out for their money's worth." That's great in theory, but if people don't have the money in the first place, how do we get them in?

I am already a life member of both my Chapter and Council. I will do a life membership for my Lodge later this year to avoid increasing dues and per capita tax. When I joined the Lodge at at 22, the fee was $66 (which my dad must have paid, because I don't remember doing it), and dues were $25. I remember in my early 30s when they started creeping up toward where they are now, I never failed to pay my dues, but I did have to think ahead and put a little back each month to make sure I had it come December. I've lived paycheck to paycheck. It's not fun. If a man has to decide what is more important, spending $100 to make sure his family has what it needs or belonging to a fraternity, the decision had better not be a hard one. If I had been 22 and the Lodge asked me for $350 the night of my EA, I guess I would have had to turn around and leave. Now at 42 and making what I feel is a good living, I could afford it. Back then, it wouldn't have mattered how much I loved Masonry, I simply wouldn't have had that much available for dues.

Granted, living in New York City or Dallas or somewhere, $100 isn't what it is where I live today, and $100 today sure wasn't what it was when I became a Mason 20 years ago, but still, I ask: What is the balancing point between "selling Masonry too cheap" and pricing yourself out of reach?
 

JJones

Moderator
How does this impact your Lodges trying to bring in young members or retaining older ones? In our area, I honestly think it would destroy the Craft. How does a young man just starting out afford dues/fees that high - especially if he has a family to support? How does an older member on a fixed income do it? We have a Grand Lodge officer that keeps telling about these Lodges elsewhere with high dues and saying "We are selling Masonry too cheap. We need to raise the price to make people want to come out for their money's worth." That's great in theory, but if people don't have the money in the first place, how do we get them in?

I've only been a mason for about ten years but I've found that all petitioners my age were really surprised by how cheap the craft is. They came to our lodge expecting something ancient, solemn, and exclusive and were willing to pay fees proportional to their expectations. (One brother expected to pay at least 1k by the time he was a MM).

That being said, I doubt highers dues would destroy the craft. Would every brother be able to afford higher dues? No, frankly, many of them can't afford them every year as it is. That being said, if a brother being unable to pay their dues isn't a chance to practice some masonic charity then I don't know what is.

I'm not in favor of raising dues just for the sake of raising them however. My opinion is dues should be high enough to support the lodge and the cultivation of whatever benevolence the lodge sees fit.
 

cacarter

Premium Member
Those are good points CompanionJoe. I'm 25, and like you became a mason at 22. When I joined (the same lodge as rfuller, and dues were $40 back then) I was shocked at how "cheap" masonry was. It's similar to what JJones said. I paid more in dues and initiation fees for my college organization (not a fraternity and those are even more expensive). I figured I was willing to pay whatever price for masonry. The degree fees were thankfully payable before each degree, not upfront.

The older members on fixed income is something to consider when raising dues now. My new lodge is more expensive and we have a number of young guys joining. It will be interesting to find out what happens if they start having families soon. Because I'm a couple of years away from a family, my fiancée and I have agreed to pay for as many endowed/life memberships as possible now so I never have to worry about them again. As of now, I have to save $30 a month to pay for all the dues (2 blue, chapter/council, Commandery, Shrine).

I guess if it's worth it to a man, he'll find a way. And if he can't, I'm willing to extend a helping hand just like JJones said.


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Brother JC

Moderating Staff
Staff Member
As we've mentioned in other threads, a person can easily spend $4 a cup for coffee every day without blinking, buy a beer or two every night, have a (useless) gym membership, a huge TV, a monster truck... but .50 (that's fifty cents) a day is too much for Masonry? Priorities.
 

Brother JC

Moderating Staff
Staff Member
My little lodge in NM set dues for seniors at $74, while others pay $240. Mind you, that includes 12 meals. Do essentially you're paying $120 in dues and $10 a meal. And no, you don't get it back if you don't attend.
 

Txmason32

Registered User
So some of you really think it's OK to pay less than 100 a YEAR ??? Do any of you belong to any other associations or organizations? What do you pay . I belong to ACCA (air conditioning Contractors of America ) dues are 800 a year . Service round table 50 a month . My wife's veterinarian professional service groups are more than lodge dues . Rotary ? Lions club? Even church is 10% .... If a man has an investment in something he will hold it more important . dues should at least be 1.00 a day .... is your fraternity not worth that ... and yes you should receive something for it such as learning and enlightenment ... older masons paying less who have time should be studying and teaching .. I don't mean just ritual ... There is so much more to masonry than ritual work

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rfuller

Premium Member
So some of you really think it's OK to pay less than 100 a YEAR ???

I'm a member of a lodge where dues are only $60, and I think they should be higher. cacarter and I have spoken about this at length. We're selling our building this month to move into the SR building here. So that tells you where low dues will get you. Building upkeep aside, I think they should still be $100-120 at a Minimum. I also think we should lock in members' dues when they reach 65. That might seem like a nightmare for a secretary, but if you've already got all the addresses in excel, adding a special dues rate in there shouldn't be a big deal. I gave a lecture at our last meeting about the "value" of masonry, and I think low dues has a big part in that. At $5/month, Masonry is practically disposable, and I hate that.
 

cacarter

Premium Member
Might have to replace a lot of secretaries to bring the lodges into the 21st century and have dues on Excel.
 

nixxon2000

Premium Member
Just thought I should chime in on the 100$+ dues. You really have to think about your community, economy, and those who are members. In the town that I live in we have less the. 1000 people. 80-90% are retired and those that aren't are farmers. So with dues over 100$ most of the members would not be able to afford it. We pay 88$ in dues and give charitable donations as often as possible.

Now when I lived in Orlando Fl with 500k + people and a higher cost of living I expected to pay more and should have. It really does depend on where you live and the economy around you. To have a blanket statement that it should be a specific fee I feel is wrong.

I feel that Freemasonry is an awesome life changing experience so far. I know I'm not a MM until next month and really do see the priceless value in it. If a lodge can support the fees then by all means it should but sometimes the smaller older lodges need to do whatever they feel is right for their community.

It's just my opinion and not intended to start an argument. However moving from a major metropolitan area to ultra small town gave me a different perspective.



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