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Lodge Dues?

jwhoff

Premium Member
both endowments at $500. One yearly dues $75, one at $100.

Every lodge I've attended since the DDGM visits are now talking about their financial futures. Grand Lodge was able to relay a strong message that seems to have gotten through. Local lodges did need to be jarred into the 21st century. Let's hope the right decisions are made across the board.
 

RedTemplar

Johnny Joe Combs
Premium Member
One lodge is $53 and the other is $55. As DDGM, I found that is about average for my district. I did, however, find that one lodge's dues are set at $39. With Grand Lodge dues and assessments at $26.50, I really don't know how this lodge keeps its lights on.

I don't know of any lodge in Kentucky with an endowment fund.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Lodge dues are way too low.
 

JJones

Moderator
We've been talking about this at our lodge recently as well. It seems pretty understood that it's not a matter of 'if' but a matter of 'when' we're going to have to raise our dues, unfortunately, I don't think anyone wants to be 'that guy' who raised them.

Speaking of endowments, I think that's something else we're going to have to really consider raising the cost of also, especially when we raise our dues. Our lodge is already losing quite a bit of money from endowed members and if we raise our dues to a $100 dollars or more then that $500 dollar endowment is going to start looking a lot more tempting.
 

tom268

Registered User
In my lodge, annual dues are at about 570 US$, plus meal plus drinks, plus the collection at every meeting. That is a bit above average for Germany. The average is about 280 to 500, depending on the size of a lodge, number of meetings and if they own a house or rent rooms. Half that for students. We have no other mode of membership, no 1time payment for life, nothing. Additional donations are always accepted.
 
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Brent Heilman

Premium Member
Our dues are $65. Endowments are $650. Which is about average around here. There are few that hover in the area of $50 and some up to $100. We are sitting on ours at the current rate for a while. Financially we are in good shape so we don't have the money problems some of the other local Lodges have.
 

Ashlar

Registered User
Mother Lodge $53 , second Lodge $100 . My mother lodge is doing great financially as is .

My second lodge just raised it's dues this year , our lodge building is a HUGE 4 story monster and all the 50+ year Gold Card (free members) members are killing us .
 

mrpesas

Registered User
We are voting on increasing dues to $150 tonight (up from $90). Endowment is $500. Our problem is also that about half of our members are Endowed and not paying yearly dues (this is my understanding at least).
 

cog41

Premium Member
$150.00?? Ouch!

I know some are higher than that, but for me anything over $100.00 is a little steep.

Then again expenses are expenses and everything else seems to be going up too.
 

Timothy Fleischer

Registered User
Mother Lodge $53 , second Lodge $100 . My mother lodge is doing great financially as is .

My second lodge just raised it's dues this year , our lodge building is a HUGE 4 story monster and all the 50+ year Gold Card (free members) members are killing us .

Ashlar, Those 50+ year Gold Card members that are "killing" you are the ones who made sure that Masonry was here when you (and I) and any younger Mason got here. They paid dues, whatever they were, or endowments, for Five Decades. They deserve the little pin from Grand Lodge and thanks from the rest of us.
 

davidterrell80

Past Master
Premium Member
It costs about $20 to eat at a decent restaurant. Once a month for a year... $240. Surely, the lodge is worth at least that much.

In about 1997, I did a study of my Lodge's dues over the previous 150 years of its existence, correcting the figures for inflation. The amounts worked out to cycle between $40 and $60 per year (in 1997 dollars). At that time, the dues were $40 and the Lodge was barely able to function. Those amounts, in 2011 dollars are $56 to $84 per year.

In my opinion, the lodge should notify all Endowed members of the amount returned each year from the GL Endowment, and the current dues and, if there is a shortfall, request a donation equivalent to the difference.
 
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Ashlar

Registered User
Ashlar, Those 50+ year Gold Card members that are "killing" you are the ones who made sure that Masonry was here when you (and I) and any younger Mason got here. They paid dues, whatever they were, or endowments, for Five Decades. They deserve the little pin from Grand Lodge and thanks from the rest of us.

You act as if I was attacking them . I was not attacking them , just stating a fact . But I will now . They out number the dues paying members , and no they were not supporting our lodge for decades . They paid , up until a few decades ago , single digit dues . A paltry $9.00 a year , and these are the same men who came out in force and fought raising dues for years and years (the only time they ever darkened the door of the lodge was to vote down a dues raise ) and was not looking out for the future of the lodge but looking out for their own wallets . And now the lodge has nothing in it's savings and is hanging on by the skin of our teeth . But they are now free members so they do not care what we raise our dues . We are in Pi** poor shape financially today, because of what THEY did (or did not do) in the last 5 decades .

We had a few generous brothers who had left money to the lodge in their wills , and this is why we have made this far . This is how the lodge paid their GL assessments for these (now)Free members through the years , because these Brothers who I am supposed to thank for their service did not want to raise dues . And now all that money is gone also .
 
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mrpesas

Registered User
This is a hard decision and definitely seems to fall along generational lines. It's all understandable too. In my mind, a can of "soda" should cost $0.50, but nowadays it's hard to find for under $1.00. I think the same mentality exists with Dues. If you came up with $50 Dues, it's very shocking to think they will be raised to over $100. But, since I'm new, and I can spend $100 in one day at the gun show just buying ammo, these dues don't bother me. I am also not on a fixed income, and I can understand the concerns of those that are. But, like others have said, increasing Dues is required if we want to keep the doors open.

Our vote to raise Dues to $150 passed 24-1 with 1 Brother abstaining.
 
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Bro Mike

Registered User
We have dues set at $120 and endowment are $800 as of last year. We did have a few men decide to not continue as members (mostly plural members) when we went up from $72 on dues.
 

Bro Mike

Registered User
Here in Texas, the endowment cost is set by individual lodges and invested in a fund that is managed/overseen by the GL. Disbursements from the fund, back to lodges are based on the interest earned during the previous year. That money offsets the per capita fees that lodges pay back to GL per each member. A brother who buys an endowment is relieved from paying annual dues. But his portion of the endowment pays annual returns to his lodge and GL in perpetuity.

In reality, the GL has not paid a disbursement in several years (I should have said - the GL did not pay a disbursement for several years so lodges had to make up...) so lodges have to make up the difference in the per capita that is sent to GL. The situation is having a huge impact on lodges across our state.

That is an over simplified, thumbnail sketch of the endowment system in Texas. The issues that are involved in the pros and cons of endowments are much bigger and already documented elsewhere on the site.
 
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