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Lodge Dues?

towerbuilder7

Moderator
Premium Member
That's what it's all about, Brother. Never turning the good and dutiful Brother away, simply for economic difficulties. In this day and age, divorce, child support, layoffs, deaths in family, work injuries, sick spouses or children, etc., are all real world scenarios that plague the Brotherhood as well. Keeping that in mind, this is EXACTLY when the Brother NEEDS the Fraternity and its support.
 

cemab4y

Premium Member
My KY lodge dues are $65 per year. My Mass lodge dues are $85 per year. I consider these a bargain. Lodge dues have NOT kept up with inflation, and the overall costs of running a non-profit.

Example. Mizpah Shrine Center (Fort Wayne Indiana) kept their dues at $40 for many years. In 2007, the Shrine center decided to double their dues to $80 per year. What resulted was that half of the membership dropped out or demitted. With your dues doubled, and your membership reduced by half, the Shrine center found themselves right back where they started, financially, but with their membership cut in half.

It would have been more advisable to "nibble" up that dues with regular annual dues increases, to keep steady with inflation.
 
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Bro Bill

Registered User
This week there was considerable discussion about raising Endowment from $500 to $1000 (years too late in my opinion), it passed. Motion made to raise dues from $55 to $75 to keep up with Grand Lodge per capita increase. There was much discussion, and will be voted on next month. Another lodge I belong to has dues of $300.
 

Benton

Premium Member
Our dues are at $65. I wish they'd up them to at least $100.00. We recently had to have part of our building's slab repaired and while we could cover it, it didn't leave us much wiggle room. We know we're going to need to replace our carpet in a few years, and we haven't started saving for it. (I'm pushing for a checkered pavement, but that's an entirely different discussion.)

And our lodge ought to repaint, refurbish, purchase new lighting for the dining hall, have a licensed electrician come in and replace all the wiring, and many other things, but it hasn't happened because its not essential and we don't have the money. Things that, were our dues a little higher, we could pay for, one project a year.
 

RedTemplar

Johnny Joe Combs
Premium Member
When a lodge has to have fundraisers to repair their building or to pay the light bill, the dues are way too low.
 

anthonywilson

Registered User
My Lodge asks for $100 per year (plus meals) and $1200 for endowments, but there is talk that our dues might go up to $150 when the WM takes office (in a few weeks), and then they'll go up to $200 when his successor takes office. It stinks because our current/outgoing WM came in under budget (by a few thousand dollars) and I was hoping the Senior Warden would change his mind over the due raising.
 

Bill Lins

Moderating Staff
Staff Member
there is talk that our dues might go up to $150 when the WM takes office (in a few weeks), and then they'll go up to $200 when his successor takes office. It stinks because our current/outgoing WM came in under budget (by a few thousand dollars) and I was hoping the Senior Warden would change his mind over the due raising.

The Brethren could always vote against the proposal.
 

anthonywilson

Registered User
The Brethren could always vote against the proposal.

Yes, I think that's what will happen but something would have to give. Either endowments would need to go down (back to $500), stop passing the hat for for fundraisers, cut back on some programs (like buying animals from the junor livestock association), or stop pestering endowed members for money. One thing a Brother told on night was that everything he turns they (guys starting an event) want money, $5 or $10 here and there. Although our fundraisers aren't to pay the bills, just to help fund other events that we have through the year.
 

rmcgehee

Registered User
Our dues are $65 plus GL per capita tax.This coming year our Life Membership will go from a sliding scale(age and dues amount)to $3200.This large amount will at least allow us to earn the per capita to pay the Man(GL)
 

rpbrown

Premium Member
Currently we are at $80.00 but looks like we will be going to $100.00 this year. Our endowment is $500.00 and will remain that.
 

Pscyclepath

Premium Member
We're near Little Rock, Arkansas, so our structure will be a little different, but still similar to other suburban lodges:

Lodge dues are $60 per year. Perpetual membership (what GLoTX terms "endowment") is indexed to lodge dues, 16 times the annual dues payment at the time you endow. We currently have 80 dues-paying members, and 57 perpetual, or endowed members. Grand Lodge per capita fee is $10 per member since 2007, $5 per member for those perpetual guys who paid in before 2007. For our endowed/perpetual members, we received an average of $16.50 back from the Grand Lodge this year.

We are currently looking at raising dues, probably to the $100 to $120/year level at our December meeting. Several other lodges, such as Conway, are already at the $100 level. And having done the math for this little exercise, I definitely see that the perpetual memberships are a derned good deal for the brother, but not so much for the lodge, once you start trying to work out next year's budget ;-)
 

chrmc

Registered User
I definitely see that the perpetual memberships are a derned good deal for the brother, but not so much for the lodge, once you start trying to work out next year's budget ;-)

It's one of those things. If the fund the endowed memberships go into is giving huge returns as they were in the past, it's great for the lodge to always get the funding for every single member that ever became endowed whether they are active / alive etc. However as the market presently is taking and with returns being much smaller it can quickly hurt you if half your membership isn't paying any more.
Definitely a dual edged sword.
 

widows son

Premium Member
We pay $75.00 at my lodge with a 300 something dollar ( its been a while cant remember) entry fee which covers your book of constitution, book of by lawns, apron, bible, and certificate. To me it's worth it
 

Custer148

Registered User
In NE, my Mother Lodge dues are $50.00 this year & 2nd Lodge dues are $52.00, our GL assessment is $29.50 and perpetual (or as Texas has it, an endowment) membership is 21 x Lodge dues or $1000.00 whichever is higher (this just went up this year). We have 9 perpetual members in my lodge, all who had gotten perpetual memberships when the yearly dues were $30.00 = $600.00.
 

phulseapple

Premium Member
What is a endowment l? My animal lodge dues are 125/yr and each degree is 75. Perpetual is like 20x 125
The endowment appears to be the same as your perpetual. Here in my Lodge in NY, we call it Life Membership and is based on an actuarial formula that I do not recall off the top of my head.

As for dues, my lodge dues are currently $30 with a GL assessment of $30 for a total of $60. Grand Lodge Assessment is going up $10 over the next five years and lodge dues will increase accordingly.
 

Frater Cliff Porter

Premium Member
My blue lodge dues are at $365 plus per capita or $406 a year. Plus $35 a month for dinner and drinks. So another $370 really.

So to belong and participate its a minimum of $776 bucks a year. Most of us belong to a private meeting club to have a cigar and Scotch together and that runs another $38 a month but is not required.
 

chrmc

Registered User
My blue lodge dues are at $365 plus per capita or $406 a year. Plus $35 a month for dinner and drinks. So another $370 really.

So to belong and participate its a minimum of $776 bucks a year. Most of us belong to a private meeting club to have a cigar and Scotch together and that runs another $38 a month but is not required.

Cliff, assume that it is a TO lodge and that you get food catered? Do you think you get the extra value for that money compared to a "regular" lodge?
 
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