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GL of Kansas and Per Capita Increases

My Freemasonry

My Freemasonry

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The annual communication of the Grand Lodge of Kansas AF&AM meets this Saturday, and the leadership is presenting a bitter pill to their members. They are proposing the annual per capita paid to operate the Grand Lodge be raised from the current $24 a year, to $60 by the year 2024.

Kansas faces the same situation nearly every jurisdiction is currently confronted with: namely, the severe drop in membership, combined with an aging one (average age in Kansas is 68), resulting in sharp losses in income to operate the fraternity. The losses are predicted to continue.

I know that in Indiana, we made a catastrophic economic error in the late 1940s, by passing a rule that exempted Masons in our state who had been members for 50 years from paying any dues at all. Anyone who could have read an insurance actuarial chart in those days should have known what a ticking time bomb that was financially. Attempts in recent years to repeal or even tinker with this provision in any responsible way have been met with shrieks of horror.

The Grand Lodge of Kansas circulated this video to all of its members in an effort to sell their proposal. I am curious to hear if it passes. But make no mistake - this will not be an isolated case as time marches on.

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Bloke

Bloke

Premium Member
I'll be watching the comments to that blog with interest.

Me, I want my GL to support membership growth with promotional tools and publicity. I want them to position Freemasonry as a relevant and important organization in today's world. I want them to facilitate but not be authoritarian. I want them to be effective. If that costs me $100 a year, then that's hardly going to effect my efforts to locally to do the same.

One thing is for sure, the $104 AUD I pay per year to GL is cut up into a lot of pieces, but the wage they are paying a man to effectively respond to membership inquiries from men who do not know Freemasons has been critical in all the young faces we see in lodges and it will be critical to our future. Our next WME will be such a man. Our IPM at another lodge is such a man. (and it takes not less than 6 years to make the chair here).

I HATE waste, but I beleive in investments which show a good Return on Investment. The amount (within reason) is almost irrelevant - what really matters is how the cash will be spent. If I could spend $10 per week to build a quality membership base, I would. Indeed I do - in phone calls. The amount of time I spend on Freemasonry per year would be a large mount if you converted it to a dollar basis at an hourly rate. I must has spend 8-12 hours on the Craft this week.

The Craft has not, and will not, survive without generous men willing to invest time and resources into Freemasonry. It amazes me when Brothers get bent out of shape about investing less than $2 per week in GL. But again, it is not just about the amount - it is how it will be (wisely?) spent.

GL's default position is generally sell assets. Once they are gone, they will come after the members wallets. All this is a question of sound financial management with a long term sustainable view...
 
Companion Joe

Companion Joe

Premium Member
Our Grand Lodge building is old and huge and located on the main drag in downtown Nashville. It, too, is a white elephant. It's beautiful. I'm glad we have it. But every time you turn around, there is a GL building assessment tacked on to your dues. A few years back, they did about $5 million (I think) worth of renovations to it.
 
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