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Per Capita for Grand Lodge of Texas
- Thread starter rhitland
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Why do we not have AC?
HKTidwell
Premium Member
Perhaps by spending some money on the building and promoting it as a place in the community for events we could increase revenue, awareness, and general well being. While doing this we can also send out a email saying this event is being held at Grand Lodge and if any of the members would like to come they can for X reduced amount. I again go back to my opinion that once a month Grand Lodge should bring in a well informed brother and do a speaking engagement. Some of these should be done in an open format geared towards everybody who would like to come. These open sessions should be a more of a historical summit, and it should be encouraged to bring families, friends and people looking for information. Record these events and stream it on the website. Some should be done in a closed format to discuss the past, present, and future. Create a lesson plan on how to educate the membership, encourage, and strengthen. Send out communication to the Secretaries about what is going on this month at Grand Lodge. Do it in the afternoons/evenings of a Saturday, so brothers can drive into Waco that morning and if they would like stay or go home.
Take the programs that are for members and make it into an interactive session via cd/dvd. We are in the 21 century and not in the 18th century. My brothers at lodge who may not be the most computer savvy still have a computer. Every January, lodges should be sent a CD that contains the Grand Lodge law, forms, petitions, and any other form that might be of necessity. This CD should also contain a financial break down of Grand Lodge budget both proposed and approved, a form for what lodges would like added or struck from future budgets, and ideas for future methods of expanding revenue within the organization. Paper costs money if there is a complaint about the cost of making a CD put a iso format where secretaries of the lodges can down load them. We waste a lot of paper, we could make this a much smoother process with the advent of the computer.
I think by increasing the visibility of Grand Lodge, potential of revenue, and membership activities we would see the Fraternity grow in a predictable and steadfast way. We have a one of a kind building and we should be using it for our benefit and not for a once a year meeting.
If we are struggling for funds we could also strike Art. 316 or potentially change it to say that if a person is not capable to pay dues then fill out form x which should be certified by the Secretary and the WM. I know this isn't a popular idea, it is strictly an idea for discussion.
Take the programs that are for members and make it into an interactive session via cd/dvd. We are in the 21 century and not in the 18th century. My brothers at lodge who may not be the most computer savvy still have a computer. Every January, lodges should be sent a CD that contains the Grand Lodge law, forms, petitions, and any other form that might be of necessity. This CD should also contain a financial break down of Grand Lodge budget both proposed and approved, a form for what lodges would like added or struck from future budgets, and ideas for future methods of expanding revenue within the organization. Paper costs money if there is a complaint about the cost of making a CD put a iso format where secretaries of the lodges can down load them. We waste a lot of paper, we could make this a much smoother process with the advent of the computer.
I think by increasing the visibility of Grand Lodge, potential of revenue, and membership activities we would see the Fraternity grow in a predictable and steadfast way. We have a one of a kind building and we should be using it for our benefit and not for a once a year meeting.
If we are struggling for funds we could also strike Art. 316 or potentially change it to say that if a person is not capable to pay dues then fill out form x which should be certified by the Secretary and the WM. I know this isn't a popular idea, it is strictly an idea for discussion.
Dave in Waco
Premium Member
I don't understand that big of budget for the Texas Mason magazine either, especially here in the digitial age. Considering that for the most part, the magazine is more like a catalog/donation mailer. It really provides very little in the way of things happening in Texas Masonry. I am also a bit curious as to why the Past Masters need a $6000 office supply budget item. I hadn't heard of the Children's Day unless it's the same as the Family Day in October. Still, wouldn't it be better for the Lodges themselves to have events like that locally to help raise public awareness and interest in our work?
Our PHA Brethren will be going digital with their newsletter:
http://www.freemasoninformation.com/2010/08/the-texas-two-step/
http://www.freemasoninformation.com/2010/08/the-texas-two-step/
Frater Cliff Porter
Premium Member
In Colorado we just had our budget session. We cut most line items 20%, but education budget shot up to $9,500 from $3.200. This is a huge change from just a few years ago when education had 500 for printing and that was never spent. Now that we are doing educational progams the message is clear!!!
jonesvilletexas
Premium Member
We must support our GL.
I will have to respectfully disagree with this. Just because GL comes to us and says we need to raise annual returns should we just allow them to do so. Their recommendation of raising the per capita is based on "all the fat being trimmed" but as I show by posting the 2010 Budget and Expense report there is still plenty of pork left in our Budget. I think we should take a look at what we are spending our money on and asking ourselves just how wise this is. If we are going to compare ourselves to a higher GL like MA and CA then we better produce a product like these but this is not the case in message that you read your Lodges. The increase is just to break even or do business as usual. That is the problem we don't want business as usual.
If we raise money then we are not solving the problem but we need to change the way GL spends the money we give them. The Lodges should be seeing a return on their payments in the way of educational programs and things the Lodges could use to make men better and not some manditory out of date ALL program that doesn't even follow Grand Lodge Law anymore. The one thing I teach every member in my Lodge is Grand Lodge is goverend by the Lodges and Past Masters not the other way around. The Grand Master's powers are very limited and defined in our Law Book. He is not the one that has the power but the Past Masters and Lodges. That is why each year a GM will make recomendations and not Laws. It is the Grand West that does that. So I say Grand Lodge needs to start supporting the Lodges, all of them.
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I know this has come up before but a code book would be a great way to answer some of the money woes. I would buy another if they did put one out and for that matter I would probably buy any book the GL published for education. Although after looking into this I am not sure money woes are the problem. I was not sure at first which way to go but the devil is in the details. just 2 cents
Dave in Waco
Premium Member
This resolution is being sponsered by the GL Trustees. This is what the DDGM's are making their rounds for at the Lodges. This is going to be pushed big time.
Yup- what you'll need to do is to write up your amendment (rewrite the resolution the way you want it to be) & submit it to the Jurisprudence Committee @ GL before the resolution comes to the floor for consideration. Obviously, you'll have to wait until we get the proposed resolutions from the GSec so that you'll have the wording to amend.
Don't we get a copy of the recomendations with the resolutions in Oct. usually Bill? I remember getting 3 books last year or all the resolutions and I don't think there were any recommendations last year by David Counts. I remember this because the Law book states the Grand Secretary should give 5 books, not 3, to each lodge. Or at least I think that was right.
I'll welcome rebuttal here, but I imagine some of this budget shortfall is related to our investments losing so much of their value. If the same bunch of wise men were handling the Grand Lodge Library and Museum endowment as were handling the "Endowed Membership" funds, then I guess a great deal of income they were accustomed to getting has dried up. I remember the vigorous push coming out of Waco to encourage endowed memberships and Sam Houston Hall of Fame participation several years ago (in fact, that was the sum of the GM's message when I was a DDGM.) Now that wonderful idea is eating our lunch. Lodges with a lot of endowed members can't pay their bills, because they have no income, because they followed the Grand Lodge's advice. When the Grand Lodge asked our permission to take our funds out of CDs and give them to an invenstments committee that would put them in stuff with higher yield, we all went along, because they understand the situation better than we do. I never hear anybody saying, "We took you guys in the wrong direction back there. Sorry."
Tom Ball
San Juan
Tom Ball
San Juan
That is what I think is causing more people to question the decisions coming out of Waco. It is not Us vs. Them. It is US wanting to know what is going on and that everything has been properly researched and an educated recommendation is made. This is why it is important for us to ask questions that are tough for someone to answer and if the person skates around a reasonable answer ask it again.
Every single person on this forum wants Masonry to flourish and every single one has the ability to voice our concerns with those making decisions. Those are great examples.
Every single person on this forum wants Masonry to flourish and every single one has the ability to voice our concerns with those making decisions. Those are great examples.
Okay, I've been studying the budget posted...thanks for that. This seems to say that without considering the per capita income, we come out 361,894 in the hole. But per capit income is projected to be 525,000, so we should come out about 163,000 to the good. Am I reading that right?
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