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Feature Articles:
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‘Centralized Dues . . . is Right for the Future of our Moose Fraternity’
It’ll ensure that members get reported, and it’ll free Administrators to run better Moose operations
> Deborah Meyer, currently Director of Membership & Training for the Women of the Moose, is soon to become Director of Member Retention for the entire Moose fraternity. And for nearly two years, she’s led the Moose International team that has painstakingly conceived and refined the concept of a Centralized Dues Collection structure for Lodges and Chapters—to be implemented by late 2005. On Sunday morning, June 27, she addressed the topic to a General Session of the International Convention.
Moose International’s objectives in tackling this controversial issue, Meyer said, were simple: to create a more effective and efficient collection system for dues and reporting system for member renewals; and to increase our success in retaining members.
She cited pluses of the Centralized Dues plan, both for Lodge Administrators and individual members, among them:
• Weekly, not quarterly, membership card distribution.
• Membership cards three times thicker, much more resembling a credit card than the current flimsy card stock.
• Member and degree dues synchronized into one billing.
• New billing and payment options (online, automatic deduction, etc.).
• Up to three notices after dues expiration—handled by Moose International; off the Administrator’s “to-do” list.
• Eliminates both the Administrator’s and headquarters’ need for tracking, recording and remitting dues-related funds payable to Moose International; per-capita payments from Chapters and Moose Legions, and ABCD payments from Lodges, will no longer be required; this will be automatic.
• Huge time savings for Lodge Administrators, Chapter Recorders and Moose Legion Secretaries.
• Increased member retention, both via more-efficient handling renewals, and from enhanced future services.
Implementation of Centralized Dues is slated for the September 2005 dues quarter, Meyer said. Once card design is completed, samples of the new membership card and dues renewal notices will be publicized in Moose Magazine, Moose Leader and other publications, as well as on www.mooseintl.org.
Meyer noted that the program isn’t uniformly popular; some Administrators view it as a loss of control. But, Meyer asserted, “the decision to proceed . . . is right for our members, it is right for our Lodges, Chapters and Moose Legions and right for the future of our Moose Fraternity.”
For further information on Centralized Dues, contact Meyer at DMeyer@wotm.org.
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Please click on any photograph below to view a larger image.
Deborah Meyer
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Fleming: Membership Retention Solution’s Been Around as Long as We Have
> Acting Director of Fraternal Operations Jim Fleming, addressing the issue of membership retention, shared some startling statistics with members: during the past year, 122,820 members dropped their membership for non-payment of dues; 97,264 (11 percent) are in arrears; and fully three out of every four new members do not renew their dues after the first year.
What to do? Fleming declared that the solution “has been around for 116 years; that is, to make our Lodge a fraternal operation, the friendliest place in town; to freshen up our facilities; to provide a flexible program; and to have fun while doing it.”
It is important for new members to have an informal orientation, enrollment by a skilled Ritual team and flexible programming for retention to succeed, he added.
Want more details? Contact Fleming’s office at 630/966-2227.
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Jim Fleming |
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