The Fraternity shows a gain in membership for only the second time in 30 years!
Moose members, energized by recent actions taken on behalf of the Fraternity, made 2021-22 a year to remember for The Moose. For the first time since 2012, year-end records show a gain in membership. Lodge membership numbers ended at 852,356, up an impressive 5,120 members over the previous year.
Several factors played important roles in this inspirational increase.
First, members approved a General Laws amendment to ban smoking within the lodge homes in 2019, which encouraged non-smokers and younger prospects to revisit their decisions to avoid our facilities due to smoke.
Next, members voted in 2020 to make lodge membership open to all individuals, men and women alike, beginning with the 2021 fiscal year. That meant an influx of talent at a variety of leadership positions across the Fraternity, which in turn, produced more effectively run operations. This decision also resonated with a younger audience that looked to participate in an organization that more closely associated with their integrated upbringing.
Third, the Fraternity began a more aggressive marketing approach, utilizing NASCAR and driver Ross Chastain to reach a larger national audience that exhibited similar demographics as the current Fraternity membership. When Chastain won the Talladega race with the Moose Fraternity car, visits to beamoose.org quadrupled the previous single-day high for the site and lodges across the country reported race fans walking into lodge homes to apply for membership.
Finally, the Moose International Board of Directors approved over half a million dollars’ worth of local marketing grants that allowed lodges to become more visible in the communities in which they operate. By utilizing youth team sponsorships, community event participation and even local billboards, Moose lodges became much more evident in the towns and counties where they recruit new members.
And recruit they did! Moose members invited 163,703 individuals to become members this past fiscal year – nearly 29,000 more than the goal of 135,000 members set at the beginning of the year. While the Women of the Moose experienced a slight decline in membership, as expected when women joined the lodges, the Moose Legion gained nearly 2,700 members over the previous year, drawing from a larger pool of members.
“It’s exciting to see the changes we made translate into increased membership so quickly,” commented Moose CEO Scott Hart. “The energy we created when we integrated the membership, combined with our increased marketing efforts, proved we are on the right path. Our leaders and members should be proud that they took these changes and positioned the Fraternity to support our missions for years to come. Keep up that momentum!”
