How To Suspend a Brother the Right Way

Acting  Like  A  Brotherhood,   Not  a  Collection  Agency

1. Every  Brother  Knight  was  personally  invited  to  join  the  Order.    Therefore,  every  Brother   Knight  should  be  personally  invited  to  stay  in  the  Order  before  he  is  suspended.

2. Before  filing  the  final  “Intent  To  Suspend”  the  Shepherd  and  Apostles  (Retention  Committee)   must  request  and  use  any  updates  of  contact  information.

3. Personal  contact  (see  below)  must  be  made  or  attempted.

a. For  Brothers  with  no  updated  information,  send  in  the  beneficiary’s  name  so  you  can   attempt  to  contact  the  Brother  through  them.

b. If  the  phone  number(s)  do  not  work,  make  a  home  visit.

c. If  the  home  address  is  incorrect,  ask  for  an  update.

d. If  all  attempts  to  contact  has  been  made,  the  Brother  should  be  dropped  and  be  sure   to  list  the  dates,  times,  and  methods  used  (phone,  home  visit)  to  attempt  contact.

4. The  Retention  Committee  is  required  to  submit,  “…,  a  full  (written)  report  is  to  be  provided   to  the  grand  knight  as  to  why  the  member  is  delinquent  and  why  he  is  considering  leaving   the  Order”

5. This  written  report  to  the  Grand  Knight  should  be  emailed  to:

a. State.Deputy@CaliforniaKnights.org

b. Membership@CaliforniaKnights.org

6. The  list  of  reasons  for  a  Brother  leaving  the  Order  may  include  a  statement  by  the  Grand   Knight  that  multiple  attempts  were  made  (both  by  phone  and  home  visit),  using  the  updated   information  provided  by  the  State  Membership  Data  Team,  to  personally  contact  a  Brother.

How  to  Suspend  a  Brother  the  Right  Way  

Yes,  California  does  allow  drops!  

1. Make  Personal  Contact

a. By  Phone

b. Face-­?To-­?Face

c. By  Home  Visit

d. If  out  of  town  –  send  a  handwritten  postcard  asking  for  phone  #  and  email.

2. Make  the  Personal  Contact  A  Positive  Way  to  Reconnect  Him  to  the  Brotherhood.

a. Announce  your  name  and  state  that  you  are  a  Brother  Knight.

b. Ask  about  his  life,  his  activities,  his  family,  etc.

c. Invite  him  to  Council  or  Church  events  that  fit  his  needs  or  his  family’s  needs.

d. Ask  why  he  became  a  Knight  in  the  first  place.

i. Does  he  still  have  that  reason?   ii. If  he  feels  he  cannot  continue  as  a  Knight,  find  out  exactly  why.    Use  the  “Caller   Script”  to  offer  solutions  to  any  of  his  problems  or  objections.  e. Ask  if  there  is  any  way  the  Council  can  help  him  or  his  family.  f. Tell  him  that  the  records  show  that  he  has provigil online usa online  not  paid  his  bill.

i. Ask  what  happened?    Did  he  get  it?    Was  it  put  aside?  Did  he  lose  it?

ii. Ask  if  he  can  pay  the  bill.    Ask  if  would  be  a  problem  to  pay.

g. Remind  him  that  dues  help  the  Council  to  do  the  charitable  work  that  the  Knights  are   known  for,  and  ask  him  to  do  his  part  by  paying  his  dues.

h. If  none  of  your  solutions  work  and  the  Brother  insists  that  he  still  wants  to  leave  the   Order,  ask  for  a  specific  reason  why.    Let  him  know  that  this  will  help  us  to  improve   the  Knights  of  Columbus.

3. If  there  is  no  Response,  the  Address  and  Phone  Number(s)  may  be  out  of  date.

a. Ask  the  Membership  Data  Team  to  help  find  new  information.

b. Send  us  your  best  information  to  Membership@CaliforniaKnights.org  :

  i. Full  Name  (middle  initial  or  name  helps),

ii. Last  known  address

iii. Last  known  phone  number

iv. Birth  Date  and  or  Age

v. Any  relatives  names  (beneficiary  name  from  form  100)

vi. Council  name  and  number

vii. Name,  phone,  and  email  of  the  person  requesting  information

This  procedure  shows  that  the  Knights  care  and  shows  our  Brotherhood.    Better  yet,  establish  a   Worthy  Shepherd  and  Apostles  team  to  make  personal  calls  every  3  months  to  keep  in  contact.    This   truly  show  Brotherhood  and  strengthens  the  bonds  of  Fraternity.

•Do  Not  allow  your  Contact  Team  to  start  off  by  saying  that  he  is  behind  in  dues.

• Do  Not  try  to  collect  more  than  one  year’s  worth  of  dues  or  fees.

 o The  Council  is  billed  one  year  at  a  time  and  Brothers  should  be  treated  the  same.

o Your  Shepherd  and  Apostles  committee  should  be  contacting  Brothers  every  3   months.    If  a  Brother  is  delinquent,  use  the  “…Caller  Script”  to  convince  him  to  pay   and  remain  in  the  Brotherhood,  or  let  the  FS  and  GK  know  the  Brother’s  exact  reason   for  leaving  the  Order.    If  a  Brother  wishes  to  leave,  he  must  be  dropped.

• DO  -­?  If  there  is  no  response  to  your  dues  letters  and  you  cannot  connect  by  phone,  ask  the   State  to  help  find  the  current  address  and  phone  number.

• DO  -­?  If  you  send  (or  sent)  in  Notice  of  Intent  to  Suspend,  check  and  use  any  updated  phone   numbers  and  addresses  that  are  listed  on  the  2014-­?15  CA  Conservation  Reports  database.