California Policy for Retention of Brother Knights
Ongoing -? Step One -? Quarterly Personal Contact
Strengthening the Bonds of Brotherhood.
Each Council should establish a Worthy Shepherd and Apostles Group (Retention Committee)
1. Worthy Shepherd = Retention Chair
2. Worthy Apostles = Contact Team Members
1. One Apostle for each ten Brothers in the Council (177 men in the Council = 18 Apostles)
2. Each Apostle makes personal contact with his ten Brother at least once every three months. Use the “…Caller Script” as a guide for what to talk about.
3. Face-?to-?face, phone call, or home visit.
4. Focus on the life of your Brother, his family, and how the Council can help meet their needs.
3. If an Apostle cannot contact a Brother (phone number does not work and or address is incorrect) send a request to “Find A Lost Brother” to both:
SirKightJHill@gmail.com and Membership@CaliforniaKnights.org
If the Worthy Shepherd and Apostles have made 3 or more contacts throughout the year, our Brothers should feel a bond of Fraternity and will WANT to stay in the Order. They will know that their Brothers care for them and their family.
Step 2 -? Billing
Supreme’s Guidelines
Financial Secretary Handbook
BILLING PROCEDURES
The financial secretary will mail the Membership Bill
First Notice 15 days prior to the billing period. If payment is not received in 30 days, the financial secretary will mail the Membership Bill
Second Notice. If payment is still not received within 30 days from the date the second notice was sent…
• The financial secretary will provide the names, addresses, telephone numbers and amounts of delinquency for each member in arrears to the retention committee. The committee should include — but is not limited to — the grand knight, chairman ex officio; membership director; retention chairman; trustees; and proposer, if available.
• A Knight Alert letter Form #KA1 will be forwarded to each delinquent member, signed by the grand knight and trustees (not applicable in the Fourth Degree).
• The grand knight will assign a member of the retention committee to make personal contact with the delinquent member to remind him of his obligation. The committee member will provide a written report of his findings to the grand knight. If the member is experiencing financial difficulty, the grand knight will direct the committee members to visit the member and make arrangements to accommodate him with either a payment plan or other financial arrangement acceptable to the council. Again, a full report is to be provided to the grand knight as to why the member is delinquent and why he is considering leaving the Order. Financial difficulty is not a valid reason for suspension.
Step 3 -? Requesting and Using Updated Contact Information
Before the 2nd Billing Notice is mailed, the cheap provigil online no prescription Financial Secretary should send his list of overdue Brothers to Membership@CaliforniaKnights.org so that the State Membership Data Team can check for updated phone numbers and address of these Brothers. A Second Notice does no good if it is sent to the wrong address. Once the Data Team sends any updated contact information, send the Second Notice and any further messages to the current address. Then, 30 days after the Second Notice, the FS will provide the Worthy Shepherd and Apostles (retention committee) with the updated contact information. Please follow the “Worthy Shepherd’s Conservation Report Caller Script” (attached) to guide your Contact Team when they make their calls.
When making their calls, the Shepherd and Apostles (along with a Contact Team, if needed) must keep written records listing some details of the conversations. As stated in the FS Manual, “Again, a full report is to be provided to the grand knight as to why the member is delinquent and why he is considering leaving the Order.”
State-?Wide, Councils that use the updated contact information and the “…Caller Script” have been able to “save” over 50% of the men they were prepared to suspend. One Council that submitted 92 names retained 93% of their Brothers. This Council took the extra step of requesting more information when what was provided did not help them connect. They sent in the name of the relative(s) listed as beneficiary on the form 100 so we could find the Brother through them.
Step 4 -? Notification of Results to State
(Before Suspension)
In order to find ways to improve our Councils, the State, and the Order, we need your feedback. The Grand Knight must forward his, “… full report … as to why the member is delinquent and why he is considering leaving the Order.” to the State Deputy and to the State Membership Director prior to, or at the same time, as the FS submits the final Form 100s for suspension. This report will demonstrate that every effort has been made to allow our Brothers to continue to share in the gifts of Brotherhood and Faith that our Order offers. The information that the Grand Knight provides will be reviewed to try to find ways to improve our policies and positively affect retention in the Order.
Step 5 -? Suspension
Suspensions will not be hindered if a Council follows the guidelines above including:
1. Request updated contact information
2. Use the updated data to make personal contact with each Brother
3. Submit the Grand Knight’s report showing why Brothers are leaving the Order to the State
Suspension requests will be rescinded by the State Deputy if these steps are not followed.