Grand Lodge of Virginia-2005 Membership Survey Results

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Grand Lodge of Virginia-2005 Membership Survey
Results

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• Matt Szramoski

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Reading the Survey

• 6,851 brethren responded
• 21.48 response rate
• 71 can be looked at as a control group
• Lack of an answer should be looked at as no
  response

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Members 61 and older are

• Likely to have had two or more children and be
  married
• A high school graduate or attended some college
• Probably a member of another fraternal/civic
  organization
• Retired

4
Members under 61 are

• Likely to have less than two children and are
  married
• A college graduate
• Probably not a member of another fraternal/civic
  group
• Is a professional, self-employed or civil service
  worker

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Why did I join? (Multiple answers allowed)

• Reputation of the organization (52)
• Fellowship (46)
• Family Members (43)
• Business Opportunities (7)

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If a relative or friend asked me about joining
Freemasonry I would

• Obtain a petition discuss Freemasonry with him
  (59), for those under 71 (68)
• Refer him to another member (12), for those
  under 71 (16)
• Say nothing, unless asked again (4)
• Tell him he would not want to join in today's
  society (4)

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• Demographic
• Challenges
• for the
• 21st Century

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Lack of younger members in other fraternal/civic
organizations

• Less exposure for Freemasonry to men in other
  like minded organizations
• Is a national trend due to increased work and
  family obligations

9
Decline in Masonic Youth Organizations

• 13 of our members over the age of 71 joined due
  to a child being in a Masonic youth organization
• Today, less then 2 of our new members are
  joining for this reason
• Large portions of Virginia have no Masonic youth
  organizations

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Family Obligations

• 1 in 13 Masons in Virginia have a family that
  does not support their Masonic membership
• This increases to 1 in 10 for Masons aged 31-60

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Failure to attract the Baby Boomers

• Less then 5 of our members over the age of 51
  have been Master Masons for 5 years or less.
• The vision of seeing large numbers of these
  individuals joining after retirement is not
  occurring
• These individuals have been the lowest percentage
  of joiners of any demographic group in U.S.
  history

12
Lack of Spouse Membership in Fraternal
Organizations

• Continual decline in the number of wives
  belonging to OES, Amaranth, etc.
• Current trends will result in less then 1 of our
  members having a wife in Daughters of the Nile,
  Amaranth and the Ladies Oriental Shrine in 1015
  years
• Eastern Star will fare only slightly better
• The end result will be fewer wives with a
  familiarity of fraternal organizations and their
  activities

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What do I like to do? (All)

• Television (39)
• Hunting and/or fishing (38)
• Reading (37)
• Sports/Golf (35)

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For those under the age of 71

• Television
• Hunting and Fishing
• Sports/Golf

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I am a member of

• Scottish Rite (34)
• Shrine (25)
• Royal Arch (22)

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Officer Statistics

• Almost 1 out of 3 brethren who completed the
  survey have served as Worshipful Master
• 25 are currently serving as an officer in their
  lodge

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As a Mason, I have attended

• Grand Annual Communication (28)
• Reid Simmons School (9)
• Division Leadership Conference (29)

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In the ritual, I

• Perform an officers station in the ritual (23)
• Perform the Worshipful Masters portion of the
  ritual (19)
• Read/present the charge (18)
• Teach catechisms (11)
• Present a lecture (7)
• Do not participate (36 for those under 71)

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I feel the ritual is

• Important for new members to understand (46)
• Primary reason for Freemasonry to exist (43)
• Something to be discussed in lodge programs (35)
• Timeless (34)

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What I enjoy most about stated communications is

• Fellowship (51)
• For those under the age of 71, (68)

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I also like

• Ritual performed well (40)
• Organization (30)
• Dinners prior to meetings (27)

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One thing I dont like stated communications is

• Too long (18)
• Boring (18)
• Has poor ritual (14)

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I have not attended lodge in

• A year or longer (25)
• the most inactive age group is 61-70
• 10 or more years (7)
• 5-10 years (5)
• 2-5 years (6)
• 1-2 years (7)
• ½ - 1 year (9)

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I dont attend because

• Date/time/work schedule conflict (18)
• Location (8)

25
If personally invited to attend a Masonic
function I would

• Probably attend (22)
• Decline (8)
• Concerned that I would be unable to do the
  dueguards/signs, etc. (5)

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The main reason I will become more active in
lodge is when

• My schedule allows!
• 21

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• But5 said they would never become more active!

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I would attend lodge if

• Refresher course on the ritual was given (14),
  for those under 71 (17)
• More social activities (11), for those under 71
  (16)
• It was more organized (9)
• More communication (9), for those under 71 (12)

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Programs that would encourage me to be more
interested in attending are

• Quality speakers on a Masonic subject (38)
• Presenters on general interest topics (30)
• Family Activities (24)

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My lodge does not do enough

• Family activities (20), for those under 71 (28)
• Teaching/educating new members (18), for those
  under 71 (26)
• Charitable Work (13), for those under 71 (18)

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Money!!!

• Only 4 felt the fee to receive the degrees was
  too high, 43 felt it was appropriate.
• 57 felt their lodge dues were appropriate, 12
  felt they were too high while 5 would pay more!

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Freemasonry has

• Made me a better man (63), for those under 71
  (74)
• Introduced me to lifetime friends and allowed me
  to meet men with like beliefs/values (53 each),
  for those under 71 (62)
• Increased moral standards in my life (45), for
  those under 71 (60)

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Freemasonry has not

• Made me feel welcome (7)
• Been the organization I thought it was (7)
• Been a good use of my time (5)
• Consisted of men I wish to associate with (4)

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In my community, Freemasonry is considered an

• Impressive organization that little is known
  about (36), for those under 71 (50)
• Unheard of/unknown (23), for those under 71
  (34)
• Well known/active in the community (14)
• Cult (11), for those under 71 (16)

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Freemasonry today is

• Needed more then ever (46), for those under 71
  (56)
• Stable organization promoting positive values
  (35), for those under 71 (41)

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But

• (44) feel it is in decline, for those under 71
  (50)
• Only (7) felt it is a better organization today
  then 20 years ago
• (6) felt it is outdated

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• Masonic Challenges
• for the
• 21st Century

38
Membership

• Smaller families
• Reduced pool of family members to draw from

39
Membership

• Less outreach to other fraternal/civic
  organizations
• Partnership opportunities
• Speakers bureau

40
Membership

• Consider creation of a Grand Lodge Membership
  Committee
• Develop materials to assist members in better
  explaining the fraternity to those who have made
  inquiry
• Possibly create new member packet
• Develop materials specific to Virginia for public
  consumption

41
Subordinate Lodge

• Lodge officer training
• Better quality programs on a mix of
  Masonic/general interest topics
• Better exposure and expansion of charitable
  efforts beyond MAHOVA
• Improved communication
• More family activities

42
Grand Lodge Opportunities

• Promote the Grand Lodge Museum and Library
  through VA Dept. of Tourism
• Provide scholarship information to the Virginia
  Dept. of Education for dissemination to the
  public schools
• Conduct press releases on Masonic Family Day,
  installation of Grand Lodge officers, etc.

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Our major problems are

• Negative self-perception
• Lack of long-term strategies (local and perceived
  at the Grand Lodge level)
• Failure to adequately educate our members in the
  meaning of our ritual
• Public perception of the craft

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We have a

• Self-image problem!

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But we can

• Strengthen our existing members relationship to
  the craft
• Create the tools for members to become recruiters
  for Freemasonry while not recruiting
• Grow Freemasonry in Virginia from this day
  forward

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Keys to Growing Freemasonry

• Think out of the box
• Keep our best traditions intact
• Encourage new ideas/concepts
• Speak positively
• Set long and short term goals
• Stop living in the past and plan for future

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• If its going to be its up to you and me!