Recruitment Teams Committee

Chariman: SK David L Banowetz

Information from Supreme for this committee:

• The following pages provide successful methods and ideas for finding and recruiting new Knights. Choose those that best fit your situation and will best serve your council. Make a commitment to expanding the council and its accomplishments, and work together to meet that commitment.
• Organize your membership campaign in 10 easy steps:
  1. Set goals and quotas.
  2. Organize your campaign.
  3. Set up recruiting teams.
  4. Develop prospect lists.
  5. Start team recruiting.
  6. Visit prospects personally.
  7. Ask prospects to join.
  8. Ensure prompt initiation.
  9. Complete proposer duties — follow up! Make sure new knights and their families are welcomed and involved.
  10. Recruit another member!
  If each of these 10 steps is implemented, your council is sure to experience recruitment success.
• Lead by example. Because example is often the most effective form of leadership, ask each officer and director and chairman in your council to bring in, at the very least, one new member. If they just aren’t good at recruiting, make sure they offer leads on new members. By personally recruiting new members, council leaders can then speak with conviction when emphasizing recruitment. You can even introduce a little competition into this effort by prominently posting on a bulletin board the names of each officer and the prospects they’ve brought in.
• Refer to the How to...Succeed at Membership Recruitment handbook (#2769) for ideas on membership campaigns that can be implemented in your council.
• Set a goal in your council to attain Star Council status, and reach the Century Club goal by recruiting a net gain of 100 or more members.
• Personally invite every eligible Catholic man to serve with your council. Seek their open, public and unselfish participation in solving the problems of today.
• Utilize membership recruitment videos. A number of productions are available for either training membership personnel and recruiters, or for educating prospects and their families on what the Order has to offer. The following productions are available free except for shipping and handling charges from the Department of Fraternal Services. Full descriptions and additional ordering information are provided in the AV Flyer (#1539) and in the Supply Catalog (#1264). VIDEOS FOR RECRUITERS: — Membership Recruitment Flipchart — 12 Minutes — Available in English, French and Spanish — Sign ‘Em Up — 16 Minutes — Two-On-One: Ten Steps to Successful Recruitment — 12 Minutes VIDEOS FOR PROSPECTS: — Experience of a Lifetime — 11 Minutes — Available in English, French and Spanish (VHS & DVD) — Founding to Future — 17 Minutes — Available in English — Life and Legacy of Father McGivney — 14 Minutes — Available in English, French and Spanish BLITZ MATERIALS: — Prospect Cards (Item #921A) help councils collect information on prospects. They also can be placed in pews for collection after Mass. — Did You Know? Flyers (#1267) detail 24 interesting facts about the Order. — Membership Documents (#100) are what recruiting is all about. Get prospects to sign these and their presence at a First Degree is the result. — The Greatness of a Man Flyers (#4496) give a quick overview of the Order from its creation to the service opportunities it offers to men today.
  
  
• Process all prospective members or candidates through the Admission Committee. Make certain that all completed membership documents are immediately forwarded to the Supreme Council office following exemplification of the First Degree.
• Organize your own First Degree team and conduct frequent exemplifications in your council. Set a council goal of holding a First Degree every month. This will help to keep council recruiters working to find prospects on a regular basis. At the very least, schedule three First Degree exemplifications every six months. It is not necessary nor desirable to wait for a large class before holding a First Degree. If one or two men have to wait weeks or months to take the First Degree, they may lose interest.
• Select honorees as the focus for your council’s First Degrees: Father Michael J. McGivney, Pope Benedict XVI, Christopher Columbus, council chaplains, past grand knights, religious figures, your state or district deputy, worthy council members and their families, a local hero or celebrity, etc. Make sure these honorees are people who are well-known throughout your council and community. By selecting honorees as the focal point of the degree, you create an extra sense of importance and excitement and make the event more visible. If you’ve chosen the right person, many members will have strong positive feelings about the honoree and will work hard to recruit new members as a testament to that person.
• Encourage all First Degree members to achieve their Second and Third degrees as soon as possible. Advise them, in advance, of the Second and Third degrees scheduled. Participating in the advanced degrees allows new members to become more involved in your council . . . which makes them better Knights . . . which will often make them more effective recruiters.
• Assign a definite quota of new and former membership additions for your council. Strive to attain the Father McGivney Award.
• Sponsor incentive programs for recruiters in your council and promote the Supreme Council’s “Very Important Proposer” (VIP) Club. For more information about the “VIP” Club see the “VIP” Club flyer (#2488).
• Use the Prospect Referral Card (#921A, for distribution to prospects) and the Prospect Card (#921, for distribution to members) available from the Supply Department, for soliciting new member prospects.
• Develop close ties between councils and parishes, which are mutually beneficial and helpful to members in developing their lives of faith, worship and service. The K of C Parish Round Table concept has been designed to help foster continued close ties between parishes and councils, especially in areas where council membership may come from several surrounding parishes. Simply put, the K of C Parish Round Table program is an offer of service from the local council to every parish in its area. This service will not interfere with any existing parish council or organization, since the pastor himself designates in which programs the council should become involved. Further information is provided in the Parish Round Table flyer (#2632).
• Seek the cooperation of your pastor in your membership recruitment program. He may be able to suggest parishioners who would be good prospects for membership.
• Obtain the endorsement of the ordinary in your diocese. Ask that a letter be sent to all churches in the diocese promoting the Order and its recruitment programs. Ask that “Knights of Columbus Sunday” be designated.
• Utilize direct mail. Make your initial contact with prospects in a simple, effective and inexpensive manner. Start with a mailing of the Membership Invitation card (#2599), signed by the grand knight and sent to parishioners, neighbors, friends, relatives and other potential Knights. The invitation informs the recipient that he has been suggested as having all the qualifications necessary for membership in the Order and will be contacted by a council representative to arrange an appointment to acquaint the prospect with the Order. About a week after the invitations have been mailed, follow up with telephone calls to all recipients and schedule visits by two-man recruitment teams.
• Establish contact with high school and college graduates by sending the “Congratulations” card (#938), and including your name and phone number.
• Invite 18-year-old graduates from your Columbian Squires circle to join your council. These young Catholic leaders are already dedicated to the ideals of Columbianism and can bring their energy and ideas to council efforts. The best way to ensure that Squires will be eager to be a part of your council is by regularly making your Squires circle part of council programs and activities. A strong working relationship with these young men will certainly prepare them to graduate into their new role as Knights.
• Encourage use of the Membership Recruitment Flip Chart video or the actual flip chart (#889) and binder by your members when they visit a prospect and his family. The presentation provides an overview of the programs, activities and initiatives the Order has undertaken.
• Promote the Order’s program of fraternal benefits to recruitment prospects as part of the many advantages of membership. The Family Fraternal Benefits flyer (#2761) and the Member/Spouse Fraternal Benefits flyer (#2773) are available through the Supply Department at no cost and are excellent tools for explaining these valuable benefits.
• Prepare recruiters to answer virtually any prospect question about the Knights of Columbus by urging them to carry the Pocket Flip Chart (#2041) at all times. This guide to the K of C is an excellent recruitment tool. Pocket Flip Charts are available in quantity at no charge from the Supply Department.
• Fulfill your duties as a proposer. Once you’ve recruited a new member, accompany him through his degrees, introduce him to his new brother Knights, encourage him to join one or more committees and actively participate in the council.
• Contact your local Knights of Columbus insurance agent to help your council recruit new members. His knowledge of professional salesmanship techniques will be very helpful. Ask him to conduct seminars on recruitment strategy for your council members.
• Sponsor a “Church Drive” program for recruiting new members. Contact your pastor and arrange to set up tables in the church hall or vestibule and display literature, pamphlets, posters, etc. throughout one weekend. Distribute the Prospect Card (#921A, E, F, S) to men as they come to Mass. Follow up with anyone who completes the Prospect Card by sending a recruitment team to pay him a visit. Extend a personal invitation to the prospect and his family to learn more about the Knights of Columbus and to join.
• Preach the good news of the K of C. Suggested pulpit announcements (#2678) urging parishioners to join the K of C during a church drive are available from the Supply Department. These messages, when customized with local information and accompanied when possible by an endorsement from your parish priest, can prove very effective in convincing families to consider becoming a part of the Order.
• Use advertisements in diocesan or local newspapers.
• Sponsor an “Information Program” for juniors and seniors in parochial high schools. Obtain approval and seek the assistance of the school principal in the promotion of your membership recruitment program.
• Utilize the “Welcome Wagon” in your community to disseminate information about the Order — its purposes, programs, accomplishments, awards, history, etc.
• Promote the “Blazer Club.” Councils award blue blazers to those members who recruit 10 members within a specific time period. Recognition should be given to “Blazer Club” members at state conventions and meetings, council events, etc.