Laudable Pursuit - Dues and Commitment
I'm returning to my commentary on the points found in Laudable Pursuit by the Knights of the North.
In any organization commitment to the aims of and goals of that organization are important. Members show commitment by giving of the time, their talents, and their resources. And, persons are bound to the organization by those commitments. An organization that you have put little time into is easy to leave. An organization that does not challenge or use your skills is easy to drift out of. And, an organization that requires no sacrifice from you is easy to drop out of as well.
There are several reasons why the very very low dues found in most Masonic lodges in an unacceptable drain on the Fraternity.
1. The obvious reason is that cheap dues lead to cheap programs, cheap food, cheap lodges, run down buildings, leaky roofs, bad coffee, old regalia, and a general impression of an old run down fraternity. Try recruiting new younger members when the impression they get is either "cheap" or "old and cheap."
2. Cheap dues leads cheap members. Men who think nothing of spending $20 or more for a decent meal, buy a cup of Starbucks coffee for $3, or even $50 for food and beverages at a single baseball game learn to balk at $75 for 12 months of Freemasonry. It creates men who gripe about $10 raise in per capita and then go out and buy $20 in new lapel pins in between Grand Lodge lessons and don't see the irony of the situation.
3. Bargain basement dues give a bargain basement commitment level to the Fraternity. If I'm only paying $50 for a membership in an organization I'll feel free to skip meetings and not care much how the organization is run. But, if I'm paying $100, $200, or $300 per year I'm going to be much more concerned to be a part of something I've made a financial commitment to.
And while we are talking about Cheap dues, Masonry is the only organization that inflates the "feeling" of commitment by having all dues due at the same time in December. Yes, I'm spending less than $500 per year to be a Mason in all the dozen or more organization I'm a member of. Spread out across a year $500 is nothing. All paid in December it is a more important junk of change and can make someone think they are paying significant dues.
Frankly, it is high time we abandon the current Masonic tradition (which by the way isn't the oldest tradition) of paying dues annually and instead collecting them monthly from members. If I paid Specialis Procer Lodge $20 per month that doesn't sound like much but, that is a cheap-Mason-heart-stopping-dues of $240 per year. Lets get real and realize what our lodges could do if each member kicked in $20 per month! Think of the programs, festive boards, and repairs to old lodges we could afford on a small $20 per month given that many lodges dues now equal about $4 per month (or a gallon of regular gas at current prices).
It is high time we abandoned Bargain Basement notions of Freemasonry. A premier Fraternity has to be paid for!
In any organization commitment to the aims of and goals of that organization are important. Members show commitment by giving of the time, their talents, and their resources. And, persons are bound to the organization by those commitments. An organization that you have put little time into is easy to leave. An organization that does not challenge or use your skills is easy to drift out of. And, an organization that requires no sacrifice from you is easy to drop out of as well.
There are several reasons why the very very low dues found in most Masonic lodges in an unacceptable drain on the Fraternity.
1. The obvious reason is that cheap dues lead to cheap programs, cheap food, cheap lodges, run down buildings, leaky roofs, bad coffee, old regalia, and a general impression of an old run down fraternity. Try recruiting new younger members when the impression they get is either "cheap" or "old and cheap."
2. Cheap dues leads cheap members. Men who think nothing of spending $20 or more for a decent meal, buy a cup of Starbucks coffee for $3, or even $50 for food and beverages at a single baseball game learn to balk at $75 for 12 months of Freemasonry. It creates men who gripe about $10 raise in per capita and then go out and buy $20 in new lapel pins in between Grand Lodge lessons and don't see the irony of the situation.
3. Bargain basement dues give a bargain basement commitment level to the Fraternity. If I'm only paying $50 for a membership in an organization I'll feel free to skip meetings and not care much how the organization is run. But, if I'm paying $100, $200, or $300 per year I'm going to be much more concerned to be a part of something I've made a financial commitment to.
And while we are talking about Cheap dues, Masonry is the only organization that inflates the "feeling" of commitment by having all dues due at the same time in December. Yes, I'm spending less than $500 per year to be a Mason in all the dozen or more organization I'm a member of. Spread out across a year $500 is nothing. All paid in December it is a more important junk of change and can make someone think they are paying significant dues.
Frankly, it is high time we abandon the current Masonic tradition (which by the way isn't the oldest tradition) of paying dues annually and instead collecting them monthly from members. If I paid Specialis Procer Lodge $20 per month that doesn't sound like much but, that is a cheap-Mason-heart-stopping-dues of $240 per year. Lets get real and realize what our lodges could do if each member kicked in $20 per month! Think of the programs, festive boards, and repairs to old lodges we could afford on a small $20 per month given that many lodges dues now equal about $4 per month (or a gallon of regular gas at current prices).
It is high time we abandoned Bargain Basement notions of Freemasonry. A premier Fraternity has to be paid for!
Timothy Bonney
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