Reprinted from the Florida Elks News, spring 2014 edition
Ask any member this question and my guess is that you will get a resounding “Yes!” but, the next thing you will most likely hear is, “but we really don’t know how to attract them and we’re not very successful at getting them.”
I was recently forwarded an article concerning the VFW entitled “Four Reasons Why the VFW is Losing its Battle for Members.” It was written by a 30-year old female Marine. The reasons given for the VFW’s failed attempt to recruit this new member are universal and apply to almost every fraternal/social organization in existence. I believe we can use this article as a teaching tool for our Order and help us answer that nagging question, “Just how are we to attract younger members to the Elks?”
The four reasons given in the article for why we are losing the battle were:
Lack of relevance
The headache of bloated hierarchy
An unwelcoming vibe
Dated recruiting practices
Now when we say younger members, this term can refer to someone younger than ourselves or to the many ages in between. For our purposes, I believe we should consider younger members as those aged 33 to 49, or collectively as Gen X. Let’s take a look at the four reasons listed above from the perspective of a member of Generation X.
Lack of relevance
Gen Xers really do have time in their lives to engage with the world in meaningful ways, especially with brands engaged in social causes. Is there anyone who addresses social causes any better than the Elks of Florida? Are we communicating this effectively enough, though, to connect a membership in the Elks with our cause? Gen X does not want to just give money to our cause; they seek a connection to our cause. They want to go outdoors and be involved in meaningful, physical service to our causes. If we are to attract Gen X into the Elks prior to them turning 50 years old, we must provide opportunities for these members to interact directly with each other and those we serve. This not only needs to happen in our Lodge and community projects but also in our state major projects.
The headache of bloated hierarchy
Gen Xers value peer feedback and collaboration more than top-down guidance. We can no longer maintain lengthy internal approval processes if we are going to expect younger members to bring forth ideas and suggestions or assist us with our current ideas. Membership should be more about being empowered to achieve for the cause, not for the Lodge or one’s self. Members need to be supported, not controlled, and trained in the Elks way, not told. We must create an environment in our Lodges where ideas come from the membership up, not from the officers down. We need committees of empowered members, not committees of one.
We must allow members to execute the plan and give them timely support, and we must not hold them back with lengthy meetings and unnecessary formalities. Give a Gen Xer a problem to solve and they will use collaboration and action to solve it.
An unwelcoming vibe
Picture the front entrance of your Lodge and how members and guests are greeted. Is the first greeting one gets in your Lodge from the bartender or some heavy at the door tasked with guarding, not welcoming? As a member of the Florida Elks since the age of 25, I could write a book on the reactions I have received over the years upon entering a Lodge and not looking the age of the “average” Elks member. We have done it as parents and grandparents; it is now time for us to do it as Elks. We must become more accepting of the younger generation and the way they dress, sound, act and look. I believe that this reason in itself might be the biggest challenge we will have to overcome if we are to be successful in recruiting younger members. We must open our minds and greet every newcomer with a smile and welcoming attitude. When we do this we just might be surprised at the value a younger member might bring.
Dated recruiting practices
What message do we send with our past due dues notices? Are dues really all we are after? Our members are our salespeople. When we treat them like a check, can we really expect them to promote our causes or our virtues? Every member we lose is one less member we have to perpetuate our existence. If we are to be successful in attracting Gen X to the Elks, we will have to do a better job of selling what we do, not what we say! Our marketing must extend not only to new members but to every one of our salespeople. To recruit younger members we will need to educate them about what we are doing (today), not what we have done. We need to show them how we are making lives better and how they can get involved.
Rising to the Challenge
To many a Gen Xer, their vision of the Elks is the favorite place of their fathers and grandfathers. They have fond memories of the Lodge and care about what happens to the organization that has done so much good for so many folks. They really don’t want it to fade into obscurity. We Elks are honorable people who offer amazing assistance to children, veterans, and those less fortunate than ourselves. Through our local Lodges and our service to our communities, our children’s therapy services, our youth camp, our army of hope and our scholarships, we demonstrate our care about others and we promote this ideal through our websites and social platforms, but this is not enough. This is not a “build it and they will come” proposition. If we are to be successful in our recruitment of younger members, we are going to have to get serious about it at every level of the organization. We must get out of the building and into the community. We need to trade poker night for a citywide cleanup day. We need to put down the beer and pick up a shovel. We must use social and traditional media to let our towns know about the good work we are doing. Change happens when righteous people demand it and back a righteous cause. We are righteous people and attaining younger members is a righteous cause. Ours is a need for change to the status quo. Our success will be dependent on our ability to not think of how younger members will fit into our Lodges as they exist today. Rather, we must focus our vision on how we can adapt our Lodges so that younger members will fit into our Lodges tomorrow.
State Secretary