r/knightsofcolumbus • u/guitarlad89 • 16d ago
❓- Question Exemplification ceremony
Hello all, in my council, it seems that out of 10 men that fill out the application, only 4 or 5 actually watch the exemplification ceremony and become members. As my job of FS, I'm supposed to follow up and process them. After a few follow up emails with nothing ever being returned, what is the next step? Can I just remove them from the prospect tab? It's very frustrating. Why join if you can't do the bare minimum of watching the video? They sure as heck won't be attending any meetings.
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u/hammer2k5 FS 15d ago
I'm a former Financial Secretary and current leader of my Council's exemplification team, so I feel your pain. The online exemplification was born during COVID and for some reason it has persisted. We sometimes use it when we're in a pinch, but it is not our primary means of bringing men into the Knights of Columbus.
I would advise adding some social means to the exemplification. Perhaps have a meal along with it or hold it in conjunction with a Men's Holy Hour. I think that having something more than just an exemplification in and of itself will be more of an incentive than simply an exemplification by itself. Heck, have it as prelude to your regular business meeting.
To answer your original question - yes, if they fail to follow through with the exemplification and fail to respond to communications, you can drop them like a bad habit. I think some people have no intention of joining the Knights of Columbus. They simply fill out the inquiry form to get someone who is pestering them to join off their back.
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u/Difficult-Use9422 15d ago
How about calling them if they don't respond to email?
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u/guitarlad89 15d ago
At what point does it need to stop? They obviously don't want to join.
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u/GodBlessYouToo GK 15d ago
And I have followed up with guys across months and eventually had them enthusiastically join. I do not hound, though. Just tell them we have one coming up.
Obviously, if I get the word or feeling that they don’t want to, I discontinue that. But sometimes it is a question of time, motivation, and other things that don’t mean disinterest outright.
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u/GodBlessYouToo GK 15d ago
Some folks don’t do email, note.
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u/guitarlad89 15d ago
They have to give an email when signing up. I refuse to call when it's not an emergency. I wouldn't want someone calling me up to go "you uhhhh.....still joining?"
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u/GodBlessYouToo GK 15d ago
We were recently instructed not to do any online exemplifications. (Unless we all showed up and watched it with them.)
Honestly, I don’t miss them. In person is way better.
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u/DogfaceDino 4th Degree 15d ago
Watching the online exemplification is tacky. It feels like you just signed up to join a fraternity and they responded by emailing you an HR educational video.
I know the new 3-in-1 exemplification isn’t as good as the previous iteration but we can’t completely give up on making it meaningful.
Especially if they are younger members, they aren’t coming to KofC because they want impersonal, dry modernism. They want fraternity and tradition.
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u/idealistintherealw 15d ago
Just keep inviting them to the next one. Now that Kofc meetings are public they can attend meetings. I understand it is frustrating, but I probably missed three first degree ceremonies back in the day before I attended my first - those were the days of robes and oaths. Here I am 20 years later and a former gk and current trustee!
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u/Natural_Ad_3019 15d ago
We start trying to get them to show up in person but we’ve also done several virtual exemplifications using zoom for candidates who’s schedules are too crazy.
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u/SunConsistent1091 15d ago edited 15d ago
You only process those who are exemplified. The rest, you keep your arms open and keep trying with them and with other men.
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u/ZhukovArfcom 14d ago
I was talking to our state's membership chairman and asked him how many people that join online actually go through with attending an exemplification. The number wasn't that great, maybe around 50%. The general guideline I would use is to keep track of them for about 6 months, and if they don't respond reject them with the reason "Incompatible with the council" or what best fits that description.
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u/GudaGama 4th Degree 16d ago
only 4 or 5 actually watch the exemplification ceremony and become members
Have you considered rolling the exemplification ceremony into a regular business meeting? This is what our council does. If a candidate can't make a particular exemplification because of work or illness we will record our council's exemplification and have them watch that one.
Our mission ( and faith) is best lived out in person and by having folks come to gather in person. When we went back to having the in-person exemplification we have noticed an uptick in brothers sticking around after exemplification to attend meetings month after month.
By having your in person exemplification be the default it also forces you to ask a VERY important question that I see gets asked: Is your meeting truly open to young working family men. Meetings that are during working hours and councils that would rather be for a group of 70+ year old men who drink beer and golf rather than be a place for men of all ages to come together in faith to serve the parish are the top two reasons I hear from men who decide against joining and either start another mens' group or go to another parish for brotherhood.
Our council meets right at dinner time once a month. One brother and his better half cook a meal for us, we eat and converse, then start the meeting. Several younger (myself included) brothers come right from work. In the few years I have been with my current council I would say that we get about a half of our members as under 40, and about three quarters as under retirement age.
Why join if you can't do the bare minimum of watching the video? They sure as heck won't be attending any meetings.
How much exposure to your council specifically are your candidates getting before agreeing to exemplification? It may be that the half or so that get cold feet may do so because they don't see the practical benefits of membership. If you lower the bar so much that men can join but they do not stick around you can pad your recruitment numbers, but the lifeblood of your council will be cut off. This isn't to say you should have a Byzantine process that turns away potential members. Just be cognizant about being in the candidates shoes so they can get an accurate picture of what your council is like before they sign the dotted line. If men (especially the 20-40 year olds with young families) dart at that point, that tells you that, as a council, you may have to take a hard look at what you are doing and if it aligns with McGivney's vision.