December 2023:
Pre-Pay Next Year’s Dues!

The holiday season is upon us, with all the associated fun, stress, and family get-togethers it brings. For California Masons, it also means that membership fees are due. But thanks to a new feature in iMember, you can have one fewer thing to think about this time next year.

Now, for the first time, California Masons will be able to auto-pay their next year’s dues in advance. Meaning, as you pay your 2024 dues, you’ll have an option to pre-pay your 2025 fees. And if two years’ worth of dues is too much to pay all at once, you even have the option of having those 2025 dues paid in monthly or quarterly installments.

It’s yet another way the Grand Lodge is trying to make it easier for members to pay their dues on time and remain in good standing. In recent years, we’ve rolled out a partial-dues remittance for those having trouble affording their dues; online credit-card dues payments that lodges can opt into; and the restoration campaign to bring suspended members back into good standing.

These programs are all part of the larger effort to reduce the number of members who are suspended for non-payment of dues each year. Since the pandemic, SNPDs have remained stubbornly high. In 2022, just over 1,400 members were suspended—that’s 3.5 percent of all members, with an average age of 53 and an average tenure of 32 years. In other words, these are longtime, committed members.

In most cases, these suspended members have either simply forgotten to pay their dues, encountered a clerical error (a change of address, etc.), or some other simple problem. “It’s not always just people making a conscious decision that they can’t afford their dues that we’re seeing members suspended for nonpayment,” says Jordan Yelinek, the Grand Lodge director of member services. “Some people simply forget!” Now, with the autopay feature, “Just like your gym membership or cell phone bill, you’ll be able to have your 2025 dues automatically charged to your credit card without the effort of having to go back into iMember next year,” he says.

It's also easy to sign up for autopay when paying current dues in iMember. This new feature is now live in iMember, so if you have already paid your dues and would like to sign up for this service yourself, just log back in and click the "My Profile" tile under your member portal. You'll be asked to configure a payment profile and choose the options for autopay. “Over the years, we’ve consistently heard from folks that they wanted this type of feature,” Yelinek says. “We’re just happy to be able to finally offer it.” At the end of the day, Grand Lodge hopes autopay will not only be a benefit to members but also to the fraternity as a whole.