January 2025
Welcome New Officers:
A Resource Guide

Keep these files handy—they may have answers to questions that will arise during your year in office. Some are old and some are new, but they contain valuable information.

• Opening the Door: A Simple Guide to Understanding—and Talking About—Freemasonry
• Guide to Successful Masonic Information Campaign
• Lodge Media Toolkit
• Member Prospecting Interview
• “Take Five” Approach to Prospecting
• Guide to Engagement and Retention
• Lodge Community Service Tips
• Build a Vibrant Lodge

But what are all of these? Here, a brief summary of each: The Guide to Talking About Freemasonry is a great tool for sharing with current and prospective members. It’s broken up into simple FAQs with plain-language answers to common questions. Use it to learn:

• The best ways to share the great work you do as a Mason with those in your social circle.
• The role the fraternity plays in your life
• Answers to some typical questions prospects have about the fraternity
• Information on how the fraternity works and how lodges function

The Guide to a Successful Masonic Information Campaign should help you and your lodge host an open house or other public event. It also includes information on:

• What types of information you can and should share with folks, including the media
• The best way to manage a media campaign, including how to advertise open houses and how to share information
• Tips on hosting a successful open house
• Template for an open house night schedule of events

The Lodge Media Toolkit is a valuable resource to help you spread the word about the great work your lodge does in its community. It’s a handy and ready-to-use resource you can send to media outlets that explains what Freemasonry is and who its members are. Use this toolkit to introduce your local rag to your lodge. Also included are some tips on how to write the best press release and how best to communicate with the media. This Template for Interviewing Prospects is a must. In it you’ll find sample questions to ask and next steps to take to move prospects through the pipeline. There’s also the “Take Five” Approach, which includes valuable tips on the Grand Lodge Member Services’ team’s basic approach to dealing with prospects, which boils down to:

• One prospect
• Meets two hosts
• Over three get-acquainted meetings
• As well as four lodge events
• Over five months

The Guide to Engagement and Retention will teach you how to keep members engaged in lodge, tips on orienting new members to the lodge culture, and ways to engage and keep tabs on widows. This handy compilation of guides and templates for Engaging Elderly Members and Widows. Included in this document are tips on keeping tabs on these folks and forms you can use when visiting them to identify and keep track of projects you can help them with around their house. Lastly, but perhaps most comprehensively, is this guide to building and maintaining a Vibrant Lodge. If you’re only able to read one of these resources, let this be the one. In it, you’ll learn:

• How to nurture strong relationships between brothers
• How to give memorable and meaningful degree ceremonies
• Tips on the business side of serving as an officer, including how to manage the hall’s business accounts
• And how best to support your local community