Management | Nonprofits | Uncategorized | Volunteer Management
Bringing the Herd Back Home: Membership Retention for Moose Lodges
gps | growth power suite | mangement software | membership retention | moose lodge | nonprofit | social clubs
Membership is everything for a Moose Lodge. I think we can all agree on that. Without members, Lodges are just empty buildings with a bar nobody uses. But here’s the thing: people come and go. Life happens. Work gets crazy. Kids have dance class and football games. And sometimes, newer members just never really click with the group.
The good news? You can absolutely win back your past members AND keep your current ones around. It’s all about talking to people like human beings, showing them what they’re missing, and making them feel like they belong.
You can’t fix a problem if you don’t know what the problem is. So, you have to ask the people who walked away what went wrong.
Pick up the phone and call a few former members. Yeah, I know… nobody likes making those calls. But you’d be surprised how many people will actually tell you the truth if you just ask nicely. Maybe they couldn’t make evening meetings because of their work schedule. Maybe they felt like outsiders at events. Maybe they joined expecting one thing and got something completely different.
You can also look at your membership records. Are you losing mostly younger members? Families with kids? People who live farther away? Once you what went wrong, you can actually start to fix the problems.
Sometimes bringing someone back is as simple as letting them know they’re missed.
Don’t send a form letter. Don’t blast out a generic email to everyone in your contacts. Write a real note. Make a real phone call. Get personal with it.
Tell them what’s new and exciting. Did you renovate the kitchen? Start hosting trivia nights? Launch a new charity drive? People are way more interested in coming back if they think things have actually improved.
And here’s a pro tip: mention something specific they contributed before they left. “Remember that amazing chili you made for our fundraiser? People still talk about it.” Everyone wants to feel like they matter. I mean… don’t you?
Even if someone wants to rejoin, they might not if the process feels too complicated or costs too much.
Offer a discount on reinstatement fees. Let former members attend a couple events for free to see what they’ve been missing. Make the paperwork simple. Nobody wants to fill out a 10-page application to rejoin a club they were already part of.
And for the love of everything, offer payment plans. Not everyone can drop $200 at once, but most people can handle $25 a month.
Your Lodge isn’t just a place to grab a beer (though that’s nice too). It’s where people come together to actually make a difference in their community.
Share real stories about what your members have accomplished. Post pictures from your charity events. Talk about the scholarships you’ve funded, the local families you helped… People want to be part of something meaningful.
Change up your social events. Definitely keep the annual fish fry that everyone loves, but also try new things. Host a family movie night. Start a book club. Have a “bring your teenager” event so kids can see what their parents are up to.
And celebrate your members! Put their accomplishments in the newsletter. Thank them publicly at meetings. Send birthday cards. It sounds simple because it is – but most organizations don’t do it consistently.
Nothing kills enthusiasm like boring, disorganized meetings that drag on forever.
Make sure your officers know what they’re doing. Have an agenda and stick to it. Start on time, end on time. Handle business efficiently so people can get to the social part.
For events, remember how important the atmosphere is. Train your volunteers to be friendly and welcoming. When someone new walks in, make them feel at home.
If new members don’t feel like they belong within the first few months, chances are they’re going to leave.
Sponsors shouldn’t just sign someone up and disappear. They need to be mentors. Take new members to events. Introduce them around. Check in regularly during those crucial first few months.
Chapter officers should make personal contact too. A phone call, a welcome card signed by everyone at the last meeting, an invitation to coffee… little gestures that show you actually care about them as people.
Consider hosting new member events a few times a year. Let the newer people get to know each other without feeling intimidated by members who’ve been around for a while.
Everyone wants to feel appreciated, even if they pretend they don’t.
Thank your sponsors publicly. Give out certificates or small gifts. Feature member spotlights in your newsletter. Send anniversary cards to people who’ve been members for 5, 10, or 20 years.
It doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated. Sometimes a simple “thank you for everything you do” goes further than any fancy plaque.
This might be the most important thing: stay in touch with your members.
Don’t just call when you need something. Call to check in. Send postcards when members are traveling. Offer rides to meetings for older members. Ask how their family is doing.
Use whatever communication methods work. Some people like phone calls. Emails work better for others. Text messages probably work the best for the younger crowd. The key is being consistent and genuine.
Not every idea will work for your Lodge. That’s okay. Try things, see what happens, and adjust accordingly.
If your trivia night is a huge hit but your craft fair was a bust, lean into what works. Don’t keep making the same mistakes. Ask your members what they want more of and what they could do without.
Track which efforts actually bring back former members and which ones are wasting your time and energy.
The right tools can make all this relationship-building stuff way easier to manage.
That’s where Growth Power Suite (GPS) comes in. Too many Lodge officers burn out trying to juggle everything manually… keeping track of member contact info in three different notebooks, forgetting to follow up with new members, scrambling to promote events at the last minute.
GPS is built specifically for organizations like yours. Here’s an overview of what we can offer:
Centralized Communication: Instead of wondering if you sent an event reminder to everyone, you can send branded, personalized messages via email or text from one place.
Event Management That Actually Works: Share your calendar, promote events, handle RSVPs all in one spot. Members know what’s happening, and you know who’s coming. It’s that simple.
Spot Trouble Before It Happens: The reporting tools help you see patterns. Like when someone who used to come to every meeting suddenly stops showing up. You can reach out before they disappear completely.
Make Volunteers’ Lives Easier: Simplify scheduling, track who’s helping with what, and make sure people get recognized for their contributions. When volunteering is less of a headache, more people do it.
Actually Integrates With How You Work: This isn’t some complicated system that requires a computer science degree. It works with what you’re already doing, just makes it smoother.
The technology isn’t the point. The relationships are. But having better tools means you can spend more time talking to people and less time worrying about all the contact you have to make later. When the administrative stuff is handled, you can focus on what really matters.
People join organizations for the mission, but they stay for the relationships.
Your members don’t just want a place to hang out. They want to feel like they belong somewhere. They want to know that someone would notice if they stopped showing up. They want to be part of something bigger than themselves. A community.
If you don’t show that you’re interested in your members, they will stop coming through the door. But if you actually care about creating a community where people feel valued and connected, then this can help you build something that lasts.
Start with one or two ideas that feel right for your Lodge. See what happens. Then try something else. Before you know it, you’ll have former members asking when they can come back, and your current members will be bringing their friends around.
And that’s when you know you’ve got something special.
Ready to see how much easier membership management can be? Schedule a demo with us today and discover how Growth Power Suite can help your Lodge spend less time on paperwork and more time building the kind of community that members never want to leave.
