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TRANSCRIPT
Improving Council EngagementBY: Henry Dickman, Samuel Becker
50th College Councils Conference
October 2-4, 2015
Introductions
• Henry Dickman
– Grand Knight, Notre Dame Council 1477
• Samuel Becker
– Grand Knight, Harvard Council 14188
The Challenges of Engaging Members
• Members vary in their levels of faith
• College students are engaged in many activities, and councils have to compete for a share of a member’s time
• Knights might join but then fall out of contact with their councils
Part 1: Recruiting New Members
1. One-on-One Relationships, Immediately
2. Accountability
3. Ownership
One-on-One Relationships• Interview Process
– Encourage older Knights to take potential First Degrees to lunch/coffee to explain who the Knights are
– Send officers to meet with especially promising candidates
– This is your chance to ask them questions too!
•Sample Questions?
One-on-One Relationships
• Mentorship Program
– Pair an older Knight with a new First Degree
•Use surveys to pair members based on interests
– Give a new freshman the chance to pick an upperclassman’s brain
One-on-One Relationships
• Set up meetings with your new inductees–Applies to the GK and any other interested officers
• YouCanBook.Me
– Syncs with Google Calendar and allows people to schedule meetings with you
One-on-One Relationships
• Take new council members and their mentors to local events as soon as possible–Large groups are better for this, to foster council-wide camaraderie
–Paintballing, movie theater, restaurants
Part 1: New Members
1. One-on-One Relationships, Immediately
2. Accountability
3. Ownership
Accountability
• New members need to feel a slight pressure to get involved with activities
• As a Knight, there should be an expectation both to sign up for events and to be present for them
Accountability
• Google Forms
– Have people take shifts for an event by actually filling out their information online.
– Google Sheets (Excel online) also works well
– www.docs.google.com/forms
Accountability
• Doodle–Use this tool to coordinate a meeting time between several people
Accountability
• Producteev
– Allows for task management on a project between many collaborators
– Establish a project online, assign tasks, and participants can complete tasks/add notes for the entire group to see
Part 1: New Members
1. One-on-One Relationships, Immediately
2. Accountability
3. Ownership
Ownership
• The key to a successful council is consistently having a young group of promising officers
• Have young members shadow older officers
• Give young members leadership titles to keep them involved
Part 2: All Members
1. Mass communication
2. Personal communication
Mass Communication: Email• MailChimp
– Customize your emails to include varying colors, fonts, and pictures to keep readers interested
Mass Communication: Social Media
• Public Facebook Pages
– This is essential for college councils.
– Goal of a Facebook Page:• Inform members and the general public of
upcoming Knights events
• Allow non-members to look up your council online•Place to share interesting articles
Mass Communication
• GroupMe
– Particularly useful for quick updates/reminders
– Goal of using GroupMe:• Quickly remind members about events
• Useful for meeting reminders
• Allow users to update/congratulate each other
Part 2: Current Members
1. Mass communication
2. Personal communication
Personal Communication
• Remind members of upcoming events when you see them on campus
• Use texts rather than emails to invite individuals to events•Demonstrate a personal interest in council members–Don’t only contact them to come to events
Part 3: Alumni/Graduates
1. Graduating Seniors2. Dues Collection
3. Newsletter
Graduating Seniors
• The Knights is a lifetime experience, not just a college club
• Have conversations with graduating seniors regarding their options–Remain in the council and pay dues–Transfer membership to a local council
• Ensure that you have permanent contact information
Part 3: Alumni/Graduates
1. Graduating Seniors2. Dues Collection
3. Newsletter
Dues Collection
• Give alumni members as many different ways to contribute as possible– Cash, Check, Credit card via Paypal or
Square•When sending dues notices, ask members to email you their most up to date contact information
Dues Collection
• Suggest to alumni members that they should transfer to their local council
• Encourage your FS to use the Knights online Member Management system to track dues payments
–GK should familiarize themselves with this too!
Part 3: Alumni/Graduates
1. Graduating Seniors2. Dues Collection
3. Newsletter
Newsletter
• If alumni members are paying dues every year, extend them the courtesy of keeping them informed through an annual newsletter
• Include a letter from the GK, pictures, and a success story of a big event
Newsletter
• Extend invitations to anniversary/homecoming celebrations–Celebrate 5-10 year anniversaries as a way of reconnecting alumni
• Post newsletter on the council website, public Facebook page, and via email
