Editor’s Note: This post has been edited to correct several spelling and grammatical errors that the writer missed because of a lack of coffee when preparing the message.
After a couple of weeks looking at issues related to our governance and organization, I’d like to focus on another aspect of our wonderful Order This week, I’d like to look at our charitable activities and how we might enhance our work with them.
- The Knights Templar Eye Foundation. By any measure, this is the “crown jewel” of our three charities, and where we place the greatest emphasis. I fully support our efforts in the research of childhood ophthalmology, and like many of you, have put my money where my mouth is as a holder of multiple Grand Master Club plaques. Unlike one well-known Masonic philanthropy, I do not support the idea of a national advertising campaign soliciting monthly donations from the public. I find these ads repetitive, trite, and actually sending the wrong message. We can and do support our philanthropies and swapping a monthly contribution for yet another blanket sends a message that we can’t do what we claim without those contributions.
Rather, I call on our Grand Commanderies and Commanderies to take a more active role in our communities to support the KTEF and host one public event each Triennium to raise awareness and funds for it. The goal should be to reach as many people and raise as much as possible, and I suggest to you that a goal of $25,000 per Grand Commandery (A Sword of Merit goal). If we were successful, that would raise over $1.5 million dollars for the KTEF, in addition to the annual assessment and any funds raised in the Voluntary Campaign. All it would take is an event for 250 people that raises $100 per attendee after expenses. A dinner/dance with a strong silent auction supported by a meaningful community outreach/awareness/ticket sales campaign makes this a very attainable goal,
- The Knights Templar Educational Foundation. We started this philanthropy strong, with every Templar making a regular contribution many decades ago. Then, in most of our jurisdictions, we slacked off on fund raising for this program, deferring all our efforts to the Eye Foundation. This has become a problem for us, because many Grand Commanderies do not have large accounts from which funds can be used for scholarships. This means there are a lot of lost opportunities to assist in the high cost of education for worthy students, and in the process, we lose a great opportunity for public awareness of our Order and one of our great philanthropies.
As with the suggestion for the KTEF event in every Grande Commandery suggested above, I am going to make the same suggestion for every Grand Commandery to do a similar event once every Triennium to raise funds for the Educational Foundation division for its state (For those who don’t know, there is a single Kid, and each US Grand Commandery is a separate “division” for administration and reporting purposes), we’re lucky in Maryland to have a large fund that allows us to award close to $20,000 in scholarships every year, but we can always do more if we have more in the fund.
- Holy Land Pilgrimage. Of our three philanthropies, this is the one which I often refer to as our “red-headed stepchild.” We have basically left this program to the leadership of a couple of very good men and asked the local Commanderies and Grand Commanderies to fund it on their own. In fact, there is minimal financial support for the program from the Grand Encampment budget, and virtually no fund-raising support. This should concern each one of us, because this is really a vital program that we need to provide greater support. Many of us can point to examples where clergy, unfamiliar with Freemasonry in general, make loud and forceful pronouncements against our fraternity. We, as Christian Freemasons, have the unique opportunity to not only counter that message, but to use the opportunity to share the life- and ministry-changing opportunity to walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ with these clergymen and women. Partnering those who are not supporters with fellow clergy members who favorable gives us an opportunity to help change “hearts and minds” of those who might not be vocal supporters into voices who, at a minimum, do not speak against our fraternity and our great charitable work. In the best cases, we can make the doubters into our strongest proponents.
We need to beef up this program, not only in the US, but in our foreign Grand Commanderies as well. I think we are past the time when the Holy Land Pilgrimage is self-funded, and we need to take deliberate steps to create and build an endowment for this vital program that can be used to supplement the costs to send pilgrim ministers to the Holy Land. Travel costs are not going to decline as the years pass, and having an endowment to help manage those cost increases helps our Grand Commanderies and Commanderies to fund more pilgrims. We should have a three-year (one Triennium) assessment of $10 per member to create the seed funds for this endowment. With an estimated 65,000 Knights, which would generate almost $2 million dollars over the Triennium. We took similar steps with the creation of the Eye Foundation and Educational Foundation in the 20th Century.
You can probably guess my next suggestion. Yep, each Grand Commandery should hold one event during the Triennium to raise funds for the Holy Land Pilgrimage, with the goal of raising at least $25,000 for that purpose. At the current costs, that $25,000 would support at least 4, perhaps 5, pilgrim ministers. Or, these funds could be split between sending local clergy and a donation to the Grand Encampment HLP endowment. I would leave that decision to the individual Grand Commanderies.
Now, the observant reader will note that not only have I offered suggestions and methods for fundraising to support our philanthropies, but I have also framed those suggestions in a manner to support social interaction among our membership and non-members. I have long said–both in the Fraternity and in the parishes, I have served–that it is inappropriate to conduct public fund-raising activities to support operations and maintenance or “brink and mortar” needs of our bodies. However, it is right and appropriate to seek out community involvement in our charitable works and fundraising to support those works.
Plan a good, high-quality annual event. Advertise it and build up excitement in your community and among your membership. Use the opportunity to bring community leaders to the event and seek their support publicly for our philanthropies. Share the story of our Order and our charitable work, emphasizing the philanthropy being directly supported that year. Involve your best public speakers and personalities to serve as masters of ceremonies and presenters. Make these events the showcases they deserve to be–the “don’t miss” social event of the year. Even if you don’t reach that $25,000 goal the first year (but if you are open-minded, creative-thinking, and eager like SK Dennis Haas, the junior PGC of Virginia, I know you’ll meet or exceed the goal), you will still raise more money and generate more goodwill and awareness than if you did not conduct an event at all.
My brothers and fellow Poor Soldiers of Christ, we have three wonderful philanthropies that each deserve our support. I hope that this week’s message spurs the creative juices in your mind on what you can do in your jurisdiction and in your location to elevate our outstanding programs to your locality. As always, I am happy to assist as I can and welcome your feedback, too.
These are just some starting points for conversation. I would love to hear from you and learn what your thoughts might be when it comes to our governance and how we document it for our future growth and progress.
I appreciate your time and would also appreciate your support and vote to be the next Deputy Grand Master when we gather in Conclave in August 2024.