1. Lodge Viability Review Developed for the Grand Lodge of Kansas -IdeaBuilder Consulting

2. Agenda Introducing the SVR Tool How the Tool works What do we mean by VIABLE and SOLVENT ? What is the Grand Lodge role in revitalization? About LodgeBuilder

3. Introducing the SVR Tool Developed to provide a fact-based assessment of lodge business operations. First used in Minnesota, where a local lodge wanted to measure improvement to support year-over-year planning. Then, refined for use here.

4. Introducing the SVR Tool This local lodge was busy, and big at 641 members, but... –They were losing money –They couldn’t forecast future trends (except best guesses) –They hadn’t raised dues or rent in 10 years –Were dipping into an endowment fund to support current operations.

5. Introducing the SVR Tool In order to set proper dues, plan for the future, contemplate a better building or simply plan for basic long-term survival, the lodge needed a reliable way to predict future membership trends and future financial wherewithal.

6. Introducing the SVR Tool One of the members developed the Solvency and Viability Review Tool The SVR Tool for short.

7. Introducing the SVR Tool The SVR Tool helps us set membership and financial goals. It helps us understand what “good” looks like, in terms of recruitment, retention and dues, and what changes we ought to make in order to get there.

8. Introducing the SVR Tool Simply by inserting a lodge number it will show us a baseline prediction and let us know what our membership and finances will look like in years to come. It also lets us see how slight changes - 2 more raisings perhaps, or 1 less demit per year – change the picture.

9. How the Tool works Group Exercise: What does a lodge need to know in order to accurately project future membership?

10. How the Tool works Start with a baseline, then predict inflow and outflow of members: –Need to estimate the group’s mortality –Need to estimate new member Raisings –Need to estimate formal Dimits –Need to estimate Stricken members (NPDs) –And Affiliations and Restorations The SVR Tool is more complex, but this is the idea.

11. How the Tool works Group Exercise: What does a lodge need to know in order to accurately project future BUDGETS?

12. How the Tool works To project our future budgets, start with a reliable membership projection. –Set a goal. Do we want to break even in “buying power” or earn a profit? –Account for inflation – 3.5% to 4% per year –Account for change in income from member gain or loss –Evaluate… Is it reasonable?

13. How the Tool works Armed with these projections, we can make the case for a dues increase and set responsible goals for recruitment or improved retention. Once we reach solvency and viability, we can build the future we want.

14. What do we mean by SOLVENT and VIABLE? Each lodge will have a different answer: –Metro lodges are going to look different than rural lodges –Some of our most viable lodges are 100 men or less –To address solvency we MUST address our past failure to manage inflation

15. What do we mean by SOLVENT and VIABLE? Solvent is a lodge that follows a budget, operates on current dues income (and any fund raising), and which has a plan to live within its means. Viable is a lodge that has found a way to stabilize membership and finances for the foreseeable future, giving it strong foundation for future growth.

16. What is the Grand Lodge role in Revitalization? Coach –We are here to help our lodges see their future potential –We help leaders motivate their lodges –We show them what works in other lodges Evaluate & Support –Identify the right strategies for our lodges –Structure volunteers to maximize support

17. “What we obtain too cheap we esteem too little; it is dearness only that gives everything its value.“ -Thomas Paine

18. Let’s look at the numbers

19. What is LodgeBuilder? LodgeBuilder is a website dedicated to Lodge Revitalization. It is designed to explore the strategies and programs that successful groups have learned, and to share these ideas across North America. www.lodgebuilder.org

20. LodgeBuilder  Best Practices  Strategic Planning  Management Tools - To Support - Lodge Revitalization