Recall the last Indoctrination ceremony you attended at your Lodge. The new members were loaded up with information about the Order and what it means to be an Elk. Raymond Edge, Indoctrination Chair and Lodge ENF Chair for Lubbock, Tex., Lodge No. 1348, has a formula for bringing the message home at each ceremony.
“Here’s the trick: show the ENF video very last at the Indoctrination,” he explains. “There’s no better way to describe what the Elks are all about.”
Edge then asks for an ENF donation as new members pay their dues. But he doesn’t just suggest the typical $10 donation. He welcomes any gift, but offers the option for new members to start a recurring gift to the ENF. Edge suggests that members sign up to automatically deduct $10 a month from their bank account or credit card. Currently, 18 donors in Edge’s Lodge have active recurring gifts; more than any other Lodge in the country!
“What I’ve been focusing on is that it’s tough to come up with $100 all at once. But [recurring giving] is so easy!” Edge says. “I encourage people to take a little time and fill out the application to give monthly. When they give just $10 a month, they don’t even miss it.”
Edge is right; it’s difficult to give generously when you’re on a budget. But splitting a large gift into smaller installments can make it manageable for almost anyone!
And now there’s another advantage to making recurring gifts––the Foundation’s new recognition program, the ENF Fidelity Club! This new club offers special benefits to donors who make a regularly scheduled, automatic gift via credit card, direct debit or payroll deduction. As donors continue making recurring gifts, they’ll receive a unique pin and attachments to adorn the pin.
As an ENF Chair, encouraging recurring giving can put your Lodge on the map! As Raymond Edge points out, “If I had every member giving $10 a month, I’d be at the top of per capita without doing any other fundraising!”
For information about Fidelity Club recognition and how to join, contact Christine Vaccarello at ChristineV@elks.org or 773/755-4956.