BeAFreemason.org By the Numbers

BeAFreemason.org By the Numbers Follow-Up Survey

Prospect Study

I would join an organization that…

79%

Helps me become a better person while helping to improve the quality of life for others

73%

An organization where you will form deep and lasting friendships, regardless of race, religion, culture or geography

63%

An organization that shares values of our Nation’s founding fathers

62%

53%

An organization that is based on the bond of fraternity and would support me and my family as brothers should we ever need help An organization that values reverence for God

Prospect Study

Our survey tells us that today’s non-Mason

is attracted to messages of…

HONOR, INTEGRITY and FRATERNITY Most don’t associate these values with Freemasonry… but when this connection is made, their perception is greatly improved

Prospect Study

Now would you consider joining Freemasonry?

…

MAYBE

…

NO

+ YES

57%

EXPOSED TO THE RIGHT MESSAGE: 57% of the U.S. male population would join or considering joining Freemasonry.

https://scottishritenmj.org/njam

scottishritenmj.org/njam

Proof of Concept?

To Date (as of April 1, 2022) Since the launch of BeAFreemason.org 33,002 leads have been sent to Grand Lodges across the United States

Are leads still interested in joining?

And… we are already making Masons 29% of the leads who were followed up with have become Masons.

(Again, proof of concept.)

Purpose Check in with leads from BeAFreemason.org to understand the follow-up process.

Audience BeAFreemason.org leads who: •

Submitted form between Feb. 2020 and Oct. 2021

•

Provided an email address

•

Live in the U.S. or Canada

Methodology

3,412

Respondents

3,110

Completes

2%

Margin of Error

From Nov. 11, 2021 – Dec. 14, 2021, respondents were asked a series of multiple choice and open-ended questions to better understand the follow-up experience.

Key Questions 1

Are lodges following up with leads?

2

Are leads still interested in joining?

3

How can we improve the follow-up process?

Is there follow up?

75% of respondents have not been contacted

Are lodges following up?

The response rate from lodges has gone down (37% to 25%) compared to 2020.

Typical response: “They said with COVID, things are hectic and they would get back to me. That was about a year ago.”

Are leads still interested in joining?

Yes! 98% of respondents are still interested in becoming a Freemason.

How can we improve the follow-up process?

Follow up!

•

Make initial contact ASAP & continue to follow up

•

Clearly outline the joining process, requirements, and next steps

•

Answer common questions to demystify Freemasonry

How can we improve the follow-up process?

Leads want to know more about…

•

Local Masons

•

Community involvement

•

Lodge experience

•

Self-improvement

•

Benefits of joining

•

History & symbolism

Thank you!

Contact me anytime at: Lpatch@srnmj.org Not Just A Man. A Mason Assets scottishritenmj.org/njam

Survey Data by Question

Q1. Are you a male 18 years of age or older?

This was a screening question.

99.2% of respondents met the age & gender eligibility requirements.

Only 27 respondents were disqualified from taking the remainder of the survey.

Q2. In which state or province do you reside?

97% of respondents were from the United States; only 90 were from Canada.

We had the most responses from states with the highest populations.

Top States: 1.

Texas

2.

California

3.

New York

4.

Florida

Q3. What most attracted you to Freemasonry?

Select all that apply.

Top Reasons: 1. Brotherhood (82%) 2. Self-improvement (77%) 3. Charity (56%) 4. Family/friend is/was a Freemason (37%) The relative importance of each factor remained the same YOY, but more respondents rated brotherhood, self-improvement, and charity as important this year (up 8 to 11 percentage points each)

Q3. Other Reasons 251 respondents provided an “Other” response.

Common Responses: 1.

Gaining knowledge (46)

2.

Helping others (23)

3.

Historical richness of Freemasonry (17)

4.

Becoming a better man (13)

5.

Esoteric teachings (12)

6.

Desire to be part of something bigger (9)

Q4. Have you heard back from a representative of Freemasonry on your inquiry?

Only 1 in 4 respondents (24.6%) had heard back from a representative.

This is down from a response rate of 37% last year.

Q5. Have you become a Freemason?

Of the 728 respondents who heard back on their inquiry, 29% (210 respondents) became Freemasons. This is an improvement from 18% last year.

Leads who applied in 2020 were more likely to report having become Masons, with 47% saying they are now Freemasons vs. 21% for those who applied in 2021.

Q6. How long did it take you to hear back from a representative after submitting your inquiry?

Of the 728 respondents who heard back, more than two thirds (71%) received a timely response within 0-3 weeks.

Q7. How did they follow up? Select all that apply.

Email and phone calls were the most common methods of contact.

1 in 4 respondents had an in-person meeting.

Video meetings and postal letters were not widely used.

Q7. Other Contact Methods 44 respondents wrote in their answer for contact method.

The most common response (15) was that the representative failed to follow up with them after initial contact.

Others indicated that it was their own scheduling conflict or the pandemic that led to not hearing back.

Q8. When thinking about your interactions with representatives of Freemasonry, please rate your agreement with the following statements.

Q8a. The representative(s) I interacted with were friendly and welcoming.

86% of respondents agreed that the representatives of Freemasonry they interacted with were friendly and welcoming.

Only 4% disagreed with this statement.

Q8b. The representative(s) respond in a timely manner when I reach out to them.

77% of respondents agreed that they received timely responses when they reached out.

1 in 10 respondents reported not receiving a timely response.

Q8c. All of my questions were answered sufficiently.

71% of respondents agreed that their questions were answered sufficiently.

Nearly 1 in 10 (9%) reported that their questions were not answered to their satisfaction.

Q8d. The interaction ended with clear next steps.

73% of respondents agreed that the interaction ended with clear next steps.

More than 1 in 10 (12%) reported that they did not have clear next steps.

Q8e. The process of becoming a Freemason was clearly outlined.

68% of respondents agreed that the process of becoming a Freemason was clearly outlined.

1 in 10 reported that process was not clear.

Q9. After you were contacted, were you more or less interested in joining?

59% of respondents were more interested after being contacted.

34% said their interest remained the same.

6% (45 respondents) reported being less interested.

Q9. More Interested Of the respondents who became more interested after being contacted, the most common reasons cited were welcoming interactions with members and the opportunity to ask questions and demystify the fraternity.

“Everyone made an effort to welcome me and make me feel comfortable to engage, ask questions and participate in the non-Mason events.”

“A lot of questions were answered in real time. It also helped to meet faces in the organization. Sometimes Freemasonry can be seen as a third party entity when the reality is that Freemasons are neighbors, mailmen, and respectable community members.”

Q9. Same Level of Interest Of the respondents who said their interest level remained the same, the most common comment was that they have had difficulty following up and attending meetings.

Scheduling conflicts and COVID-related delays were the primary reasons why men were having difficulty continuing the process, despite still being interested.

“Ended up being busy and wasn't able to attend any of the meetings.”

“They said with COVID, things are hectic and they would get back to me. That was about a year ago.”

Q9. Less Interested 40 respondents shared a reason for why they became less interested.

Common themes included lack of follow-up after initial contact, not feeling welcome in the organization, and confusion about the process. Other respondents took issue with background check requirements to join.

“Zero enthusiasm or interest to help.”

“The gentlemen did not explain anything. It was brief and just told another place would be whom I would need to speak with.”

Q10. Are you still interested in joining Freemasonry?

98% of respondents are still interested in joining.

This was the same level of interest as last year’s survey.

Q11. What elements of Freemasonry would you like to learn more about before joining?

Leads were interested in all the topics we suggested, but the top elements they wanted to know more about were social in nature: Freemasons in their area (65%) and what happens at lodge (61%).

Q11. Other Topics Other topics that leads wanted to know more about included: • How Freemasonry helps you become a better man • How Freemasons help the community • Requirements and expected time commitment • History of the fraternity

Respondent Profile Region

The region with the most respondents was the South (41%).

West 19%

We had similar numbers of respondents across the Northeast, Midwest, and West.

Midwest 21%

Northeast 19% South 41%

Midwest

South

Northeast

West

Respondent Profile Jurisdiction

The majority of respondents (97%) were based in the United States. Only 3% were based in Canada.

Southern Jurisdiction residents responded at a higher rate (62%), and also make up a larger percentage of all BeAFreemason.org leads (56%).

Canada 3%

US, NMJ 35% US, SJ 62%

US, NMJ

US, SJ

Canada