Affiliate Membership

The Affiliate Member Initiative (AMI) recognizes that some members, who share our values and support our mission, are unable to remain active in their local councils. This may be due to poor health, financial stress, family problems, lack of transportation, medical concerns or many other reasons. The AMI allows these men to be designated as Affiliate members and removed from their local council rosters.

The Supreme and State Councils will then engage Affiliate members by keeping them informed of major initiatives and giving them opportunities for volunteer service and charitable contributions.

Councils will have the month of February to prepare, review and submit a list of members to be transferred to affiliate members.

Refer to the Affiliate Member Initiative Guidebook and Affiliate Membership FAQs for detailed instructions.

Training was held January 18th, but if you missed it you can still register to view the recording

NOTE: Only councils with a Financial Secretary and Grand Knight may designate members for Affiliate status.

All councils should submit a list even if they have no members to move to affiliate statues.  Submitting a list shows them as ‘participating’ and they must be participating to be eligible to move men to affiliate membership in April after the current billing cycle under the interim billing procedures. 

Letter sent to Financial Secretaries on 1/21/22

Eligibility for Affiliate membership

1. Members exempted from dues may not be designated for Affiliate status. Such members include Honorary Life members, Priests, and members with an exemption waiver.
2. Inactive Insurance (designated as “N” under member type) members may not be designated for Affiliate status.
3. Members who ask to withdraw from the Order may not be designated for Affiliate status. The normal withdrawal process must be followed for these members. (email or snail mail a signed request for withdrawal from the member)
4. Other members may be designated for Affiliate status if they have not responded to council engagement efforts for the most recent 18 months or longer.
   1. Specifically, all of the following engagement methods must have been attempted and failed:
      1. Regular dues notices were sent, and dues were not paid, and
      2. Emails were sent and ignored or bounced, and

• Postal mail was sent and ignored or returned undeliverable, and

1. Phone calls were made and ignored or number not in service, and
2. The member has not been seen at Mass, meetings, or events

5. Exception: College councils may list members who graduate and leave campus without arranging to join a local council in their new location, so long as the member has not expressed interest in remaining in his current college council. It is not necessary to wait for 18 months of non-engagement with these members

Simple steps:

1. FS prepares list of Council members 2 or more years in arrears, exporting an excel list from the data extract tool in member management that is emailed to the GK for review.
2. The Grand Knight, along with the Trustees and/or other knowledgeable leaders, shall review the tentative list and remove the names of members for whom extenuating circumstances apply. Extenuating circumstances may include, but are not limited to the following:
   1. Charter membership
   2. Military deployment
   3. College / University / Seminary attendance
   4. Approved exemptions
   5. Financial hardship, job loss
   6. Medical hardship, convalescent home, or hospice care
   7. Members who can no longer participate in council activities but want to retain their council association
3. Grand Knight emails the adjusted and final file to the District Deputy with the following attestation: (CC to State Deputy)
   1. “The Grand Knight and Trustees attest that the approved criteria were satisfied, and extenuating circumstances were considered, for all members listed for designation as Affiliate members. The criteria, defined by the Board of Directors, are found in the Affiliate Member Initiative Guidebook.”
   2. No emails will be accepted without this GK attestation in the email body.
4. District Deputy reviews file within 10 days of receiving the council’s list:
   1. The District Deputy will review the list with the Grand Knight and satisfy himself that the criteria were equitably and fairly applied for all listed members, and that extenuating circumstances were considered.
   2. The District Deputy is not expected to personally verify the circumstances of each listed member.
   3. Upon approving the list, the District Deputy shall electronically submit it to the Membership Records Office at affiliate@kofc.org with copies to the GK, FS, and State Deputy and with the following attestation:
      1. “The Grand Knight, Trustees, and District Deputy attest that the approved criteria were satisfied, and extenuating circumstances were considered, for all members listed for designation as Affiliate members. The criteria, defined by the Board of Directors, are found in the Affiliate Member Initiative Guidebook.”
   4. If the District Deputy determines that the criteria were not satisfied, or that extenuating circumstances were not adequately considered, he shall return the list to the Grand Knight for corrections along with a written explanation, with a copy to the State Deputy.
   5. When a council does not have a District Deputy, the State Deputy, or his appointed designee, will complete these actions.

Interim Member Billing Procedures

These revised billing procedures are needed because the AMI significantly changes the handling of members who are delinquent in their payment of dues.

Financial Secretaries should use the Member Management and Member Billing applications, located in the secure Officers Online area of www.kofc.org, to perform the tasks listed in this section.

1. The Financial Secretary forwards the membership bill “First Notice” 15 days before the billing period to each member.
2. If payment is not received in 30 days, the Financial Secretary will forward the membership bill “Second Notice”.
3. If payment is not received within 30 days from the date the “Second Notice” was sent, do not update billing status to Knight Alert. The Financial Secretary will instead provide the names, addresses, telephone numbers, email address, amounts due, and proposer information for each member in arrears to an Engagement Committee that should include a Chairman and two additional members.
4. The Engagement Committee Chairman shall assign committee members to contact the members in arrears. Committee members should use various methods, including internet search engines, to locate members whose contact information is out of date. If a member is found to be experiencing financial difficulty, the Engagement Committee Chairman should recommend to the Grand Knight and Trustees that forgiveness of dues or other suitable financial arrangements be made to assist this member. If a member has disengaged himself from council activities or become dissatisfied with his Knights of Columbus membership, the committee member should remind the Brother of the many valuable benefits available to all members and the particular fraternal benefits of working with local council Brothers. A supply of membership benefit reference materials should be readily available for committee members to share as needed.
5. Within 30 days of receiving the list of members in arrears, the Engagement Committee Chairman shall submit to the Grand Knight and Trustees a report including the reasons for nonpayment and their recommended actions for each listed member.
6. Within 15 days of receiving the Engagement Committee report, the Grand Knight shall meet with the Financial Secretary and Trustees to decide on a course of action for each member. These actions may include, but are not limited to:

• Issuing a “Final Notice” to members who wish to remain in the council and gave no reason for nonpayment. The Financial Secretary can regenerate another “Second Notice” from Member Billing to serve as this “Final Notice.”
• Waiving the dues for members in financial distress.
• Reducing the dues or allowing alternate payment plans for members in financial distress.
• Processing the withdrawal of members who request to leave the Order.
• Processing members who meet the requirements for designation as Affiliate Members in the state division. Lists of these members should be submitted through a council’s district deputy and received by the Supreme Council no later than April 30.

6. No further billing actions are required. NOTE: Suspension transactions are reserved for Summary Suspension for Cause and Board actions.