# Solicitation from the Grand Lodge of Texas



## Blake Bowden (Jun 20, 2012)

Just got something in the mail about bags, coins or some other crap, I really didn't read through it. That being said, the budget shortfall of $400k+ caught my eye. When will the Grand Lodge realize they'll have to cut back? I know I don't want a bag, tie, nor do I want to send Grand Lodge any additional funds. I'm trying to take care of my own Lodge on a local level than worry about that monstrosity (facility) in Waco. Am I wrong? Share your thoughts...


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## Benton (Jun 20, 2012)

I'd like to know why there is a budget shortfall from the Grand Lodge's own mouth. If those solicitations had a, "We screwed up making these decisions, here's what we're doing to fix it, but in the mean time please help us out," in front of them I think they might be received at least somewhat more amiably than, "Give us money because we spent too much."


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## Bill Lins (Jun 20, 2012)

Blake Bowden said:


> Am I wrong? Share your thoughts...


 
I agree with you.


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## JJones (Jun 20, 2012)

I agree also, I'd rather give money to maintain my own lodge rather than donate to GL so they can maintain their palace.


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## Blake Bowden (Jun 21, 2012)

This is what I posed on the MoT facebook page. It'll ruffle some feathers...


The other day I opened my mailbox and noticed there was an urgent letter from the Grand Lodge of Texas. Hurriedly, I opened it up only to notice pictures of a bag, keychain, etc.

I'm not really interested in merchandise, especially when it's being solicited. Then I see a long message from our M.W. Grand Master asking for more $$$ because the GLofTX has a budget shortfall of $400k!!! What about the local Lodges that are on the brink of demise? Where can they get help? Should they continue making Freemasonry a sign up sheet for fundraisers? That's what Masonry is evolving into. 

The biggest turnoff new members have is being rushed through the "Chairs" and being asked to work their tails off because the Lodge "needs them". It should be the other way around! Does YOUR Lodge teach the symbolism of Freemasonry or do they prefer bickering over light bills, who will mow the lawn, who provides the next meal, etc?

To the Grand Lodge of Texas. A $400k+ budget shortfall this year? Why not look at ways at cutting back? How come members haven't been proposed a plan to reduce the budget? Year after year we are told sad tales on how we NEED the Grand Lodge and that we NEED to support it. What's the plan other than soliciting funds? I'm listening.

The Masons of Texas received this letter, yet continue to bust our tails trying to keep our own doors open. We're asked to perform acts of charity, keep our lights on, send GL money AND if there's any time or effort left, teach Freemasonry. 

I know each year we're told that Freemasonry is growing in new membership, but what the Grand Lodge fails to mention is the hundreds, if not thousands of Brethren we loose every year. Unless we, as Texas Masons, get someone in the Grand East who understands that tough times lie ahead and difficult choices have to be made, nothing will change, it will only get worse.

Blake L. Bowden
W.M. Gonzales No. 30 A.F. & A.M.
Founder of Masons of Texas and Freemason Connect


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## California Master (Jun 21, 2012)

How much is the per capita now? Out here it goes up an average of $2.00 every year. I think that we are at $37.00 for 2012.


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## California Master (Jun 21, 2012)

I agree with you Worshipful Master. I know that when I was raised in 1978 in South Houston 1295, there were 250,000 Masons in the state of Texas. Where are we now? I heard somewhere around 100,000 members?


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## Ashlar (Jun 21, 2012)

I agree with you , though I am from another jurisdiction . Every year at Grand Lodge session , I go over the Grand Lodge's advanced Treasurer's report with a fine tooth comb . What they spend (on themselves) is ludicrous ! If any Mason has not looked over their annual Grand Lodge treasurer's report , DO SO . You will then know where the money goes .

But not only in the Craft Lodge , I am tired of getting letters begging for money from the Scottish Rite also .


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## Brother Mark (Jun 21, 2012)

I have gotten two letters from grand lodge. One asking for more money, and the other saying we didn't send enough. I am not made of money. I can't send 150 dollars to grand lodge just because they can't control their spending. I agree if the letters said along the lines of look this is our mistake, we are working to fix it, and can you help us out in the mean time, but to have no plan to control spending and trying to rely on donors is not a way to run things. Just my .02 cents worth


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## Ashlar (Jun 21, 2012)

Maybe they need to throw a few fundraisers , say a few bake sales , grapefruit sales , fish fries , breakfasts' etc; etc; . 

Sorry , could not help myself .


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## A7V (Jun 21, 2012)

wow, I have never gotten anything like that from the Grand Lodge of Hawaii that I know of, what does the Grand Lodge of Texas have to pay for to be 400k in the hole?   Is building maintenance that much?


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## eagle1966 (Jun 21, 2012)

We had this same discussion in our Lodge at the last stated meeting. One of our brothers had made a donation and had recieved the bag and wallet, he said that he had not donated to recieve anything and was going to return with a letter stating his discuss with the solicitation letter to begin with.  He is a retired banker and told us that he could not run a bank using the Grand Lodge method and wondered how long it would be before it was too far in debt to ever recover.  All of the brethren in the Lodge argeed with him and he is going to bring his letter to the next meeting and everyone is going to sign and send to Grand Lodge.  Maybe more Lodges should send letters to GM and trustees.


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## Txmason (Jun 21, 2012)

Bro. Blake,
 Perhaps take the envelope they send to you and mail it back to GL empty. Hopefully they'll get the hint. Congrats on being WM! Does your lodge have a pin with your lodges name on it?


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## Benton (Jun 22, 2012)

Txmason said:


> Bro. Blake,
> Perhaps take the envelope they send to you and mail it back to GL empty. Hopefully they'll get the hint.



Or perhaps mail it back requesting funds for a poor and penniless Master Mason who is in debt for unmentioned reasons because he spent beyond his means... maybe that would drive the point home...


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## Txmason (Jun 22, 2012)

Bro. Benton

A good idea. They should help support local lodges.


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## Blake Bowden (Jun 22, 2012)

Ashlar said:


> Maybe they need to throw a few fundraisers , say a few bake sales , grapefruit sales , fish fries , breakfasts' etc; etc; .
> 
> Sorry , could not help myself .



Now that was funny! lol


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## cemab4y (Jun 26, 2012)

This discussion reminds me of the federal government ,which is going into debt at the rate of $40,000 (forty thousand dollars) per SECOND.

Grand Lodges often believe that they can spend themselves rich. They also think that they can have something for nothing. If a Grand Lodge wants to spend, then they should have the backbone to go directly to the Masons in their jurisdiction, and state their needs, and then set their annual assessments at a rate, adequate to meet their expenses.

All masons should be demanding that their grand Lodges practice fiscal responsibility.

With the number of masons declining, and the resultant drop in contributions, Grand Lodges could and should switch into a "growth mode", and see about getting an increase in membership. Then these fiscal problems would disappear.

My 2c


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## Tx4ever (Jun 26, 2012)

Where is the UNthanks Button?


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## Blake Bowden (Jun 26, 2012)

benton said:


> or perhaps mail it back requesting funds for a poor and penniless master mason who is in debt for unmentioned reasons because he spent beyond his means... Maybe that would drive the point home...



rotfl!


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## Michaelstedman81 (Jun 28, 2012)

Following this thread, two things have come to mind for me. 

First, IS there a way that we could get things changed with the way Grand Lodge (ours and any other) operates when it comes to budgeting?  I mean, can we propose some sort of proposition or by-law amendment that forces the Grand Lodge to have a balanced budget?  I mean, the State of Texas government itself has that requirement, why would it not be a good idea to apply to our GL's spending and budgeting habits?  Or is making a proposition or resolution impacting this kind of thing not really allowed?

I mean, having a really nice building and a huge library for the GL is great.  Have at it.  I also understand the need to update things for the building or whatever else, but our local lodges are also in need of repair and we can only do things that our lodges have the money for.  Whether you agree that fundraising for the local lodges' operating expenses is right or not, it looks to me like GL only conducts fundraisers aimed at soliciting money from Texas Masons.  Either way, if a local lodge needs a new A/C, flooring, and roofing done, but only have the money for one or two of those projects, guess what happens?  The lodge has to decide which one is more important and is needed sooner.  They can't really just have it all done and EXPECT all the Masons and non-Masons in the community to rally up and foot the bill.

Second, really how much does it cost the GL themsleves to purchase those bags and wallets that they are offering?  Also, count in the cost of printing and mailing it to all the Masons.  I really don't see a huge percentage of Brothers that got the mailings just up and contributing for those items.  I just don't see it as being too cost effective.  Is there a way that we can see at the end of the year just how much the GL brought in on this big drive?  And how much they had to shell out with the share that they got to keep?

I don't know.  I haven't had too much dealings with GL in person, so I'm sure there is a ton of information that I am missing out on.  I don't want to see the Grand Lodge go into a huge debt or us have the possibility of losing any part of it.   I'm pretty much a fan of being able to balance the budgets and watch the doggone spending so that we don't all of a sudden look at the books and find out that this year alone we are expecting to be $400k in the hole.  How many other years have they ended the year in the hole?  Is that $400k combining all the previous years that there was a deficit, or is that just for this year?


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## Star Mztyk (Jun 28, 2012)

Bro. Michael......

   The GLoT has always had fund raiser doo-dads and ditties as far as I can remember.....but where the big problem started was ....and someone can correct me if I am wrong ....was a while back when it was determined that the GL building needed a complete new A/C system and the leaks in the roof fixed. Avenues to secure this were even to share the building with the Waco symphony....which the arts council decided to balk at. Somewhere in this timeline scenario was the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 that saw 401Ks and securities take a nosedive. The GL suffered as bad as everyone else when their junk bonds got buried in the rubbish heap. At GL conventions resolutions called upon the carpet all the Powers That Be for responsibility for all this financial confusion in and about the temple. The whos on first committees were examined as to why some high potentate were automatically placed on said boards and to those term limits. When all was said and done.....it was implied that all the sub-ordinate lodges and members were the life preserver Insurance Provider for the less than All Seeing Higher Echelon. Basically, GL petty cash has always been insured by what is in the bank....and Free handed dipping is not in any sort of a mis-conduct.....we got hit by the 2008 Crisis just like everyone else. We as in members of GL.

   So, the issue here is accountability....finger pointing and Who was or was Not On First. Doubletalk. The constituency is still grumbling to have the players called out. I dont know.....(is on third.)


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## robert leachman (Jun 28, 2012)

I've always wondered how much any of these "send X # $ get a whatever" really makes money for whoever sends them out.

Any idea how much GL makes off their version?

I finally quit getting them from the NRA a few years back!


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## Brother Mark (Jun 28, 2012)

First, IS there a way that we could get things changed with the way Grand Lodge (ours and any other) operates when it comes to budgeting?  I mean, can we propose some sort of proposition or by-law amendment that forces the Grand Lodge to have a balanced budget?  I mean, the State of Texas government itself has that requirement, why would it not be a good idea to apply to our GL's spending and budgeting habits?  Or is making a proposition or resolution impacting this kind of thing not really allowed?


I believe this is a great idea. Everyday We as Americans are faced with the decision of staying within a budget, why can't grand lodge do that? I know the building needs repairs, but let's be realistic for a second. How much money did it cost for those bags? Take that money away from the donation they are asking for. Now take that th cost of the packaging, and the cost to ship those items. What's left? I am willing to bet not very much. Why not spend that money on the building, or put that money towards gaining new members so we can get that extra income. Since when did Masonry become more about the business side, ad less about spreading the teachings of the Masonic Lodge.


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## Michaelstedman81 (Jun 29, 2012)

Star Mztyk said:


> Bro. Michael......
> 
> The GLoT has always had fund raiser doo-dads and ditties as far as I can remember..... I dont know.....(is on third.)



Thanks a lot for that bit of information.  Like I said, I don't have any real dealings with anyone from the GL itself and can only go off the information that I read or even hear about from other Brothers.  But that is why I do keep a position of having an open mind to these kinds of things and I ask questions.  Getting info from the "telephone game" can sometimes get mixed up in the transfer.  I hope that I don't come of sounding like I am playing the finger pointing game.  Just expressing my opinion from the information that I have recieved.  In fact, the only good that can come from actually figuring out who or what is at fault (in my opinion) is to learn the lesson and hopefully prevent it from repeating itself in the future.  I don't want to see the GL or any lodges in debt. And I darn sure don't want to see either case shut down or lose out on something important just because of financial woes.

As for the fund raiser doo-dads, I gotta be honest.  I have been a MM for four years now and I have not once heard about any kind of fundraiser being put on by the GL. I am only about 80 miles from Waco and so I just figured that maybe they had some local stuff going on that word didn't reach us this far away.  But I also do recognize the fact that for a couple years of my four years as a MM was spent running around the country and world going where the Army told me to go.  So, I could have missed out on some stuff.  

All in all, thanks for that information you posted.  My response was based on your whole message and not just the sentence that I left in the "quote" box...  And I loved the way you ended, so I left that in there too..lol


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## bullrack33 (Jul 4, 2012)

Having personally seen the Grand Lodge Budget, I can say that there are a lot of ways to cut costs. Travel expenses for certain GL Officers could be cut by thousands of dollars. -Just saying-


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## Michael Hatley (Jul 4, 2012)

I'd dig seeing at least a simplified 1-2 page version of the budget myself.

What do we use the building in Waco for other than the yearly GL hodown?


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## Mac (Jul 4, 2012)

bullrack33 said:


> Having personally seen the Grand Lodge Budget, I can say that there are a lot of ways to cut costs. Travel expenses for certain GL Officers could be cut by thousands of dollars. -Just saying-


 Is there a copy of the budget viewable online?

If the travel budget isn't insane, I would consider leaving it alone, if only because I don't believe GL positions should be only open to the independently wealthy.  Fortunately or unfortunately, we really are a huge jurisdiction.  Consider the difference in travel/costs between being GM of Rhode Island or Vermont versus being GM here.  

It's one reason I'm sure some people are hesitant to run.

I was shocked when I heard about the proposed repairs to the building, including adding AC.  But I was more surprised to learn that the building is otherwise empty throughout the year.  Seems like it could be put to use generating some income, and I think they said that was a possible change.


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