I've worked for, been on the boards of and am familiar with many membership organizations. They all want one thing: more members. You've heard it from your Grand Lodge. Members are everything. Don't deny it. Membership organizations sometimes put membership above everything, no matter what they claim (we'll talk about donations in another post). I've rarely seen a membership organization with "enough" members.
One of the few things I've seen work that brings in more members than an organization wants is exclusivity. There's a lesson there somewhere. The only thing that really works is limiting membership. That would give the Grand Lodge staff a stroke, wouldn't it?
And y'know what happens when an organization gets a membership windfall? Y'know what an organization wants after it gets more members?
More members.
