PSA: Freemasonry is A Fraternity, Not a Public Charity
EDIT: Human beings with certain characteristics exhibit group behavior patterns that can be observed, surveyed, and tested. That is true for gender/sex (no matter how you define it, which I'm not doing here and will accept that some people assigned a particular sex at birth may exhibit behavioral preferences for a different/similar gender). When it comes to men and women, it has been proven beyond a doubt that women are more interested in charity and volunteering than men. If you don't believe me then, look at this super sexist pro-men's organization for your proof. https://philanthropy.indianapolis.iu.edu/doc/institutes/wpi-gatefold1.pdf
Other demographics with exhibit proved group behavior patterns include:
-Most known serial killers are white men.
-The most violent societies tend to be Western European in origin
-Men are responsible for almost all reported sexual assault and rape
Is it terrible to point out any of these?
I was trying not to get this hung up on such a stupid nuance, but knew in these hyper-politicized times, it would probably happen. Freemasonry is an men's organization (again even if you broadly define sex/gender) and if we want to be successful we have to appeal toward men.
It is really a shame when an organization of men, for men, who recruit solely men, cannot even recognize this about sex/gender.
ORIGINAL POST
I just sat through an informational Zoom session a District Lodge hosted as outreach and "recruitment" (yes within the bounds of Masonic law in my jurisdiction.)
The moderator talked up the standard aspects of the fraternity - tradition, history - and then moved on to the topic of charitable giving. In fact, the majority of the presentation was about charity, probably about 2/3 of the content.
As a silent participant I could watch the faces of the men as they listened. As the moderator droned on and on about "charity," the men became less interested. You could see literally see any interest they had in Freemasonry bleed out of them during this portion of the speech.
Finally, at Q&A, one member of the public hit the nail on the head with a question -
"I want to join an organization to socialize and network. Sounds like you are a charity, right?"
BOOM. I saw the heads of every other public participant shaking in agreement, almost in unison.
Men do not want to join an organization to do charity. They want to join a social club (fancy name for fraternity) AND THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT.
Generally speaking, women want to do charity for their main volunteer efforts. That is fine. But, frankly, most men don't give a darn about charity or will only treat it as a distant secondary concern.
Freemasonry is a social club for men, first and foremost, and that has been and always will be the ultimate draw for those who join.
STOP TELLING MEN WE ARE A CHARITY. THEY ARE NOT INTERESTED IN THIS AS A RECRUITING "HOOK."
Post Script - I'm not against charity or Lodges doing such work. I'm not opposed to appendant bodies like the Shriners who do this as one of their primary labors. I'm just saying that as far as the Blue Lodge goes it not what is going to attract men to join and ought to be a secondary concern for most. If your Blue Lodge has a rich history of charity and givinb back to the public, great, stick with it, more power to you. In general though, most Lodges that focus on just charity as their primary push end up just losing members who are not interested in such work.