BREATHE! & LET’S CELEBRATE!!
David Bauerly, past chair of MKP USA, once told me that even in the hardest and longest race it is important to look up and breathe in the victories along the way. THIS is one of those times! So BREATHE AND LET’S CELEBRATE.
In January, I asked men in Centers across the country to become ADVENTURERS on behalf of the kingdom. I asked these men to take on a challenge that many said could not be done. I asked them to increase membership in MKP USA by 20% in just 100 days! The “The 100 Days “ Membership Challenge finished last week and there is no doubt that the these men are returning home victorious. Not only did those Adventurers increase membership by more than 23% they also raised more than $80,000 in the process. Together with Matching Contributions in excess of $120,000 was raised with$60,000+ going DIRECTLY to Centers to support local operations – in just the past 100 days.
We have fundamentally changed the game by creating a Membership Program that supports both the national organization and the local center. I am proud as Chairman of MKP USA to have witnessed and championed this shift.
Since September 1, 2011 Membership has grown 38.8% from 1,757 Members to 2,439 Total Members; with 692 NEW Members; 154 Newly Initiated New Warrior Brothers claimed their Memberships; and 505 existing Members renewed their Memberships early.
Although EVERY CENTER participated several Centers and their leaders merit special recognition:
- MKP Chicago, under the leadership of Dan Baldwin (Membership) and Glenn Barker (CD) more than doubled its membership by adding 119 NEW Members and took over #1 spot in Membership.
- MKP Florida under Jeff Tate, (CD) almost TRIPLED its membership;
- MKP Hawaii under Tom Kerley, (CD) nearly DOUBLED its membership;
- MKP New England (Brad Morawski, CD / Don Tyler, Membership), MKP GW (Steven Deller, CD) and MKP Los Angeles (Dick Granoff, CD / Larry Kay, Membership) joined MKP CHI in growing by more than 50 NEW Members EACH!
- 17 Centers added more than 20 New Members each!
So WHAT?
Today, as an organization, MKP USA is laying the foundation from which to SHOW UPin the world in a big way. The very FIRST STEP in laying that foundation was identified almost three years ago by the Stanford Group in their ACT I report. So, the “So What” is that we, MKP USA and its affiliated Centers, have made significant progress in just the past 7 months in moving the whole organization toward a Membership Supported model. As Membership builds and provides a larger and larger percentage of the support for local and national programs I expect that we will be able to start squeezing some of the cost out of the NWTA. In fact, my expectation is that, if we continue to make progress like this, we will be able to lower NWTA per Initiate Fees in 2013!
Just as importantly, as we continue to make progress on building membership support we are finding the space and resources to start down the other two critical paths:
- We will accelerate the process of building vital capacity into the organization by melding the professional competence of a small paid staff with the passion and strength of our volunteer NWB army.
- We will begin the UNIFICATION process that will start lifting the administrative burdens off the shoulders of each unified Center so that the men in that Center can focus their efforts on I-Group and Open Circle support, Mission and Outreach, Community Building and Training Logistics. Seven Centers have already stepped forward to begin the process. Unification is underway!
The BIG “So What”
With a solid foundation we will start making progress on the juicy work:
- Creating more robust support of I-Groups and Open Circles as well as designing and implementing a Certified I-Group Leadership Path.
- Providing more support and better resources for our constituencies – Leader Body, Elders, LKS and MCC.
- Designing, creating, acquiring and implementing additional training programs that fit the ideal of “men mentoring men through the transitions of their lives.”
These are just the highlights of the what is to come as we continue to build on our success with Membership. Of course there is more – from stronger marketing and development to better support of men in mission; from better tools to interest men in the NWTA to stronger I-Groups that attract and retain more men IN CIRCLES. There is much more to do AND THIS is a great start.
I am grateful to each of you for your passion and good work. Breathe in this victory. You deserve it. Then, begin again. Help men (and women) understand the opportunity and gold that resides in membership and invite each one to join. Invite the men in your life to the NWTA and your Open Circles. Together we can bring the gift and hope that is the ManKind Project and men’s work to the world.
Our Grandsons are Waiting & Our Granddaughters are Watching
Blessings
Mike
Charter Lifetime Member
MKP USA/New England Center
Phone – 860-985-0013
SKYPE – michael.k.elser
PS. From Boysen – the Marketing & Communications Director – I recognize that most of the great ideas that we have come from our Membership … So what is the next big idea for MKP USA that you are ready to throw your weight behind? Share it with us! –https://mkpusa.org/contact/share-your-brilliance/