Developing a Plan for the Fall Semester

Before you return to campus, your council should have a complete schedule of officer and business meetings, plans for a recruiting drive, and the dates of significant events. Additionally, your council should make plans to attend the College Councils Conference in New Haven, Conn. Finally, your council should develop a budget to present at one of the first council meetings of the semester.

Schedule Meetings and Events
Every council should have at least one general council meeting and one officer meeting per month. Some councils may wish to have these meetings more frequently. These meetings should occur at regular intervals, such as the first Tuesday of the month. Plan these meetings out for the entire fall semester and note any conflicts caused by holidays or semester breaks, like Thanksgiving. Once you have the meeting schedule settled, share it with council members via your council’s Google calendar, Facebook page or website. While you may not know all of your council’s activities and programs for the coming semester, you should try to pencil in as many as possible. Does your council have any signature events that occur at the same time each year? Does your council have plans to celebrate Columbus Day? Will you organize a service project around Thanksgiving? Does your council host game watches for away football games or Monday Night Football? By penciling in events now, you can see what weeks lack activity and get an idea of what types of programs might be missing. Do you have lots of service activities but few fraternal or faith-based ones? Do you need to do more culture-of-life outreach? Planning today helps your council do more tomorrow.

Plan a Recruitment Drive
Every council should plan to hold a recruiting drive at the beginning of the fall semester, and the key to a successful drive is preparing before your council returns to campus. Many councils find success by holding a Rush Week or Go Roman style recruitment drive. These recruitment drives begin with a promotional campaign that includes Facebook posts, flyers, and announcements at student Masses that advertise a week of council activities leading up to a First Degree. Most councils try to hold a variety of activities that touch upon the major aspects of our Order, including faith, fraternity and service. Ideally, your council should host its own First Degree, however, if you do not have a degree team, now is the time to begin working with a local council to host a degree as part of your recruitment drive. Following the First Degree exemplification, your council should have additional scheduled events to keep up the excitement built during your recruitment drive. If your council can participate in club or activity fairs on campus, organizing your recruitment drive around that time may be wise.

Register to Attend the College Councils Conference
One of the best ways to kick-start your council’s fall semester is to attend the College Councils Conference in New Haven, Conn. The Supreme Council offers travel stipends for two students, your council chaplain and your financial secretary. Each grand knight should have received his council’s invitation and complete details about the travel stipend policy. Registration is available at kofc.org/collegeconference. Councils that annually attend the conference and regularly compete for Star Council and other programming awards are those which make the greatest impacts on their campuses. Make plans for your council to attend today!

Draft a Budget
One of the best ways to plan for the year ahead is by drafting a council budget. For some councils this may be a regular activity, but for others it can be a daunting and unfamiliar task. A budget helps to keep your council financially stable while also ensuring that you’re working to support a variety of causes. In drafting your council’s budget you may realize that your council supports more national charities rather than local endeavors. Or, you may realize that your council supports numerous culture of life initiatives but few youth causes. A budget can be a valuable tool that guides your council to success throughout the fraternal year.