| SEPTEMBER 1, 2026 -- “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
We are going to give you some statistics and then reiterate some of our previous thoughts from earlier articles. As of the close of the 2026 2nd quarter, the CT State Grange had 1,192 members. 5 Granges showed a net gain, 10 Granges were unchanged, and 14 Granges showed a net loss in membership. Overall, for the quarter the CT State Grange had a loss of 30 members. Of the 14 Granges that posted a net loss the average loss was 3.6 members per Grange.
Let’s assume these same Granges continue to see these losses at a rate of 3.6 members per quarter. Hypothetically, in 3 years we will have 11 less Granges in CT.
This is not all doom and gloom; those 5 Granges that saw growth posted a total net gain of 20 members. 20 new members!
We have 29 Granges in CT, 5 of those brought in new members, thus 24 did not. Why? This is not a lecture, nor a scolding, it is a legitimate question. What prevented the 24 Granges from attracting new members? What prevented the communities in which we serve from attracting the attention of a new member? Are you meeting the needs of your members and communities, are you doing ANYTHING? Are we stagnant? Is it just the same old same old? Is your time together engaging, educational and fun?
Membership growth and retention can be a daunting task, especially if you are not in the habit of it. So, how does this become a habit? How does it become second nature? Do you even know how or why?
We’ve laid out the reasons why above, consistent losses year after year, loss of Granges year after year. If that isn’t a big enough reason why for anyone…..
I guess that leaves the how. We want to go back to three questions we have asked during our visitations as we have in other articles:
What do you do?
Who do you do it for?
And do they know you do it?
These questions are not always easy to answer but are vital to developing a plan of sustainability and growth. I really guess if 80% of our Granges are seeing losses or no growth a fourth question should be added. Are you doing anything? Or are you just going through the motions, the bare minimum to be a Grange. Just holding your meeting, hoping the faithful are there so you can meet. Have you had the same officers for a long, long time? If you can say with pride, you’ve held the same office for an exceptionally long period of time, you very well may not be an asset, you’re an obstacle. An obstacle to growth of the Grange both internally and externally. Our current and future members time is extremely valuable. So, Why should I give my time to your Grange? Are you going to help me grow? Are you going to added value to my life personally and professionally. Are you going to respect my differences from you? I want to be of value to the Grange, the community and to myself. Are you, as a Grange and a Granger willing to let me explore growth opportunities, share my ideas and embrace my differences? My differences may be subtle, and they may not be. Are you able to, will you embrace those that differ from you? I sure do hope so because we are living in a world that is changing every minute, there are new trends, new fads, new everything every day. Can you compete as a Grange?
Let’s see next quarter if you can……………
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