We at the Northern California Chapter want every council to achieve the Star Council Award every year. We think that while the Star award is not the only mark of success, it is a key indicator that your council is doing what it needs to do to remain vibrant and relevant. There are two keys to achieving Star. The first is to understand the requirements to achieve star. The second, which is the most important, know what forms are required to report your progress.
The resources below will help you achieve Star Council.
Download the Star Requirements Checklist Page – Form. This is a one page checklist that covers everything for achieving the Start Council Award. Print it out to track your progress. That page with the details contained on this web site will guarantee that you council will make star.
Forms
The Knights of Columbus are doing their part for the planet by eliminating paper and postal costs. All of the forms are available online and the preferred method of completing all forms is via the on line versions. While the PDF versions of the forms are available on the Supreme Web Site, using them could delay processing by as much as 60 days. Do your council and the planet a favor by only using the electronic forms.
- Your Financial Secretary needs to complete the Form 185 to officially notify Supreme of the local council’s newly elected officers. Elected officers include; the Grand Knight, Deputy Grand Knight, Chancellor, Recorder, Treasurer, Advocate, Warden, Inside Guard, Outside Guard and the 3 Trustees. This form is due before the Installation of Officers Ceremony (usually in July).
- The Financial Secretary also needs to complete the Service Program Personnel Report – Form 365 to unlock the Safe Environment Training for those officers that must complete the training. Those officers are: The Grand Knight, the Program Director (this role is often assigned to the Deputy Grand Knight), the Community Director and the Family Director. This form can be submitted more than once per year if the need arises, but should be completed for the first time by the end of the first month of the Columbian year. Safe Environment training is very important both for the protection of your council and for the Knights of Columbus as a ministry of the Catholic Church.
- The Annual Survey of Fraternal Activity (Form 1728) can be completed by either the Grand Knight or the Financial Secretary. While this form seems complicated, it is actually a consolidation of multiple older forms, so it is an improvement. The goal is to get an overview of the council’s activity of the prior calendar year. If the council keeps an annual calendar of events and all of the 10784s of the prior year then this form will take less than an hour to complete. When the results of all of the councils in the US are rolled up, it produces an amazing story of the impact of the Knight of Columbus on the citizens of the USA. This form is due by January 31st each Columbian year.
McGivney Award
It is a goal to add to each council’s membership by at least 7% each year. Supreme has learned over the years that 7% is a healthy average in order to maintain your council. This is not in addition to the members that transfer out or leave the Knights as Supreme has factored that into the equation. You can calculate your goal by multiplying your membership roster as of July 1 each Columbian year by 7% (minimum of 5). If you reach your goal by the end of the Columbian year, you earn the McGivney Award. This is one of the requirements of the Star Council Award.
Do not wait too long before working on recruiting. Early is Easy. The sooner you start the sooner you will achieve your goal. It is easier to make you goal early and relax than to scramble in Q4. The Chapter recommends that you divide your goal by 8 to establish a monthly goal and shoot for that goal in every month until you achieve your annual goal.
To get credit for new members they must apply online at KofC.org/Join Make sure that they include your council’s number when they apply and that your Financial Secretary accepts them into your council after their Exemplification. This is key, they must be exemplified before June 30th in order to be counted.
There is a program called Knights Sundays. Talk to your District Deputy to learn more about Knights Sundays.
Founders Award
The Knights were started to care for Catholic widows and orphans. Stay true to the vision of our founder by hosting at least 2 Fraternal Benefit Events (FBE) each year. An FBE is led by a licensed Field Agent of the Knights of Columbus. They must approve your 11077 form in order for your council to receive credit. They can not approve what they do not see. You should complete your 11077 online.
This is really pretty simple. You must have 10 people in attendance if you have less than 100 members or 14 in attendance if your council has 100 or more members. Those in attendance must be males over the age of 18. They do not have to be Knights at time of the FBE. They must join the Knights in order to buy a benefit, but they do not need to be a member to attend an FBE. There is no longer a requirement to convert a member to an insurance member.
To report a Fraternal Benefits Event, you must complete Form 11077 within 7 days of the event. To complete the form you must include a list of the names in attendance and the Field Agent must confirm that the information that you report on the form is correct.
Your council must earn the Founders Award to earn the Start Council Award.
Columbian Award
This is the easiest of the three awards that are required for the Star Council Award. Each council must complete 16 “Faith in Action” events, 4 each in the following 4 categories; Faith, Family, Community and Life. James 2:17 tells us that “Faith without works is dead.” The true measure of the faith that ensures salvation is that it motivates us to do the works that we were chosen to do. Ephesians 2:10 “which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Information on Faith in Action Programs can be found on the Supreme Web site and summarized on Form 11172.
By now is should not be a surprise that each Faith in Action event must be followed by a report form. Report your Faith in Action Program Events using Form 10784. So programs can count double. Those are called featured Programs. For a peek at the Featured Programs Minimum Requirements view this Flyer.
The last form required for the Columbian award is that you summarize your 16 10784s on to one SP7 . The SP7 must be completed by June 30th of the Columbian year, but the Chapter recommends that as a bit of insurance you submit your SP7 in mid May. By submitting it early, it gives your DD and the rest of your supporting team time to review the documents for completeness while you still have time for correction. If Supreme finds an issue after June 30th, there will not be a chance to correct any anomalies.