Founded in 1900 as the Texas Fraternal Congress (TFC), the Texas Fraternal Alliance (TFA) today unites 2,162 local fraternal benefit society chapters representing more than 622,000 members throughout Texas. Fraternal benefit societies are mutual aid organizations that maintain lodge system and insure their members and families against death, disease and disability. Fraternal organizations also bring people together to participate and make a positive difference in their communities.
You're probably already familiar with some of our member societies. TFC members include: Catholic Family Fraternal of Texas (KJZT), Catholic Life, Catholic Union of Texas (KJT), Grand Court Order of Calanthe, Knights of Columbus, Order of the Sons of Hermann, SPJST, Thrivent for Lutherans, Western Fraternal Life Association and Woodmen of the World.
The 2011 TFC Annual Meeting will be held October 14 - 15. Location and time to be announced. Watch for details on this website.
Texas Fraternal Statistics*
622,161
Number of fraternal benefit society members
2,162
Number of local community-service networks
473,297
Total number of charitable activities performed
$21,565,467
Charitable contributions made by members
7,011,276
Total number ofvolunteer hours
$136,789,995**
Total value of volunteer hours
*All data regarding local activity was compiled from reports submitted by 75 societiesthat belonged to NFCA in 2007.
**INDEPENDENT SECTOR reportsthatthe 2007 value of volunteer time is $19.51 per hour. The hourlyvalue, updated yearly, is based on the average hourly earnings of all nonagricultural workers as determined bythe U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics.
What is a Fraternal Benefit Society?
Fraternal benefit societies are not-for-profit membership organizations that offer their members life insurance protection and provide them with volunteer service, educational, spirtual, leadership, and social opportunities through their community-service networks.
In 2007 alone, fraternal benefit society members in Texas participated in 473,297 activities that helped congregations, schools, charitable organizations and individuals in need. They also contributed more than $21.5 million to charitable programs and volunteered more than 7 million hours in support of their communities.
What Fraternal Societies Do
Fraternal benefit societies touch the lives of millions of Americans every day. Their volunteer outreach activities fill gaps in government programs and help people across the country enhance their communities and their lives. Here are just a few examples of our member societies’ commitment to community service.
Disaster Relief
NFCA member societies played a pivotal role in providing relief to victims of Hurricane Katrina and, more recently, tovictims of Hurricanes Hannah and Ike and the unprecedented Midwest flooding. Fraternal contributions included direct financial aid to individuals and families; donations of food, clothing and other necessities tovictims; opening of societies’ youth camps to house evacuees; and countless volunteer hours dedicated to clean-up and recovery efforts.
Partners with Other Agencies and Organizations
Fraternals maximize the impact of their contributions by partnering with other organizations to provide services to those most in need. NFCA member societies’ partners include Habitat for Humanity, Children’s Miracle Network, American Red Cross, Salvation Army,Special Olympics, and many more.
Every Day Impact
Our greatest contributions are those made possible by member society volunteerism and financial support distributed through our community service networks across the U.S. From cleaning up inner city neighborhoods, to staffing senior citizens centers, to ensuring that children have a safe place to play, members of America’s fraternal benefit societies touch the lives of millions of people and communities every day.
