Why Join the Knights of Columbus?

Why you should become a Knight

If you’re interested in helping those in need, serving your parish, growing in your faith or having exclusive access to top-rated insurance protection for your family, then the Knights of Columbus is the organization for you.

Becoming a Knight of Columbus can transform your life. As a Knight, you have the opportunity to support your parish, give back to your community, grow in your faith and gain exclusive access to our top-rated insurance program to protect your family.

These are just some of the reasons to become a Knight.

We are a band of brothers, a network of men in communities around the world dedicated to doing good in the service of God and our neighbor.

What we provide

SERVICE

  • Support the parish with its needs
  • Help meet the needs of those in the local community
  • Provide “Coats for Kids” and “Food for Families”
  • Support programs that benefit people with intellectual disabilities
  • Aid victims of natural disasters and other catastrophic events, local and worldwide
  • Donate wheelchairs to people without mobility at home and abroad
  • Save lives through initiatives such as the “Ultrasound Program”
Charity is the first principle of the Knights of Columbus. Knights are men who get things done. We volunteer our time to serve our parishes and our communities. And by working together, we were able to donate more than $1.4 billion and 664 million volunteer hours to worthy causes in the past decade.

SUPPORT

  • A unique “band of brothers”
  • Shared values and the support to live out our Catholic faith more fully
  • The ability for our network to accomplish things together that we could not accomplish alone
Unity and Fraternity are the second and third principles of the Knights of Columbus. The Knights of Columbus was founded so that men could work together to serve their parishes and communities, protect the well being of their Catholic families, and support each other in faith and in many other ways along life’s journey. The Knights of Columbus offers its members the opportunity to grow in their faith through living the example of a charity that evangelizes and personifying what it means to be a Catholic gentleman through the practicing of good works.

STABILITY

  • Exclusive access to our top-rated life insurance products, available only to members and their families
  • Your insurance agent is a Knight dedicated to helping his brother Knights protect their families
As a Knight, you and your family have exclusive access to our top quality insurance products. In fact, no insurer in North America is more highly rated than the Knights of Columbus. As an organization founded to protect the well being of Catholic families, we have continued to take that mission seriously for more than 130 years. Generations of Catholics have counted on the Knights of Columbus, and in an increasingly turbulent world, you can trust the Knights of Columbus to affordably and securely protect the future of your loved ones and to be there when you need us most.

For 130 years the Knights of Columbus has provided all of the opportunities in this brochure and more for its members.

The Knights of Columbus is not just a fraternity in name. It is a brotherhood of Catholic men who each play a part in improving the world around them, one community at a time. They stand together in faith, dedicated to uphold the principles they cherish while lending their support and strength to parish, home and fellow Knight.

From charity for worldwide causes, to helping closer to home with volunteer activities, to a top-rated insurance program that protects those closest to you, the Knights makes the most of its brotherhood.

Make a stand among them, and you can discover how easy it is to make a difference in your life and that of others.

Prospective Member Q & A

1. I don't have time to join another organization; why should I join the Knights of Columbus?
As a Knight you can choose the projects with which you wish to be involved in within your own community. What is more, the Order is dedicated to family life and the many benefits it offers. From insurance to scholarships to service and social activities and programs, all are open to the whole family.

2. What are the requirements?
Membership in the Knights of Columbus is open to men 18 years of age or older who are practical (that is, practicing) Catholics in union with the Holy See.

3. What is a practical Catholic?
A practical Catholic accepts the teaching authority of the Catholic Church on matters of faith and morals, aspires to live in accord with the precepts of the Catholic Church, and is in good standing in the Catholic Church.

4. Explain what Degrees are.
There are four degrees within the Knights of Columbus. Each degree ceremony imparts a lesson on the Order's core virtues of Charity, Unity, Fraternity and Patriotism.

5. Do I have to purchase Insurance to become a member?
No; unlike many fraternal organizations one does not become a member by purchasing insurance. In the Knights of Columbus a man has to be a member before he may avail himself of the insurance benefit. Purchasing insurance is optional, however; the life insurance and long-term care insurance products offered by the Order are not only competitively priced, they are among the most solid and highly rated products available anywhere. Standard & Poor's and A.M. Best, the leading independent agencies that rate insurance companies, give K of C insurance their highest ratings.