Fraternal benefit societies are not-for-profit membership groups that unite individuals with a common bond, providing them the ability to secure their families’ financial security through a variety of life insurance and investment products. Fraternals form one of the nation’s most effective and efficient volunteer networks, delivering billions of dollars of direct financial aid and community service to those who need it most.

Operating through local chapters, fraternals enable their members to carry out charitable, educational, social and other volunteer community initiatives. Each year through this unique structure, members of fraternal benefit societies invest more than 51 million hours in community works and contribute more than $642 million to charitable programs supporting community service projects.

The fraternal business model is unique to North America. It combines the “member owned” characteristic of a mutual insurance company with the “social mission” characteristic of a faith-based or service organization. Together, these two components provide the opportunity for nearly 7 million individuals to secure their families’ financial futures, while also contributing through direct financial assistance and volunteer activities to the health and well-being of the communities in which they live and work.

All fraternal benefit societies must comply with state and federal regulations with regard to their financial services, and must be licensed by the insurance department of the state or states in which they operate. Fraternal benefit societies are recognized as 501(c)(8), not-for-profit fraternal organizations by the Internal Revenue Service. The many charitable and benevolent activities of the fraternal benefit system – estimated to be over $2 billion annually – would be severely curtailed if the 100-year-old fraternal tax exemption were repealed. Clearly, fraternals continue to deliver significant value to their members, the hundreds of charitable organizations that benefit from the financial and volunteer support, and American taxpayers more than a century after they were created.

1913-1914 W. H. Powers

1914-1915 J. F. Taake

1915-1916 Geo. W. Miller

1916-1917 I. I. Boak

1917-1918 Dr. R. H. Gerard

1918-1919 A. C. McLean

1919-1920 Hill Montague

1920-1921 George P. Kirby

1921-1922 Henri Roy

1922-1923 Harry Wade

1923-1924 W. R. Shirley

1924-1925 Thos. F. McDonald

1925-1926 Bina M. West

1926-1927 John C. Snyder

1927-1928 Sidney H. Pipe

1928-1929 E. J. Dunn

1929-1930 Frances Buell Olson

1930-1931 Tom L. McCullough

1931-1932 George R. Allen

1932-1933 Mary E. LaRocca

1933-1934 Bradley C. Marks

1934-1935 John C. Karel

1935-1936 Peter F. Gilroy

1936-1937 S. H. Hadley

1937-1938 Dora Alexander Talley

1938-1939 C. L. Biggs

1939-1940 Frances D. Partridge

1940-1941 Alex O. Benz

1941-1942 Thomas R. Heaney

1942-1943 Norton J. Williams

1943-1944 Grace W. McCurdy

1944-1945 Farrar Newberry

1945-1946 Walter C. Below

1946-1947 Clara B. Bender

1947-1948 T. W. Midkiff

1948-1949 Jeanie Willard

1949-1950 Geo. C. Perrin

1950-1951 John P. Stock

1951-1952 Luke E. Hart

1952-1953 Ernest R. Deming, Sr.

1953-1954 Lendon A. Knight

1954-1955 Agnes E. Koob

1955-1956 George H. Crowns

1956-1957 Louis E. Probst

1957-1958 Howard M. Lundgren

1958-1959 W. Cable Jackson

1959-1960 R. George Ransford

1960-1961 Walter L. Rugland

1961-1962 Arthur J. Barrett, Jr.

1962-1963 Edna E. Dugan

1963-1964 Joseph H. Sudimack

1964-1965 Frank H. Lee

1965-1966 Louise Patrick Stepanek

1966-1967 Harold J. Lamboley

1967-1968 T. W. Cheney

1968-1969 Louis E. Caron

1969-1970 B. C. Hallum

1970-1971 Robert R. Bryant

1971-1972 Nick T. Newberry

1972-1973 K. T. Severud

1973-1974 Michael F. Ettel

1974-1975 Henry F. Scheig

1975-1976 John H. Griffin, M.D.

1976-1977 William J. Wenger

1977-1978 David L. Springob

1978-1979 George E. Owen

1979-1980 Geraldine Towner

1980-1981 Arley R. Bjella

1981-1982 John A. Gorski

1982-1983 Edgar J. Martel

1983-1984 Virginia E. Farmer

1984-1985 Peter Daly

1985-1986 William B. Foster

1986-1987 Louis B. Engelke

1987-1988 F. L. Spanier

1988-1989 Edward A. Lindell

1989-1990 John G. Bookout

1990-1991 W. Patrick Donlin

1991-1992 Jacqueline J. Sobania-Robison

1992-1993 J. Michael Belz

1993-1994 William R. Heerman

1994-1995 William L. Eimers

1995-1996 Thomas E. Sheehan

1996-1997 James R. Opie

1997-1998 Wayne Graham

1998-1999 Vera A. Wilt

1999-2000 David J. Larson

2000-2001 Leroy Muehlstein

2001-2002 John C. Andrzejewski, III

2002-2003 Michael F. McGovern

2003-2004 Frederick A. Ohlde

2004-2005 Michael Stivoric

2005-2006 Michael J. Wade

2006-2007 Janice U. Whipple

2007-2008 Katharine E. Rounthwaite

2008-2009 Barbara A. Cheaney

2009-2010 Teresa J. Rasmussen

2010-2011 Mark D. Theisen

2011-2012 Stuart D. Buchanan

2012-2013 Joseph Gadbois

2013-2014 William B. McKinney

2014-2015 Harald Borrmann

2015-2016 Patrick Dees

2016-2017 William O'Toole

2017-2018 Kevin Marti

2018-2020 Timothy Kuzma

2020-2021 Cynthia Maleski

2021-2022 Gregory Temple

2022-2023 Craig Van Dyke

2023-2024 William W. Hunt

Past Presidents of the National Fraternal Congress

1886-1887 Leroy Andrus

1887-1889 John Haskell Butler

1889-1890 D. H. Shields, M.D.

1890-1891 A. R. Savage

1891-1892 Adam Warnock

1892-1893 M. G. Jeffries

1893-1894 N. S. Boynton

1894-1895 S. A. Will

1895-1986 W. R. Spooner

1896-1897 J. G. Johnson

1897-1898 J. E. Shepard

1898-1899 D. E. Stevens

1899-1900 Oronhyatekha, M.D.

1900-1901 Charles E. Bonnell

1901-1902 H. A. Warner, M.D.

1902-1903 J. A. Langfitt

1903-1904 E. O. Wood

1904-1905 F. A. Falkenburg

1905-1906 A. R. Talbot

1906-1907 D. D. Aitken

1907-1908 A. L. Hereford

1908-1909 C. E. Piper

1909-1910 Thomas H. Cannon

1910-1911 John J. Hynes

1911-1912 D. P. Markey

1912-1913 J. D. Clark

Past Presidents of the Associated Fraternities of America

1901-1903 C. H. Robinson

1903-1904 Lee W. Squier

1904-1905 W. R. Eidson

1905-1906 George R. McKay

1907-1908 T. B. Hanley

1908-1909 J. C. Root

1909-1910 E. W. Donovan

1910-1911 W. E. Davy

1911-1912 A. R. Talbot

1912-1913 W. A. Fraser

The National Fraternal Congress and the Associated Fraternities of America merged August 21, 1913, to form the National Fraternal Congress of America.

1886 National Fraternal Congress (NFC) founded.

1912 New York Conference Bill created

1913 A rival group, the Associated Fraternities of America, merges with NFC to become National Fraternal Congress of America (NFCA.)

1925 First woman president of NFCA elected (Bina West, Women’s Benefit Association)

1925 NFCA opens first national headquarters in Stock Exchange Building, Chicago.

1930 No fraternal benefit society fails during the post-stock market crash depression.

1935 First full-time NFCA manager hired.

1948 Fraternalists lead the way for a new type of insurance, a policy for children, by sponsoring the Juvenile Bill.

1952 NFCA passes resolution amending Pledge of Allegience with “Under God.”

1955 Model Uniform Code proposed by NFCA Law Committee and NAIC.

1985 NFCA adopts motto and logo “Joining Hands to Touch Lives.”

1985 NFCA headquarters moves from Wacker Drive in Chicago to Naperville, IL.

1986 Centenniel Annual Meeting celebrated in Washington, D.C.

1990 NFCA adopts Habitat for Humanity International as national cause partners.

1991 Plaque honoring NFCA member-societies’ contributions to Ellis Island restoration unveiled on Flag Day.

1998 NFCA launches its Web site.

2000 JOIN HANDS DAY launched.

2000 Fraternal societies complete 3,500th Habitat home.

2001 NFCA changes constitution to create new officer structure.

2004 NFCA headquarters moves to Oak Brook, IL.

2004 Fraternalists-in-Action public awareness program launched.

2011 NFCA becomes American Fraternal Alliance