Star Council Requirements

For the Council to earn the Star Council Award they must complete the following:

In Membership the Council must earn the Father McGivney Award,
In Fraternal Benefits the Council must earn the Founders Award,
In Programs the Council must earn the Columbian Award

The Council must also meet all the Administrative Requirements:

All Supreme Assessments are current, and the Council is in good standing with Supreme,
The Council must be Safe Environment Compliant
The Council must submit the Following required forms:
#185 form naming the Council Officers,
#365 form naming the Program Personnel,
#1295 form that reports on the Council’s financial health for the year.
#1728 form that reports the Council’s Fraternal Activities
SP-7 form that identified the various programs the Council has conducted during the Fraternal Year.

Father McGivney Award*

The Council must attain its New Member Supreme assigned goal. The Award is designed to ensure that Councils continue to grow by adding new members and ideas.

The goal of 6% of new members is based on the current total Council Membership at the beginning of the new Fraternal Year (July 1),
The minimum requirement is at least 5 new members with a maximum of 15 new members for those very small or very large Councils.
new Fraternal Year (July 1), and only new members will count towards the Council's new member goal - transfers into the Council will not count.

Service Program Personnel Report

Knights of Columbus Form #365 is the Service Program Personnel Report. It is a mandatory administrative document used to officially notify the Supreme Council of a local council's newly appointed service program directors and committee chairs for the upcoming fraternal year.

Core Purpose & Impact

Award Eligibility: Submitting Form #365 by the August 1st deadline is a strict, baseline requirement for a council to qualify for major annual recognitions. This includes the Star Council Award, the Columbian Award, the Father McGivney Award, and the Founders' Award.

Information Pipeline: Filing this form ensures that local directors are added to the Supreme Council's communication database. This allows them to directly receive critical program materials, leadership guides, and updates like the Knightline newsletter.

Roles Reported on Form #365

The Grand Knight utilizes this form to report the names and unique membership numbers of individuals appointed to key council roles:

Program Director
Faith, Family, Community, and Life Directors (Faith in Action)
Membership Director and Retention Chairman
Health Services and Public Relations Chairs
Recruitment and Insurance Promotion Chairmen
Form #365: Due August 1st

Columbian Award

The Council must attain its Columbian Award. The Award is designed to ensure that the Council is actively working in its Parish, Community and Council with programs that support our Catholic Faith, our families, our community, and organizations that fight abortion and promote life. There are 3 required requirements:

Requirement 1 – The Council must donate $500 of value towards one of the following programs:

ASAP (Cash or items)
Food for Families (Cash or 1000 lbs. of food)
Coats of Kids
RSVP)

Requirement 2 – The Council must complete 1 program (cannot reuse a program used to fulfill Requirement 1) in each of the following categories:

Faith
Family
Community
Life

Requirement 3 – The Council must complete one of the following:

Conduct the COR program monthly (must also include the name and the email address of the Council’s EFF Director)

3 Unique Programs/Activities from each group:
Building fraternity
Bringing men closer to Christ
Serving the Parish or Community

2026-2027 Administrative Requirements

The Council must also complete all the Administrative Requirements. These are designed to ensure the Council is being financially managed appropriately and is put in a position to earn the Star Council Award. All requirements must be met prior to June 30th.

All Supreme Assessments are current, and the Council is in good standing with Supreme,
The Council must be Safe Environment Compliant. This is a Supreme mandated program designed to provide a basic level of protection from a lawsuit claiming KofC negligence involving a minor during a KofC program.
The following Council members must successfully complete the two training classes: Grand Knight, Program, Family, and Community Directors.
The Family and Community Directors must also agree to allow a Background Check.

The Council must submit the Following required forms:

#185 form lists the Council Officers; the information is essential for conducting official KofC business and direct mail communications with the officers (Due 7/1).
#365 form lists the Program Personnel; the information is essential for direct mail communications to the Directors. For the form to be accepted by Supreme it must identify a Program, Community, Family, and Membership Directors as well as a Retention Chairman (Due 7/1).
#1295 form (Annual Council Audit) reports on the Council’s financial health for the year (Due 8/15).
#1728 form (Annual Fraternal Activity Report) identifies the Council’s Fraternal Activities for the previous Fraternal Year.
SP-7 form (Columbian Award Application) has changed significantly for the year 2026-2027. It greatly simplifies the reporting method and is used to identify the various programs the Council has conducted during the Fraternal Year (Due before 6/30).
Form #SP-7: Due June 30th

Founder’s Award*

The Council must attain its Fraternal Benefits Supreme assigned goal. The Award is designed to ensure that the Council membership that is not already taking advantage of our wide-ranging Fraternal Benefits becomes aware of them.

Based on the current Associate Council Membership at the beginning of the new Fraternal Year (July 1), 10% of the Council’s Associate and new members must meet individually with a field agent for financial review.
The minimum requirement is at least 5 new members with a maximum of 15 new members for those very small or very large Councils.

Annual Survey of Fraternal Activities

Key Purpose

IRS Compliance: The data collected is vital for maintaining the Knights of Columbus's 501(c)(8) fraternal tax-exempt status by proving its charitable contributions to the community.

Impact Tracking: It aggregates the overall global impact of the organization, tracking total monetary donations and volunteer hours.

Core Data Collected

The form asks the Grand Knight and Financial Secretary to tally specific metrics across several key categories:

Meetings Held: The total number of regular and special fraternal meetings conducted.
Charitable Disbursements: Total funds donated to church activities, community projects, youth programs, and pro-life causes.
Volunteer Hours: Total service hours dedicated to "Faith in Action" programs, including faith, family, community, and life initiatives.
Fraternal Commitments: Specific counts of blood donations, masses held for deceased members, and visits to the sick or bereaved. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Submission Details

Due Date: The form tracks activities from January 1 through December 31 and must be submitted by January 31 of the following year.

Submission Method: It can be submitted electronically through the Knights of Columbus Officer Forms Portal or via email to the fraternal mission department.

Supporting Tools: Individual members often track their data using the companion tool Form #1728A (Individual Member Survey Worksheet) to help leadership accurately calculate the council totals.

For Additional Information:

Kenneth Yunker, Jr., Chairman – Awards and Star Councils