Headquarters Address:
PO Box 68700
Indianapolis, IN 46268-0700
DC Address:
20 F Street NW, Suite 510
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: (630) 522-6322
About the American Fraternal Alliance
The American Fraternal Alliance unites 59 not-for-profit fraternal benefit societies operating in 50 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. Alliance member societies represent nearly 8 million individuals, making it one of America’s largest member-volunteer networks. Through advocacy, developing policy and providing opportunities for a broader understanding of fraternal benefit societies as financial providers and community service activists, the Alliance serves as a vital and valued resource.
Mission Statement
We unite members through advocacy, education and networking to advance the fraternal benefit society movement.
Vision Statement
A world where we live fraternally – United to improve the lives of others and be financially secure.
Our Directors

CYNTHIA MALESKI
CHAIR OF THE BOARD

TIMOTHY L. KUZMA
IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR

CRAIG VAN DYKE
SECRETARY TREASURER

WILLIAM R. O'TOOLE
DIRECTOR

KENNY MASSEY
DIRECTOR

KAREN HIMLE
DIRECTOR

PAT DEES
DIRECTOR

NICOLE GOURLEY
DIRECTOR

MICHAEL O'CONNOR
DIRECTOR

THERESA KLUCHINSKI
DIRECTOR

GREGORY TEMPLE
DIRECTOR

BILL HUNT
DIRECTOR

CHRIS MARTIN
DIRECTOR

ALLISON KOPPEL
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Our History
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 98 million hours in community works and contribute more than $486 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 8 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.
Click here to see a list of our 59 fraternal benefit societies in the United States and Canada.
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 |
2018-2019 | Timothy Kuzma |
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 |
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 |