Within a Post meeting, every member in good standing has an equal voice, an incredible hallmark of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). One of the great strengths of our organization is that whether a comrade is newly joined or a decade-long member, his or her vote carries the same weight. At the grassroots level, the VFW truly embodies this. Beyond that, a Post’s voice is based on the VFW Delegate Strength
When decisions are made at the District, Department, and National levels, a Post’s influence is determined by its overall VFW Delegate Strength (IAW 222, 421, 521, and 621). For every thirty (30) members, or fraction thereof, a Post earns one delegate. These delegates are the voting power of the Post, much like electoral votes in the U.S. presidential election.
Example: A Post with 28 members in good standing as of March 31is entitled to one (1) delegate whereas a Post with 31 members in good standing as of March 31 has a VFW Delegate Strength of two (2).
For a growing Post that wants to shape the future of the organization, increasing VFW Delegate Strength can be crucial. Fortunately, there are simple and effective methods to amplify your Post’s voice. With greater knowledge comes greater influence, so let’s explore how you can boost your Post’s presence and power at every level of the VFW.
When Does VFW Delegate Strength Matter?
As mentioned above, the VFW Delegate Strength of a Post is most important during votes at a District meeting, District Convention, Department Convention, and National Convention. Read that again – District, Department, and National Conventions as well as ALL District Meetings.
Sure, it is not typical for votes at the District level to be highly-contentious, but know that only a VFW Post delegate and the Post Commander (or, in the absence of the Commander, the Post Sr Vice Commander or Jr Vice Commander) actually have a vote on behalf of the Post (IAW 404).
A “majority voice” vote is NOT what determines actions of the District meeting or convention, and for good reason. Imagine that your Post has 12 delegates, and a smaller Post has 4 delegates. However, at a District meeting, your Post has seven members in attendance, but the smaller Post has ten members in attendance. Should the smaller Post be allowed to cast more votes than a Post with more members?
Quick Tip: No matter if you are a member and/or delegate of a smaller or larger Post, getting something passed at the District meeting should be made in the form of a motion, and it is always a good idea to talk with others across the District in advance of the meeting in order to gain favorable momentum and support for your proposed motion. Doing that preparation, aside from just tallying VFW Delegate Strength for Posts for or against an idea, typically leads to greater success and helps make the District meeting run smoother.
Important Dates to Remember
VFW Delegate Strength is calculated ONCE per year, and that all-important date that you should remember is March 31st. As the calendar rolls from March to April, VFW National calculates your Post’s official VFW Delegate Strength. Those members with an expiration date after April 1 are still considered members in good standing and count towards your Post’s VFW Delegate Strength.
If your Post leadership is monitoring this as the end of March nears, a Post could potentially gain one or two delegates, and that could make a big difference, especially since that VFW Delegate Strength is good for the next twelve months – for the upcoming District Convention, Department Convention, National Convention, and each Regular Meeting and Special Meeting of the District!
Track Members in Good Standing
It is important to understand which Post officers can access the related membership information online and where to find it. As of the writing of this quick guide in July of 2025, the Post Commander, Quartermaster, and Adjutant were able to access the membership report that shows the Members in Good Standing data line (middle row). See example below. To others within the Post and the great majority of members in good standing elsewhere in the VFW, that second and third row (unpaid members) are not accessible. Knowing how to read, understand, and track the data on this report can be the difference between gaining or losing VFW Delegate Strength for the next year.
Imagine a scenario where the top line (that is accessible by all members in good standing within the VFW) shows a total of 400 members with a prior year total of 500 members. Your Post’s current membership percentage would then be 80%. Of course, you want to grow your membership percentage quickly and consistently, but the voting strength of a Post lines in that second line of information.
Using the example above, it is very important to understand the status of those final 100 members. Are they deceased? If so, those appear on the far right of the third line. If any of those 100 members still not counted in the paid row have expired memberships, they would be indicated within the Unpaid 1 Year total, a number that goes back 12 calendar months. Now, if most of the members who have not paid have expiration dates in the spring or early summer, you’d likely see them reflected in Row 2 under “Expiring.”
In the case of this Post, not knowing this information could cost your Post’s VFW Delegate Strength by a total of 4 delegates (since 100 divided by 30 is 3.33, you could be looking at 4 delegate votes). Have all 100 expired in the fall, or are they expiring in May and June?
Game Your Way to a Bigger Voice
When playing the VFW Delegate Strength numbers game, you want to keep an eye on the “Expiring” number on that second row. Click on that number and examine their expiration dates. You might even want to identify how many are expiring on April 30, May 31, and June 30. Take the sum of those expiring on March 31 or earlier and subtract it from the total on line two. Barring a bunch of deaths or outbound transfers from your Posts to other Posts that occur before March 31, that is likely the lowest Members in Good Standing Total you will have. Now, what does that VFW Delegate Strength equate to?
If, for example, you are examining this number closely during the month of March, how many have March 31 expiration dates? Remember that, if those comrades do not renew before March 31st, they will not count towards your VFW Delegate Strength, so you may want to check in on them.
As you near the month of March, you may want to consider some strategic tactics to grow your overall VFW Delegate Strength:
- Hold a special meeting near the end of March to vote on any new membership or transfer applications before the cut off. Remember that non-paying transfers might not help your membership percentage this year, but they will help towards your Post’s VFW Delegate Strength. Note that some Posts have voted to empower their membership committee to sign off and approve those additional, last-minute applications during that month. So long as the Post votes on it, it is completely valid and authorized.
- Call your Unpaid members again and encourage them to renew or upgrade to Life. Reminder to all that you should not wait to check in on your members – the first call to them should NOT be about renewal, but you may need to remind them that their membership lapsed.
- Increase Transfers from the At Large or Relocated Pool. There are members in good standing who do not currently belong to a Post within the Department or simply are members at large. Sometimes, veterans moved from another state and forget to check if there is a VFW Post near their new place of residence. Similarly, you may have a member at large who lives within your community. Your Post Commander, QM, or Adjutant can request At Large, Relocated, or Unpaid members who show their current address within specific zip codes near your Post. If you get them into your Post before the March 31st cutoff (and their expiration date is after April 1), they now count in your Post’s favor relative to VFW Delegate Strength.
- Incentive Renewals – Do you have some membership incentive money budgeted and approved by the Post? February and March might be a good time to use some of that. Maybe your Post offers half-off on life membership. Don’t forget to consider what National and Department-level membership incentives are being offered; can you leverage those and chip in some funds from your Post Recruiting and Retention budget to offer a deal a member just cannot refuse? Also, your Post may struggle to get enough members fully active in the mission of the VFW. In those cases, some Posts, when able, have an incentive plan to reward those members who volunteer a specific number of hours with an annual membership renewal or membership upgrade. Maybe all members who are in good standing by March 15th get an entry into a giveaway. The options to incentivize are only limited by the bylaws, law, and your creativity! Think outside of the box, get the plan approved by the Post membership, and execute your incentive plan.
- Sponsor a member or two – sure, it is important for a member to have “skin in the game,” but what if the Post is just two more members away from jumping one delegate? You may want to consider ways to cover a deserving member’s annual dues. That comrade might be struggling financially, and they may have to let the membership lapse and then renew in a few months. Of course, consistently checking in on your fellow comrades might bring this financial challenge to light. If he or she is active in the Post, maybe Post Relief money might be an option to offset the membership dues for the year. Maybe another Post member or a Patriotic Community Support or Business would like to sponsor a member’s dues. What if the members in question are still on Active Duty, Reserve Duty, and/or are a First Responder? You may want to sponsor their membership or find a community partner to team up with to sponsor their membership. Of course, this idea is not solely to increase your Post’s VFW Delegate Strength!
Actively working your lists, communicating with current and past members of your Post, and crunching the numbers will lead to your Post being better positioned and with an increased VFW Delegate Strength.
