Program Director — The Head Coach of Faith in Action

Fellow Program Director — the short version

You are the head coach of Faith in Action. Four pillar directors report to you. You sign Form SP-7 at year-end. You are the reason Columbian Award credits actually count.

In most councils, the Program Director is the Deputy Grand Knight — same person, two hats. In larger or more active councils, the roles split so the DGK can focus on second-in-command duties while a dedicated Program Director runs the pillars. This page is for the dedicated-role scenario; if you're both, read Deputy Grand Knight alongside this.

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What a Program Director actually is

Per Faith in Action's 2018 framework — which is the current authority, since Supreme doesn't publish a standalone Program Director handbook; the role is defined across the Faith in Action Guidebook, Form SP-7 instructions, and the Grand Knight Handbook (#915):

1. Coordinates the four pillar directors — Faith, Family, Community, Life.
2. Owns the Columbian Award scoreboard — you know, at any given moment, how many credits your council has earned in each pillar.
3. Signs SP-7 as the primary signatory (GK co-signs).
4. Is named on Form #365 as the council's designated Program Director (separate slot from DGK on the form).

You are not a pillar director. You don't run individual programs — the pillar directors do. You run the directors.

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The directorships, one by one

These are the people you coordinate — the slots your council fills on Form #365. The first four are the Faith in Action pillars the Columbian Award scoreboard is built on; the rest are standing directorships and special appointments. Not every council fills every slot — the four pillars come first, the rest scale with how active your council is.

The four pillars (Columbian Award core):

• Faith Director — Leads faith-based activities: Church support, vocations promotion (including the Refund Support Vocations Program), and Catholic education. Coordinates the council's part in parish events and diocesan initiatives.
• Family Director — Strengthens family life. Runs Keep Christ in Christmas activities, recognizes the Family of the Month, and promotes family formation and wholesome family entertainment.
• Community Director — Owns community service: Food for Families, Global Wheelchair Mission, Habitat for Humanity, disaster relief, and support for the elderly, disabled, and hospitalized.
• Life Director — Coordinates pro-life work: March for Life participation, the Ultrasound Initiative, pregnancy center support, memorials for unborn children, and refugee assistance.

Standing directorships:

• Youth Director — Guides youth programs: Columbian Squires mentorship, scouting support, scholarships, Coats for Kids, and athletics that serve young people in the parish and community.
• Membership Director — Leads recruitment and retention, coordinates Exemplifications of the Degrees, tracks progress toward growth goals, and makes sure new members are welcomed and engaged.

Special appointments & coordinators:

• Columbian Squires Advisor — Council liaison and spiritual advisor to a sponsored Columbian Squires Circle, supporting young men aged 10–18 in faith formation, service, and leadership.
• Food for Families Coordinator — Organizes food drives, donation campaigns, and distribution for local food banks and families in need; tracks donations for annual reporting.
• Special Olympics Coordinator — Coordinates volunteers and fundraising for Special Olympics athletes, organizes participation in local events, and tracks member volunteer hours.
• Safe Environment Coordinator — Ensures officers and volunteers complete required safe environment training, maintains the records, coordinates renewals, and liaises with diocesan requirements.
• Catholic Advocacy Director — Coordinates the council's advocacy: communicating Church teaching on public-policy issues, organizing contact with elected officials, and promoting civic engagement among members.

In DuesSync you assign each of these on Programs → Program Directors, and the same descriptions appear inline there (expand any row). Assignments flow straight onto Form #365.

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What you own

The four-pillar monthly scoreboard.

At every officer meeting:

• Report pillar-by-pillar credit count.
• Flag any pillar that's behind the 4-credit floor (Columbian requires minimum 4 per pillar).
• Surface upcoming pillar events to the GK and DGK for promotion.

Pillar director recruitment and retention.

• Help identify and recruit pillar directors each July (data feeds #365).
• 1:1 check-ins with each pillar director — monthly is ideal, quarterly is minimum.
• Fill vacancies fast. A dark pillar is a Columbian-killer.

SP-7 submission.

• Running draft, updated monthly from pillar director reports.
• Final compilation and submission by June 30.
• You sign first; GK co-signs.

See Faith in Action Pillars for what counts as a credit in each pillar.

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What you don't own

• Second-in-command presiding duties. If the GK is absent, the DGK presides — not you (unless you're both).
• Paperwork outside SP-7 and #365 program-side data. FS files #365; DGK/you hand them the data. You don't touch #1728 or #185.
• Meeting flow. The Advocate rules on procedure, the Recorder captures it, the GK presides. You report and listen.

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Why some councils split DGK from Program Director

Three situations where councils benefit from splitting the role:

1. Large councils (200+ members). DGK has a full-time job being second-in-command and GK-in-training. Program coordination across 10+ events per year is a second full-time job. Splitting lets both do their role well.
2. Councils running for State Council awards. Higher-tier awards (Double Star, Triple Star, state-specific recognitions) demand program execution at a level that needs a dedicated owner.
3. When the DGK isn't a programs person. DGK is often elected for leadership potential, not programming experience. A strong DGK paired with a strong Program Director who owns the pillar work can outperform one overstretched DGK trying to do both.

If your council splits the roles, coordinate tightly — weekly 15-minute check-ins between DGK and Program Director is the pattern that works.

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Fraternal year rhythm

July – August: Recruit pillar directors. Hand data to the FS for #365 by mid-July. Draft the annual program calendar (minimum one event per pillar per quarter).

September – December: Program execution peak. Monthly pillar director check-ins. Running SP-7 draft starts updating.

January – April: Mid-year credit audit. Schedule catch-up events for weak pillars. Lenten programs peak the Faith pillar in March.

May – June: Finalize SP-7. Sign. Get GK co-signature. File by June 30.

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Common pitfalls

• Trying to run programs personally. If you're chairing a Community event because the Community Director flaked, you're not Program Directing — you're absorbing. Fix the director.
• Ignoring the credit scoreboard until spring. The "we'll catch up" conversation in April is the conversation that loses Columbian.
• Not building a handoff binder. Program Director is a role where institutional knowledge matters — which parish partners work, which events flopped, which pillar directors are reliable. Write it down.

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One more thing

The best Program Directors I've watched don't get credit for individual programs — the pillar directors do. That's the whole point. Your job is to make your pillar directors visible, not to be visible yourself.

Coach them. Track the scoreboard. Sign SP-7. That's the job.

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Source notes. Because Supreme doesn't publish a standalone Program Director Handbook, the authoritative sources for this role are the Faith in Action Guidebook (kofc.org/faithinaction), Form SP-7 instructions, and the Grand Knight Handbook (#915). Also draws on Faith in Action program documentation (2018 launch). Send feedback if anything's off.

Last reviewed: May 22, 2026. Fraternal year 2025–26.