Taking Action on the Membership Challenge

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Taking Action on the Membership Challenge

• Keys to Recruiting and Retaining Members

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Over the past century, Rotary Clubs have covered
the world
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Rotary Membership increased dramatically during
the last century
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For the past decade, Rotary membership growth
stagnated and then dramatically regained an
upward trend
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What excuses do we hear about meeting the
Membership Challenge?

• Recruiting has been difficult
• Younger people dont seem to have the time
  available for Rotary
• Changing economy
• Membership attrition

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Do we spend enough time and effort Recruiting New
Rotary Members and Retaining Them?

• In business we spend a significant effort
• in recruiting and inducting new
• staff members
• We also invest a lot of time
• and effort in recruiting new
• customers.

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Lets meet the Membership Challengewith
provenformulas...
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membership

• E 3R
• Extend
• Recruit
• Retain
• Revitalize

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Extend Form New Clubs

• Opportunity for more people to participate in
  Rotary by offering more options in your
  community
• Time of day
• Day of Week
• Location
• Club Size
• Open Classifications

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Recruit New Members

• Set a challenging goal for your club
• How do you feel when you see a low or no growth
  goal?
• Do you feel energized and really challenged?
• How about a goal of 3? 6? 9? 12 15 more??

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Recruit New Members

• Recognize the urgency of Rotary Membership
• Were either Expandable or Expendable -Robert
  Schuller
• Utilize a fireside chat to brief entire family
  before induction

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Retain Your Current Members

• Members are the life blood of a Rotary Club
• Your clubs most valued asset is its members
• Nurture and grow your membership!

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Orient the new member properly

• Member and spouse if possible
• Evening of Rotary orientation
• Club History and Projects
• Four Avenues of Service
• Rotary International
• The Rotary Foundation

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Induct new members properly

• Significant ceremony with spouse
• Provide (options)
• Four Way Test
• Object of Rotary
• Rotary Basic Library
• Certificate of Membership
• Pin, Badge, Banner
• Publications

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Educate the New Member

• Many members of a typical club may know very
  little about Rotary
• Some members who leave were never really
  knowledgeable Rotarians

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Educate the New Member

• Rotary program once a month
• Good Rotary speakers
• Ambassadorial Scholars, youth exchanges, RYLA
  participants, GSE, Rotaract, Interact...
• Videos about Rotary
• PowerPoint presentations from the Rotary website
  (www.rotary.org)

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New Member Badge

• Give a Red Badge and a list of requirements to
  meet before
• being given a Blue Badge
• Potential requirements
• club attendance serving as sergeant-at-arms,
  greeter, song leader, club committee member
  presenting programs making up at another club
  attending board meeting and club social activity
  and/or fund raising event district event
  attendance

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Involve the Rotarian in

• Club Committees
• Fund Raisers
• Board Meetings
• Club Meetings
• Club Social Activities

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Assign the new club member

• as a delegate to the
• district conference
• and have them report
• to the club

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Ask the new member

• to find two or three other new members from among
  his/her peer group

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What can be done for small clubs?

• Continue with current recruiting/retention
  approach?
• Merge with another club?
• Give up Charter and Disband?
• Answer Revitalize!

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Revitalize a small club

• Evaluate current logistics
• Draw up a demographic profile
• Compile a classification survey listing business
  and professional activities in your community
• Are you making full use of all types of
  membership?

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Revitalize a small club

• Invigorate Programs and Activities
• focus on service projects that make a vital
  contribution to the community
• establish good working relationships with the
  local media
• What are your clubs best assets?
• Use methods similar to new club extension where
  existing nucleus is weak

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membership

• E 3R
• Extend
• Recruit
• Retain
• Revitalize

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Why Join Rotary?

• Past Rotary International President Richard King
  gave us twenty answers to this question...

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Why Join Rotary?

• 1. Friendship
• 2. Business Development
• 3. Personal Growth and Development
• 4. Leadership Development
• 5. Community Citizenship

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Why Join Rotary?

• 6. Continuing Education
• 7. Fun
• 8. Development of Public Speaking Skills
• 9. Citizenship in the World
• 10.Assistance When Traveling

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Why Join Rotary?

• 11. Entertainment
• 12. Development of Social Skills
• 13. Family Programs
• 14. Vocational Skills
• 15. Development of Ethics

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Why Join Rotary?

• 16. Cultural Awareness
• 17. Prestige
• 18. Nice People
• 19. Absence of Official Creed
• 20. Opportunity to Serve

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WhoTouchedYou?And made you a Rotarian?
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AndWhoWill You Touch?
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How can we meet the Membership Challenge?We Must
Lead.Rotary Club Officers areLeaders of
Leaders.Leaders Like to be Led.We must also
Lead by Example.
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When Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, he
tried over 2000 experiments before he got it to
work...
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I never failed once.It just happened to be a
2000-step process. - Thomas Edison
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An example of leadershipEdison NJ USA Rotary
Club

• July 1997
• 18 members
• November 1998
• 58 members
• Sponsored a Rotaract Club
• Sponsored Seven Interact Clubs

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Light up your club with new members!
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Taking Action on the Membership Challenge

• Additional resources are available at
  www.rotary.org on task force web pages and
  discussion forums

(bobnelson20854_at_yahoo.com)
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Presentation developed byRobert W. Nelson10701
Stanmore DrivePotomac, MD 20854 USAEmail
bobnelson20854_at_yahoo.com