1. Ask someone
2. Bring a guest to meetings
3. Advertise in newspapers & cable TV
4. Have a clear club goal & a strategic plan
5. Letters or personal contact with local businesses
6. Contact with Chamber of Commerce
7. Place customized bookmarks in library books
8. Have public meetings at malls, outdoors, etc
9. Have a booth at malls, fairs, festivals etc.
10. Place pamphlets in doctors’ offices, hospitals, cafeterias, libraries, etc.
11. Host an Open House
12. Hold a club assembly only on membership
13. If you have a Rotary Club, ask Rotary Foundation alumni to join
14. Give the membership chair one minute at every club meeting
15. Make the membership chair a club director
16. Put together guest information packets
17. Service projects that serve a need in the community
18. Invite family members to join
19. Send letters to people in the news with an invitation to visit the club
20. Print club business cards with club meeting location and time
21. Distribute extra copies of magazines that relate to your club in waiting rooms, etc (i.e.: Rotarian)
22. Hold high-profile meetings
23. Hold wine and cheese receptions for prospective members
24. Ask for help from RIMC/RIMZC
25. Have a special guest day
26. Send club members to district membership seminar
27. Make prospective members feel important
28. Honour outstanding community members with awards
29. Don’t take age into consideration
30. Make some meetings social events
31. Build a club web site
32. Use group email to promote your club
33. Put posters in public areas
34. Ask corporations and employers to sponsor or subsidize membership
35. Have a reward program for those who bring in new members
36. Create more fun
37. Give a money back guarantee—if after 3 months a new member does not want to be a club member, return their fees
38. Invite the media to cover well known speakers
39. Use word of mouth
40. Network with coworkers, friends, and family
41. Follow up with guests
42. Place a coloured dot on the watch of every member to remind them to bring a guest
43. Lead by example—how many members have you recruited?
44. Have members give talks at other organizations
45. Provide guests with free meals
46. Update your clubs classification survey
47. Look for members in ethnic groups not represented in your club
48. Provide brochures for new employee packets in members companies
49. Advertise at sports events
50. Ask the district for help
51. Hold joint meetings with other groups
52. Share your club experience with others
53. Participate in community events
54. Write letters to the newspaper about the campaigns your club is working on
55. If a prospect can’t attend your meeting due to time, suggest another club
56. Publicize club successes, elections, events, in local newspapers
57. Circulate the club newsletter widely
58. Design a club brochure
59. Hold recruiting events with two or more clubs
60. Form/join a speakers’ bureau
61. Wear your club’s pin
62. Mention your club at meetings of other organizations during announcements
63. Send newsletter to guests
64. When asked about your leadership skills & career success, tell them about your club
65. Ask the AG to attend a board meeting to talk about membership
66. Ask every member to submit 3 prospects to the membership chair
67. Make it FUN
68. Give every member a club decal or bumper stickers for their car
69. Give testimonials about your club while guests are at the meeting
70. Repeatedly invite prospective members
71. Practice selling your club at Club meetings—have a one minute elevator speech ready
72. Conduct a Membership Satisfaction Survey (RI Publication #417)
73. The club president asks three club members as a personal favour to each recruit one new member
74. Bring your boss to a club meeting
75. Make direct contact with women’s business associations
76. Bring your co-workers to a club meeting
77. Bring your subordinates to a club meeting
78. Have new member kits
79. Use books, brochures, videos and posters from RI
80. Hand out invitation cards for a “Free” lunch (breakfast, dinner)
81. Have members constantly promote and rave about your club
82. Meet at a good location
83. Assign every member to a 5 person recruitment team—each team brings in a new member every six months
84. Develop a strategic plan membership is a year-round priority and needs to be planned
85. Have incentives for recruitment
86. Have a large poster that lists all the members who have sponsored a new member in the past year
87. Select a missing classification and work on filling it
88. Display a thermometer showing progress towards club goal
89. Feature a member’s “benefit of the month” in the club newsletter
90. Induct new members with piazzas & invite spouse/partner
91. Develop a welcome letter from the president for all new members
92. Contact all members who have resigned in the past 3 years
93. Use billboards at bus stops and road sides
94. Ask club members to put club ads on their commercial trucks
95. Recognize new members in newsletters
96. Regularly check the RI web site for ideas
97. Subscribe to the Rotary Membership Minute on the RI web site
98. Invite spouses to social functions
99. Ask recipients of Rotary service or donations to speak for Rotary
100. Pass out M & M candy to remind members that “Membership Matters” and that we need “More Members”

As we look at today’s businesses and professional occupations, we see that in many cultures, men and women hold these positions equally. As it was in the early 1900s, Rotary should reflect the make-up of the community in which it resides. Clubs are strongly encouraged to invite both males and females to membership.

As I’ve visited many clubs around the world, I have seen firsthand that the clubs who have become dual gender are the stronger Rotary clubs. I don’t say this because I think it is the women who have made the club stronger. I say this because clubs that are balanced with diversity of gender (as well as race, religion and classifications), are generally stronger clubs.

Men and women have different strengths, different talents, different management styles and different ways of dealing with situations. It is this mix of differences that gives the club the ability to get things done most effectively. The all male or all female clubs are missing a great opportunity that diversity brings.

Now and then we hear from all male clubs that they are “open” to women, however they “haven’t found any” to invite. To that I say….open your eyes! 

R.I.D. Betsy

Greetings from Evanston!  On behalf of the Rotary Service Department, we are writing to inform you about the support we offer to some of the district chairs that you will be working with throughout the year.

Our department provides support to the following district chair positions:

·         Rotary Fellowships

·         Rotary Friendship Exchange

·         Community Service

·         Vocational Service

·         World Community Service*

·         Rotary Volunteers*

*Please note: the World Community Service and Rotary Volunteers programs have been phased out and are being replaced by a resource-based model for International Service. For the 2011-12 Rotary year, District Rotary Friendship Exchange, World Community Service, and Rotary Volunteers committees are being encouraged to work together to coordinate fellowship, service, and volunteer activities. In future years, district governors will be asked to appoint an International Service chair in place of World Community Service and Rotary Volunteers.

In June we emailed each group of district chairs an information kit highlighting their role and responsibilities for the year, as well as various online resources to assist them in their work.  Following are some important key messages we that we have emphasized to the district chairs:

·         Review the District Committee Manual (249-EN) for information and guidance on performing the functions of a district chair.

·         Encourage clubs to align their activities with the RI Strategic Plan.

·         Encourage clubs to undertake activities in each of the avenues of service to qualify for RI President Kalyan Banerjee’s Changemaker Award.

·         Encourage clubs to consider Rotary’s six areas of focus when planning new projects.  Refer to the new publication Rotary’s Areas of Focus (965-EN) for ideas.

·         Use RI’s ProjectLINK database to find project partners.

·         Visit the Service and Fellowship section of the RI website for information and resources related to planning service projects, making connections in Rotary, partnering, and other topics. This section of the website will be revised in early September, so please revisit then for updated information.

Our department communicates with the district chairs throughout the year with brief, topical email updates.  We will include you in these updates and we encourage you to share them freely with Rotarians in your zones.

Please feel free to contact us at rotary.service@rotary.org if we can be of any assistance to you.  Thank you for all your hard work and we wish you a successful Rotary year!

Best regards,

Jesse Allerton

Supervisor, Rotary Service Department

Susan Schneider

Supervisor, Rotary Service Department

Ryan Hall

Coordinator, Rotary Coordinator (RC) Program Rotary International ryan.hall@rotary.org 847-866-3830

District 5370 (Central/Western Canada), may have found a solution and is exploring the chartering of an E-club

We are currently conducting a survey to gauge levels of interest among existing members of clubs in this District and within Canada. If you are interested in possible membership of this E-club or would like to receive more information about its formation, please complete the attached survey. The results will used to determine its viability.

E-clubs are an exciting innovation by RI, offering a new form of Rotary participation. This first E-club to be established in District 5370, will be designed to accommodate current and former Rotarians who spend the winter months away and are not able to participate in regular club activities year round. Former members of Rotary who left for this reason may also consider this option.

Membership with an e-club requires the same level of Rotary “attendance” as a traditional Rotary club and the same level of commitment to the full range of a club’s activities and projects except that ‘meetings’ are conducted via the internet. Service projects may involve hands-on work and/or fundraising and fellowship may entail occasional social gatherings.  (Note: This is not an adjunct to current club membership – as you can only belong to one club.)

Send this to friends, prospective or former Rotarians who may have an interest in exploring this option and return the completed form no later than September 6, 2011 per instructions on the form.  The form IS HERE

Questions about e-clubs? http://www.rotaryeclubs.com  or contact PDG Elly Contreras miselly2@platinum.ca.

Karly gets a hug at Grande Prairie Airport

I could not post on the blog about Karly and her Rotary Youth Exchange in Japan until recently..  Now she is safe at home. The period we brought Karly home was, well – hard.  We are so grateful to have Karly home, yet so worried about what she left behind.   Host families,  host brothers and sisters, her Rotary Club, her school mates.  She was able to say good-bye to her host families and school principal, but not her friends or host Rotary Club.

Since August, 2010 Karly lived in Koriyama, Fukushima – 60 km’s away from the Fukushima power plant.  So when the earthquake hit we thought at first she would be staying, but it became obvious within a few days the danger from the plant was growing.

We are so thankful to Karly’s host dad.  I think he had enough to worry about – yet he drove for 7 hours from Koriyama to Tokyo using back roads, the main highways or trains were not an option.  After dropping Karly and another exchange student at the airport – Karly was airbound 4 hours later.  The other exchange student though didn’t leave for 24 hours.  Karly’s host dad refused to leave her side until she too was safe on the airplane.  He stayed with her another 24 hours in the airport.  He is our hero.

District Youth Exchange members Wayne and Rhonda in Edmonton airport

We have so many people to thank.   In Grande Prairie a complete stranger in the airport with he little daughter and husband  hugged Karly and started crying.   Rotarians were also heroes.  Three of the District Youth Exchange Team met Karly at the Edmonton airport and stayed with her for 3 or 4 hours during her lay over.     Before that many Rotarians from our area and elsewhere stood by with efforts and support.

Karly is doing great.  Yesterday she said she wanted to put efforts towards Japan fundraisers.  I know she will make this a positive where possible.  She is speaking for instance at an Interact (Rotary Club for youth) Charter Evening and Japanese fundraiser April 1 in Peace River.

Karly along with her Mom and Dad are pondering what the next 3 or 4 months holds before she attends grade 12 this fall.  (Youth Exchange years do not count education wise so she will be a year older and far wiser in grade 12 year).  She is thinking some studies,  some work and correspondence.  And, being a 17-year-old no doubt.

We have so many people to thank for their support.  It has changed our lives I know.   The Daily Herald Tribune did 2 stories.  Remo Zaccagna is an amazing writer with tact and care.

DHT March 17 Karly

DHT March 15 Karly

A family in the airport visits with Karly and discusses her ordeal. More tears.

Part of the process of moving forward in life is sharing.  So thank you for allowing us that.

UPDATE:  Rotarians in Brazil offered to take any exchange student that had to leave Japan.  What an offer.  We have accepted and are working on getting Karly to Brazil by end of April.  She will be there till July or August.  In return Rotary Clubs in Grande Prairie offered to host Brazilian exchange students who had to return from Japan.  (There were a couple in Japan from Brazil).  One has accepted and Luiza should be in Grande Prairie by end of April, hosted by Rotary Club of Grande Prairie. Out of bad luck comes good luck.  Thanks to Rotary.

Kevin D. Hilgers and Spouse Janice McNeice
Governor 2012 2013 – Rotary International District 5370 (In Western Canada)
Follow Kev’s Blog  www.kevinhilgers.com

Read more here.  Governor General of Canada

By Arnold R. Grahl, Rotary International News — 10 January 2011

Rotary clubs interested in taking part in one of four new pilot programs approved recently by the RI Board can now download an application form and related fact sheets.

The three-year pilots — satellite club, associate member, corporate member, and innovative and flexible Rotary club — will allow participating Rotary clubs to experiment with flexible membership requirements and club operations beginning 1 July.

Each one is designed to improve recruitment and retention, allow for flexibility in club operations and structures, and provide Rotary clubs with an opportunity to explore new and innovative ways to promote member diversity — all goals of the RI Strategic Plan. Other potential benefits include improved leadership, engagement, and participation among members and increased support of The Rotary Foundation.

The pilots will allow RI to collect data and analyze results from the participating clubs to evaluate the effectiveness of each change.

Clubs have until 1 April to submit applications to Rotary International to be considered for a pilot. Read more about the 2011-14 pilots, and download related fact sheets and an application. Information and applications are also being sent to each club this month. Up to 200 clubs will be selected for each pilot. Rotary clubs must have been chartered before 30 June 2009 to be considered.

Satellite Club

The Satellite Club Pilot Program will assess the impact of allowing a Rotary club to conduct multiple club meetings during a week, each taking place at a different location, on a different day, or at a different time.

Rotarians in the satellite club would belong to a host club but would meet at their own time and location and could have their own projects. This structure may be helpful in areas with many rural communities as well as in large metropolitan areas. The pilot could give a small, weak, or struggling club the opportunity to become connected to a larger, active, and vibrant club in a nearby area and receive ongoing support.

Associate Member

The Associate Member Pilot Program gives clubs a tool for teaching prospective members about the club and the expectations of membership before they join. Clubs would determine the length of time a person could remain an associate member before becoming an active member.

The pilot is aimed at potential members who may be uncertain of the commitment involved with membership. It will provide them with an opportunity to get acquainted with a club’s members, programs, and projects, thereby increasing retention.

Corporate Member

The Corporate Member Pilot Program will allow a corporation or company in a club’s area to become a member of the Rotary club and appoint up to four people to serve as club members. These corporate members will attend club meetings, participate in projects, and vote on club matters, and are eligible to serve as club officers and committee members. One of the designees must be a member of the corporation’s senior executive group, but the others could hold any full-time managerial role.

Only one of the designees would need to attend club meetings at a time, yet each would be considered an official member of the club and would be required to pay RI and annual club dues, as determined by the club.

Innovative and Flexible Rotary Club

Under the Innovative and Flexible Rotary Club Pilot Program, clubs will be allowed to change one element of its format or structure as an experiment. For example, a club might offer family memberships or conduct a blend of online and in-person meetings. The change should not duplicate another pilot, however.

The pilot is focused on encouraging Rotary clubs to be fun, dynamic, diverse, resilient, tolerant, interested in trying new things, member driven, inspirational, and relationship rich.

Contact ripilotprograms@rotary.org with any questions about the pilot.

• How do we determine our annual goals?
• How do we involve all members?
• Recommended Rotary Club Bylaws
• What is our club’s process for orienting new members?
• How many of our club members are involved at the district level?
• How does our club develop the leadership skills of our members?

………. and more!

RI President-elect Kalyan Banerjee will introduce a new recognition, the Changemaker Award, to accompany the Presidential Citation during the 2011-12 Rotary year.

RI President-elect Kalyan Banerjee will introduce a new recognition, the Changemaker Award, to accompany the Presidential Citation during the 2011-12 Rotary year.

Banerjee, who said he will encourage Rotarians to focus on change, explained that the Changemaker Award will recognize Rotary clubs that make an extraordinary impact through their work in the Avenues of Service.

To qualify, clubs will choose from a menu of activities and complete a minimum number for each avenue. All activities must be undertaken and completed between 1 July 2011 and 1 March 2012. District governors will select three clubs in the district — the top-performing small, medium, and large clubs — to be entered into a zone and international competition, culminating in the opportunity to be recognized onstage at the 2012 RI Convention in Bangkok, Thailand.

Activities include demonstrating a net gain in membership over three straight years (2009-12) for Club Service and conducting a career counseling or vocational training program in the community for Vocational Service.

The 2011-12 Presidential Citation will recognize achievements related to membership development and contributing to The Rotary Foundation, and will feature club and district recognition categories. The top 15 districts and 15 clubs certified by governors and validated by RI will be recognized onstage at the 2012 convention.

Clubs will select from criteria such as increasing the number of younger professionals in the club by 2 percent and inducting RI or Rotary Foundation program alumni. Districts will choose from a variety of goals, including 100 percent participation in the Annual Programs Fund.

For Banerjee, the Changemaker Award and Presidential Citation reinforce the work of each Rotarian throughout the year to make the world a better place through service.

Her Rotary club, chartered in June, has already grown to 25 members, including 12 new Rotarians who were recruited in a three-month period. The club has signed up for its first Matching Grant and international service project and has participated in more than 10 community service or hands-on volunteer efforts.

Ischkin shared her ideas on how to attract young professionals to Rotary during the International Assembly, an annual training event in San Diego, California. As a “proud, young, female Rotarian,” she is among only 2 percent of club members worldwide under the age of 30, and only 11 percent under 40.

“We need to focus on generating interest in young people for the future success of Rotary,” she said. “We are faced today with the need to grow not just for the sake of numbers but to create strong, young, global leaders who are going to help continue the success of the Rotary organization.”

Ischkin advocates a new outlook on membership and a different approach to club structure. As a change management consultant, she said she understands people’s fear of change. But she stressed that her approach doesn’t mean altering the core pieces of the organization or losing what Rotarians hold dear.

“What does change are what I call surface-level elements,” she said. “The pieces that individual clubs have the power to shift and redesign, such as meeting times and locations, program structures, club member involvement, and committee formats.”

Manage expectations

Ischkin’s club meets in the evening and lowers costs by not having meals. And it doesn’t hold a traditional meeting every week: The third meeting of the month is a happy hour/networking event at different locations in the city, and the fourth meeting is a hands-on volunteering opportunity.

Ischkin added that it’s important to understand the mindset of the new generation and manage expectations accordingly. Younger people are “always on the go and truly connected,” she explained, whether it’s through social networking, text messaging, or other means. They face a lot of pressure to be involved in multiple endeavors and to balance work and personal life. As a result, they may be “on call” with their careers, but they are no less dedicated to service.

“When you’re trying to recruit younger members or even sponsor and start a New Generations Rotary club, take time with your club and committee to outline what your expectations are and whether they will align with the younger generation you are trying to attract and work with,” she said. “Not every Rotary club can quickly shift gears to attract younger members; it takes time and baby steps.”

But for many clubs, she said, “all it takes is opening up your minds and starting to think differently about the future of your club’s membership.”