Strengthening our Membership
Great clubs don’t happen by chance. They are a result of careful planning, thoughtful actions, and dedicated effort.
Welcoming new and more diverse members to our club is critical to expanding our reach as well as increasing our impact.
When we provide a fulfilling club experience, members feel valued and stay excited about Rotary’s work.
Did you know, in a typical year, we welcome about 150,000 new members into Rotary globally. And lose a similar number each year. And approx. 10% of new Rotary club members leave within a year of joining. Although this varies regionally, it’s a long-standing issue.
Why should increasing our clubs membership be one of our top priorities?
Growing membership will always be one of the most important goals for a club.
Why, because a club with more members has more people available to plan and carry out service projects and events. It offers the chance for members to make more interpersonal, community, and professional connections and build more friendships. A club with more members includes more people’s perspectives and experiences, which contribute to better decisions and outcomes, we can then make a bigger difference in our community.
Having more members means clubs can give more to The Rotary Foundation which then increases our dollar contribution by the power of investment with interest, which is then returned to us in 3 years via 1:District Designated Funds, 2:Grants, both Global and District.
Aging:
We must be aware that every year, our clubs average age increases. It is imperative that we that we need to be constantly addressing this fact.
Natural attrition is a fact, members leave due to reasons that range from Family issues, Rotary hasn’t met ones expectations, Work/life balance issues, Relocating to another town due to work.
Natural attrition is always there, so as a club, we must be constantly seeking new member opportunities.
Flexibility:
Understanding that each member values something different about the Rotary experience, whether it’s flexibility, friendship, family involvement, or serving the community. Our club needs to adaptable and willing to change. I think we are just starting to realise this, and we are already moving forward with these to new values. The commencement of Corporate Membership into Daybreak is just beginning, and this is exciting. Mehul and Glenn have been working on the strategies to implement this for our club, we have now spoken with a Banking firm and have another coffee date information catch up with a not-for-profit family support group on the calendar. It’s going to be exciting going forward to see how this pans out.
The above has been put together from various paragraphs of the September 2024 Rotary Leader, under Strengthening Your Membership..
Chris Preston
Membership Director 2024-25
