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Note: Rotary International is publishing this article in their monthly blog.
During the 2016-17 Rotary year, my Rotary club recruited 31 new members. Eleven are women and eight are under 40 years of age. The club moved from 68 members to 94 members in just over nine months. How did this happen?
Know your club’s strengths. If you meet in the morning, you will probably be a good fit for a 9-to-5 employee. Meeting at noon is more likely to appeal to retirees or parents of school-age children. If a prospect’s schedule doesn’t fit your format, recommend him/her to another club. Let all the clubs in your area know you are looking for members; they may send you someone whose schedule fits your format better than their own.- Keep a list of potential recruits. Whether on paper or electronic, a list reminds you of people who may be a fit for your club.
- Make recruiting the top priority in your club. You, the club president, can't do everything. Let your members know that recruiting is the top priority so they can all help. New members - with new energy – provide more people raising money for The Rotary Foundation, serving on committees, and inviting additional members to your meetings and fun events.
- Create a letter that lists all the great things about your club. List your star members, the advantages of where your club meets, how many members it has, etc. Make sure to tailor the email/letter to a potential member’s priorities.
- List potential areas of responsibilities. Potential members will want to know how they can fit in and what opportunities there are for serving.
- Be persistent. There will be times that it takes literally a dozen requests to get someone to a meeting. Keep asking. A prospect may come to a meeting, then tell you s/he can't join now or aren’t interested in joining. These are good answers as long as you keep in touch.
- Talk about Rotary wherever you go. At church, temple, work, neighborhood events, family gatherings, parties, etc. You'll be amazed how easy it is after you practice for a while. Getting a lot of “no” answers built my confidence because it didn’t hurt as bad as I expected, and most people were actually happy I asked, even if they said No. It’s always a good time to recruit.
- Celebrate when you get a new member. This gets the club excited about getting more members. Our club makes a poster of the individual after s/he has been voted in and we put it in the front of the room at our next meeting and when we induct a new member.
- Realize there is no finish line. Even if you are at the size that your club wants to be, there are always reasons people leave. New insights always benefit a club. You're either growing or you're dying.
- Be Vibrant. Wear a turkey suit before Thanksgiving. (It’s only your dignity you’re losing!) Wear a lanyard with lots of “flair”/Rotary pins to get people talking to you. Make outrageous centerpieces for your meeting tables because it gets people talking to each other. Greet people outside and hold the door open for them, showing you care.