Often prospective members attend a couple of our club meetings, and then we feel they should make a decision about whether to join. That process doesn't always give prospects time to thoroughly evaluate what being a member of the club would be like. Holding specific membership recruiting events is an evidence-based strategy for increasing your membership. An effective membership recruiting event is one that is intentional, with the defined purpose of educating prospective members about the club and membership. This is in contrast to inviting prospective members to a general Rotary Club event with multiple purposes (club meeting, doing a service project, fireside, happy hour, etc.), which have not been found to be as effective in actually signing individuals to membership.
So, it may seem like more work--now I have to add more tasks for my membership committee? These events for prospective members can be fairly simple to construct. Click “Read more” to see some great recommendations.
Often prospective members attend a couple of our club meetings, and then we feel they should make a decision about whether to join. That process doesn't always give prospects time to thoroughly evaluate what being a member of the club would be like. Holding specific membership recruiting events is an evidence-based strategy for increasing your membership. An effective membership recruiting event is one that is intentional, with the defined purpose of educating prospective members about the club and membership. This is in contrast to inviting prospective members to a general Rotary Club event with multiple purposes (club meeting, doing a service project, fireside, happy hour, etc.), which have not been found to be as effective in actually signing individuals to membership.
So, it may seem like more work--now I have to add more tasks for my membership committee? These events for prospective members can be fairly simple to construct. Some recommendations:
--Place: Set up a gathering in a place that will be flexible with numbers, seating, and ordering, and that will have minimal distractions that would interfere with the objective--talking about membership in your Rotary club. It might be geographically somewhat near your normal club meeting place. Think about places that would facilitate talking across the table and maybe even switching seats part way through. Make sure you think about your budget (or lack of one) as you select location--make it fit.
--Timing: Think about what is convenient for you and attendees. Breakfast, lunchtime, right after work time, evening--be intentional and consider offering a couple of different times and locations as you enter into this. Set an expectation of how much time--45-60 minutes is likely a good amount of time to focus on joining the club.
--Invite prospects at different levels of interest, including those that you haven't heard from in a while but have previously expressed interest. In the invitation, emphasize the casual, no-stress nature of getting together and talking about membership in Rotary.
--Be intentional about which club members you ask to participate. Engaged, enthusiastic members with knowledge of the onboarding process are ideal. Consider the numbers, too--if you have three to five prospects attending, six to eight club members is likely plenty. The goal is to stay on task with engaging prospects, answering questions, providing easy instructions for next steps in membership, providing inspiration with Rotary Whys. If you have too many Rotarians, it will be hard to stay focussed. Who you ask might be impacted by who the prospects are--use your instincts on whether to match or contrast backgrounds with the guest list.
--Have an event leader (host) who will know who is coming and will greet them, who will make sure everyone knows what the event is about, who will encourage seating in a way that mixes prospects with members, who will gently nudge conversations in the right direction, and who will wrap up the event at a natural conclusion.
--Make sure clear next steps are made easy. Having club application forms to distribute or cards with QR codes to direct to online applications make it easy. Bring club fliers and offer them as appropriate--for membership and for upcoming club events. Following up within a few days gives a gentle nudge. Leaving the door open with positive communication to those not ready to commit does two things: 1--makes it possible for the prospect to save face and be more knowledgeable for the time that they can commit, and 2--makes it more likely that the prospect will spread the positive word about your club, and might lead to other prospects.
--Clear communications are essential--letting everyone know the what, why, how, when, and where in enough time before the event and again more near to the event. Outline any guidelines that will make everyone more comfortable, e.g. any appropriate guidelines on bringing other guests, kids, or pets, attire, and being very clear on the purpose of the event--e.g. "You have previously expressed an interest in our Rotary Club. I am gathering a few members and prospective members for about an hour to discuss what membership is all about."
--Establish who is paying for what. If your club has a membership budget, Yay! If this is an add-on, be thoughtful about payment. Many clubs have members pay their own at events, and the club picks up the tab for prospects, but it can be done in many ways. Just make sure everyone is clear on it prior to the start of the event in order to avoid awkwardness. This should actually be more efficient than trying to arrange meeting prospects individually for coffee or lunch, and it is great for prospects to be able to meet each other.
I challenge you to plan and launch a membership recruitment event for your club. Keep it focused on recruitment and keep it realistic for your club. And have fun!
Membership Minute from District 5950 Membership Chair Kim Krohn