After 35 club visits, I am confident our clubs are transitioning well into the new Rotary year -- all engaged in great Rotary work, fundraising and fellowship.
Though September brings us to Rotary’s Basic Education and Literacy month I’d like us to keep August’s Membership theme in the forefront through the year. Membership Chair Steve Solbrack contributed a great article for this issue with District 5950 statistics and helpful resources.
While recruiting new members, let’s make it a priority to take really good care of the members we have. Retention is the real issue. Steve and his team have set a goal to reach 3,000 members this Rotary year; we started with 2,812. That’s only three new members per club. Keep those we have by treating every member like we would our customers:
Make raving fans of them so they won’t even consider leaving.
Get them engaged and empowered…then get out of the way.
That doesn’t mean abandoning them. Remember, young business professionals want us to mentor them (aka Rub shoulders with people of significance) while they assume leadership positions. We seasoned club members need to step forward as mentors and sponsors to newer members. Also note Steve’s statistic that Year 2 is the critical year for a new member.
Education and Literacy is well embraced in 5950 with clubs involved in multiple programs: scholarships, STRIVE, ethics programs, mentoring, Camp Enterprise, RYLA, and dictionary or book programs to name a few. Clubs’ international projects that provide infrastructure improvements in developing countries are truly school-related because they improve the community’s education capacity. Water provision and rest rooms in schools keep children healthy; they also allow families to focus on education, not on retrieving water.
Keep up the great work 5950! Thank you for allowing me to be your district governor this year. I am humbled and proud. Each of you is a Gift to the World through your Rotary membership.
Posted by Jeff Ohe (Edina), Special Gift Committee Chair, District 5950 AG Coordinator 2015-2016
An anonymous District 5950 Rotarian has donated $1 million to support international projects initiated by clubs in District 5950! This amazing gift will further leverage grant projects’ power to improve lives of those less fortunate in our global community.
The gift specifically supports three of Rotary’s Areas of Focus: Waterand Sanitation, Disease Prevention and Treatment, andMaternal and Child Health.
Clubs’ grant applications must address one of these Areas and follow Rotary Foundation grant guidelines.
A special committee of District 5950 and 5950 Rotary Foundation leaders will oversee this fund. They will consider grants prior to the 15th of each month, forwarding applications that meet the gift criteria to Global Grants Committee Chair Todd Bollig (Eden Prairie Noon) for review, approval, and recommendation to The Rotary Foundation.
An example of the potential leverage this gift creates:
Club funds: $10,000
District Match: $10,000
TRF Award: $15,000
Total: $35,000
Special fund match: $35,000
TotalProject$70,000
This generous gift gives District 5950 an unprecedented opportunity to Be a Gift to the World. Please forward your questions about the gift criteria to Jeff Ohe at 612-859-2726 or jeff.ohe@gmail.com.
Posted by Steve Solbrack (St. Louis Park), District Membership Chair
RI President K.R. Ravindran asks, “How can we add more value to Rotary membership so that more will join and fewer will leave?” Yes, each of us can invite prospective members to attend Rotary, work on our elevator speech, and tell our Rotary story.
But the big question is, “How do we decrease the number of Rotarians leaving Rotary each year?” District 5950 adds about 338 new members each year. But we lost an average of 364 members during the same reviewed years. How many left because they did not receive value from their membership, did not feel engaged, or did not find the networking and fellowship opportunities they were looking for?
What can you do to help your club become more vibrant and more attractive to current and prospective members? Do you treat your members like customers, with a focus on customer satisfaction? Do you help them appreciate the benefits of membership? Do you immediately engage new members, and continue engaging long-time members?
The greatest risk for member termination is in Year 2 of membership. If a new member is not fully engaged, in Year 2 the questions and doubts surface. Make sure you have one-to-one conversations with newer Rotarians throughout their first three years of membership to help them get engaged and understand the value of Rotary membership.
Get membership and retention ideas from the RI document, “Be a Vibrant Club.” To invite a District Membership Committee member to speak at your club or meet with your board, contact me at steve@solbrack.com or 612-578-8776.
Basic education and literacy is one of Rotary’s six Areas of Focus. Consider these facts:
If all women completed primary education, there would be 66% fewer maternal deaths.
A child born to a mother who can read is 50% more likely to survive past the age of five.
If all students in low-income countries left school with basic reading skills, 171 million people could be lifted out of poverty, which would be equivalent to a 12% cut in world poverty.
Rotary clubs all over the world are taking action to enhance basic education and literacy in their communities. Every community has different needs and different opportunities for service. RI’s publication, “Basic Education and Literacy: Project Strategies,” helps clubs ask the right questions, identify real needs, and make the greatest possible impact with the time, energy, and resources you have at your disposal.
Want to learn more about Rotarians’ education and literacy efforts around the world? Click on this Rotary Weekly newsletter.
Finally, enjoy this timely message from everyone's favorite, Blondie. (9/8/15 by Chip and Dean Young)
Bulletin Editor
Cheri Ashfeld
(If you have any comments or questions, please contact the editor)
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Fall Trainingis Friday, September 25 at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Represent your club, learn from speakers and sessions, meet Rotarians from all 64 clubs, then take new ideas back to your own club. Register online by the September 15 deadline. Training fees allow every club to register up to ten attendees for free.
District Governor nominationsfor the 2018-19 Rotary year are due Friday, September 18. To nominate a district leader, or for more information, contact Past District Governor Jim Nelson at jnelson@briggs.com or at 612-889-7309.
Polio Survivors’ conference is October 2 Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute's conference. “Life After Polio -- Realities & Practicalities” is an opportunity to join other 5950 Rotarians in this day-long conference that provides information and hope to those who survived polio but now deal with chronic health conditions. Register online.
Global Scholarships applicationsare due September 30, 2015 to District Scholarship Committee Chair Ellen Kennedy at kennedy@worldwithoutgenocide.org.District 5950 will provide funding for up to two Global Grant Scholarships for graduate study outside of the U.S., where the area of study and applicant’s planned vocation is in one of The Rotary Foundation’s six Areas of Focus.
On July 1 the Echo Press told how the Alexandria Rotary Club partnered with Pope Douglas Solid Waste Management and Habitat for Humanity to recycle Old TVs and computers
If your Rotary Club has been in the news lately and you'd like the rest of the district to know, please email jeanne.zetah@hotmail.com to share some details and include the link to the article.
Greetings 5950!
Rotary clubs all over the world are taking action to enhance basic education and literacy in their communities. Every community has different needs and different opportunities 
