Category Archives: Membership

Rotary EcoClub offers diversity, variety

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By Steve Solbrack –District 5950 New Club Development Chair and a member of the Twin Cities Rotary EcoClub, Minnesota, USA

We chartered our new Rotary club in February 2019 with 25 members and a focus on the environment. The EcoClub is a non-traditional format designed to attract a segment of the population not currently served by traditional clubs. We began with 48 percent of our members as women, 44 percent under the age of 40, and an average age of 42. In North America, those demographics are unheard of in a service organization of any kind. Continue reading →

Innovation through Rotary

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Rotaractors

RI President Barry Rassin and Rotary directors with Rotaractors at the Rotaract Turns 50 Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.

By Alexandria Ritchie, a member of the Rotaract Club of Virginia Commonwealth University and the Rotary Club of James River, Richmond, Virginia, USA

Both Rotary and Rotaract have contributed so much to who I am as a young person. The spirit of innovation that I’ve found in this family has been instrumental to my journey.

During my very first meeting as a member of an Interact club, I listened as our faculty adviser talked about the project the club had just finished. They had raised funds to provide livestock to a family in South America. The livestock would benefit the family for years to come because it would help provide goods that they could sell in a local market for profit. I remember thinking how amazing and different this type of service seemed.  Looking back, I now realize that I was falling in love with this idea of sustainability. Continue reading →

10 things we can all do to grow Rotary

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Gary Bennett

By Gary Bennett, past president of the Rotary Club of Kelowna and current member of the Sunrise Rotary Club of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada

I read with great interest what President-elect Mark Daniel Maloney had to say about growing Rotary in the March issue of The Rotarian. He is spot on. Healthy membership is the life blood of any organization and Rotary is no exception. Because we all benefit from a thriving membership, all of us share a responsibility to help grow Rotary and bring in new members. President-elect Mark’s emphasis on growing Rotary is a welcome reminder of our opportunity to help. Continue reading →

Returned Peace Corps volunteers make great members

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Chief Matari and Charlie Masilae Hunt

Charlie Masilae Hunt, right, and Ben Matari, chief of the village in Vanuatu where Hunt served as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

By Charlie Masilae Hunt, Rotary Club of Denver LoDo, Denver, Colorado

Imagine increasing your club membership by 50 percent in just one month. That is what my club did this past January. As a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV) and a member of Rotary, I have had a dream for some time now of recruiting returned Peace Corps volunteers into our club. It is a natural fit. The focuses of both organizations are almost identical. So recruiting returned volunteers is certainly logical. Our club just had an induction ceremony adding ten newly returned volunteers to our membership. Continue reading →

What do beer, brats, and Rotary have in common?

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The Rotary Club of Madison South is known throughout the community for its Brat Stand.

By Angela Lingle and Ginny Olson, Rotary Club of Madison South, Wisconsin, USA

More than four decades ago, our club was facing disappointing returns on its staple fundraising events, a turkey shoot and light bulb sale, when inspiration hit. This is a story about how knowing your community, perseverance, and a little bit of luck can turn around just about any fundraising fortune and help a Rotary club raise money for projects while building awareness of Rotary.

Continue reading →

4 dynamite ways to find new members

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The Wenatchee Confluence Rotary Club’s new members class of October 2018. Membership chair Rob Tidd says do something to make new members feel special, like framing their certificates and interviewing them during their induction.

By Rob Tidd, District 5060 membership chair and member of the Rotary Club of Wenatchee Confluence, Wenatchee, Washington, USA

In January, we had 61 members in our club, an increase of about 40 percent from the beginning of the Rotary year in July, when we had 43. Our success has been based on two ingredients: encouraging friendships and promoting fun in Rotary.

But just as important to our growth has been a systematic and continuous follow up with potential new members. Too often a potential new member is approached once and then forgotten. Every club needs a champion or champions willing to take the extra time to stay in communication with every potential new member. I am often asked where I find all these potential new members. Our sources grow as we come up with new ideas. Below are some of the practical ways we have found members: Continue reading →

Is a corporate membership plan right for you?

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Members of the Humboldt Rotary Club pack food for the hungry in May.

By Christine Warrington, 2018-21 assistant governor District 6760, and a member of the Rotary Club of Humboldt, Tennessee, USA

Like many Rotary clubs, we were looking for ways to boost our membership two years ago when we heard about the flexible and innovative club models being promoted out of Rotary headquarters. We were excited and did a bit of research to see if one option, corporate membership, would work for us. I am happy to report the results have been phenomenal.

I have since traveled to many clubs near and not-so-near to share our success story with other Rotarians at Rotary events. We are at 75 members, up from 45 a little over a year ago and we anticipate growing to 100 members by the end of this year. Here’s a bit of information about how we did it. Continue reading →

Our top stories of 2018

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Rotary clubs of Guernsey and Guernesiais light the Government House purple for end polio.

Throughout the year, Rotary members have shared their inspiring stories here on our blog. As the year draws to a close, we wanted to take a moment to look back at some of the top posts of the year (based on views). Thank you for sharing, and keep telling Rotary’s story! Continue reading →

Lessons from a new club in Nuremberg

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By Kerstin Dolde, Rotary Club of Hof-Bayerisches Vogtland, Germany

It is beyond question that Rotary club charters are something special. The fact that the latest Nuremberg addition to the Rotary family was personally welcomed by RI President-elect Mark Maloney is even more memorable for the new members. But the composition of the club is also extraordinary: It consists of 42 committed members – 24 women and 18 men, with an average age of 42 years. Sixteen of them are former Rotaractors. The aim of the club is to connect people, hence the name: Rotary Club Nürnberg-Connect. Continue reading →

An innovative idea to promote Rotary in Ghana

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Displaying the district cloth.

Members of the Rotary Club of Sunyani Central, Ghana, with the District cloth.

By Dominic Kornu, president-elect, Rotary Club of Sunyani Central, Ghana

In Ghana, the public’s understanding of Rotary is still not where we would like it, especially as most projects take place in communities with little or no formal education, away from the larger cities where potential members would see what we do. Other misconceptions get in the way of people appreciating our cause or joining us. Continue reading →