By Barton Goldenberg, immediate past governor of District 7620 (Maryland and Washington D.C., USA)
If you’re a baker, you know that a great cake is made up of individual ingredients that come together to produce something special. A great Rotary club is like that, in that it is made up of a unique mix of ingredients. Here are the five that I have found in most, if not all, successful Rotary clubs.
Continue readingBy Ken Masson, President, The Rotary Club of World Disability Advocacy
The need for human rights for people with disabilities is worldwide. From the largest to the smallest countries, there are opportunities for Rotary to improve the dignity, respect, and quality of lives for people with disabilities. That is why we chartered the Rotary Club of World Disability Advocacy. We saw so many possibilities of what Rotary could do.
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Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a series of posts for Membership Month inviting experts to share how they reach out to prospective members, keep existing members engaged, and create an environment that allows new clubs to form and thrive.
By Andy Rajapakse, assistant Rotary Coordinator for Zone 8 and a past district governor
Last Rotary year was a year of opportunities for the Rotary Club of Warwick in Queensland, Australia. The club, chartered in 1932, had only seven members when I took office as governor of District 9640 on 1 July 2020. It dropped to three in March 2021. But on 30 April 2021, the club reported 15 members including eight women. It had 11 members under the age of 30 and three were previous members of a Rotaract club. What was Warwick’s magic?
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Editor’s Note: In September 2020, Rotary formed a task force charged with assessing the current status of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in Rotary and shaping a comprehensive action plan to help us further value and live those principles throughout the organization. This is the second in a series of blog posts from DEI Task Force members reflecting on their work on the committee and why it is critical for the organization.
Valarie Wafer, task force chair, is 2021-22 Rotary International vice president, and a member of the Rotary Club of Collingwood-South Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada. She has served as an RI training leader, 2018 Toronto Convention Host Organization Committee member, assistant regional Rotary Foundation coordinator, and RI president’s representative. (Read her full bio).
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Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of blog posts for Membership Month where experts share how they reach out to prospective members, keep existing members engaged, and create an environment that allows new clubs to form and thrive.
By Tom Gump
I am often asked “How do I grow my club?” or “How do I find members for my new club?” I have a great answer – Rotary alumni. These past participants of Rotary programs are an often-overlooked source of potential members with a built-in understanding of who we are and a past experience with how we take action to serve to change lives.
Alumni represent an incredible network of leaders engaged in service around the world. Clubs sometimes think about inviting them as speakers or using them as extra hands for service projects. But if we take the time, effort, and willingness to remove a few of the barriers that keep them from joining, we can experience the benefits of their insight and talent to grow Rotary.
Let me give you three powerful real-life examples.
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By Shekhar Mehta, 2021-22 Rotary International President
To grow is a natural phenomenon for everything. Growth is the only evidence of life. As Harvey Firestone, the American businessman who founded the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, said, “The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership.”
It is just as true for Rotary. For the last 20 years we had been at 1.2 million members and I think it is time that we add members and grow more. This growth to 1.3 million in 12 months may sound audacious but it is absolutely possible if we work on Each One, Bring One.
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Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of blog posts for Membership Month where experts share how they reach out to prospective members, keep existing members engaged, and create an environment that allows new clubs to form and thrive.
By KR Parthasarathy, assistant governor of Rotary District 3150 (Hyderabad, India)
Doing something good in the Rotary world has always been my passion. The reach and access that I was afforded as an assistant governor in my district in India made it possible for me to reach my goals.
My endeavor to grow Rotary in my region began with an idea to revive our 52-year-old community based Rotaract Club of Secunderabad. It was chartered in April of 1968 and is one of the oldest Rotaract clubs in the world. Until the last few years, the club was slumbering with not much activity and not a lot of member engagement. We started at the top, revamping the leadership and bringing in passionate and active people. We were then able to induct 30 new members and discover ways to get them involved in voluntarily community services activities that they were proud to participate in.
Continue readingEditor’s note: Membership is the life blood of Rotary. Surveys have confirmed that members join because they want to connect with other people and take action to create lasting change. For Membership Month in August we have asked several experts to talk about how they reach out to prospective members, keep existing members engaged, and create an environment that allows new clubs to form and thrive. This is the first in that series.
By Elizabeth Usovicz, Rotary International Director, Zones 30 and 31
Rotary connections are powerful, for both current and future members. After 16 months of lockdown, online business and virtual Rotary meetings, I recently met a longtime client for lunch. The restaurant we chose was quiet that day, and the dining area was empty except for one table.
Our fellow diners were two young men of different races. They seemed to be talking about business as my client and I were seated at a nearby table. We didn’t focus on their conversation until our ears perked up like hyper-alert terriers when we heard one of them say, “Rotary.”
Continue readingBy Rotary magazine staff
A prominent business leader recently joined your Rotary club. They run a global business and their customers are primarily Rotarians. Your club’s leadership team decides to pay this new member’s way to the next Rotary International Convention; they think the experience will inspire the new member to get more involved in club activities. The member mentions that they plan to have a booth promoting their business in the House of Friendship during the entire convention and probably will not have time to attend sessions. What would you do?
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By Carlito “Tolitz” Villanueva, Rotary Club of Baguio Summer Capitol, Philippines
We heal as one. Our communities were brought to a standstill by the COVID-19 pandemic. But now that vaccine is becoming available in the Philippines, we are slowly regaining our strength, confidence, and mobility to carry on our daily tasks.
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Rotary Voices 