Tag Archives: membership

Why it’s not good enough just to bring in new members

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A club member gets a turn in the driving simulator during the Rotary Club of Brisbane’s vocational visit to the Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety.

By Daniel Vankov, president of the Rotary Club of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

One of the biggest conversations around Rotary these days is membership growth. There are quite a few stories flying around and all of them provide good advice. But there is a second topic that is as important, if not more so, than membership acquisition, and that is retention. What can we do to keep these members we have worked so hard to bring in?  Continue reading →

The secret sauce to Rotary growth in La Crosse

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Members of the Rotary Club of Lacrosse-After Hours mug for the camera during a recent service event.

By William Pritchard, Rotary Club of La Crosse-After Hours, Wisconsin, USA

In La Crosse, Wisconsin, and neighboring communities, we have a high number of Rotary members and clubs for our relatively small population. There are eight clubs and 500 members for a population of less than 80,000. We are well-known in our community for the things we do, from planting trees and gardens, to building parks and playgrounds. But what truly makes Rotary special in the area is our ability and interest to work together – to keep the “walls” between clubs very low so it is easy to “step over” and work together on projects. Continue reading →

How we more than doubled our membership in a year

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The Rotary Club of Hundred Islands forms the Rotary wheel with club members and guests.

By Fely R De Leon, past president Rotary Club of Hundred Islands, Pangasinan, Philippines

When I became president of my club, I shared a dream with some of the officers that the club could have a hundred members. But how? We had only 31 as of 1 July, 2016.

I faced challenges on two fronts. I had to make every meeting lively and enjoyable. And I had to make ours the club of choice for those who were looking for a worthy organization to join. Continue reading →

10 tips to attract and retain quality members

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Edina’s junior police officer, a member of the Rotary club, shares safety information with students.

By Tom Gump, president of the Rotary Club of Edina Morningside, Minnesota, USA, and a District 5950 trainer

Since 1 July, 2016, my Rotary club has recruited and brought in 31 new members. Eleven of these new members are women and eight of them are under 40 years of age. The club has gone from being classified as a “medium” sized club in our district to being classified as a “large” club in just over nine months. How did this happen?  Here’s our tips: Continue reading →

Enjoying the benefits of dual membership in Rotary, Rotaract

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Petar Pešić addresses a recent meeting.

By Petar Pešić, a member of the Rotary Club of Nis, Serbia

Driven by a desire to help my local community, I discovered Rotaract when I was attending the Faculty of Law at the University of Niš, Serbia. In the Rotaract Club of Nis, I met a number of young people who, like me, shared an interest in improving our community. It made our actions easier that we all shared the same goal, and we took part in many projects that made us visible in the community. Continue reading →

3 meeting formats that increased our member participation

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Stacey Vanden Heuvel and Jeanine Gangeness, 2017-18 International Service Director, offer their reflections of the club’s values during a recent meeting.

By Stacey Vanden Heuvel, The Rotary Club of Rochester, Minnesota, USA

As one of the largest clubs in our district, we knew we had to do something to address our declining attendance and meet the needs of our diverse membership. Beginning in 2015 with a club visioning exercise, we began looking for ways we could be flexible and innovative. Here’s what’s worked for us. Continue reading →

Why we changed our meeting format

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Past President Chris Brand works the webcast computer during a recent meeting.

By Margie Kersey, Rotary Club of Stone Mountain, Georgia, USA

I love my club, but I was concerned. When I joined in 2006, there were over 60 members. By July 2016, there were only 43. We were adding new members every year, but we were losing more. Looking at the average age of my club, I was more worried – over 30 percent of the club was over the age of 70. The future didn’t look bright. Continue reading →

Lead with a passion for Rotary

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The Rotary Club of Central Ocean – Toms River, New Jersey, USA

By Michael Bucca, past president of the Rotary Club of Central Ocean – Toms River, New Jersey, USA

Passion is infectious, and that couldn’t be more true about Rotary!

I spent a wonderful year of my life leading a great group of people. I say it because I really mean it. The joy and pleasure that being president of my club brought to me is immeasurable. It caused Rotary to become a part of who I am forever.

This deep belief about Rotary had an incredible side effect, the members started feeling that way too! Continue reading →

How flexibility has benefited our club

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The club held a medical camp 16 July, conducting a variety of tests.

By Suman Satish Sharma, immediate past president of the Rotary Club of Mumbai Dahisar, India

Since our club decided to pursue changes in our meeting frequency and format, we have had many good results. Previously, we had taken a very conservative approach to the number of meetings, and our presidents found it difficult to find good speakers, leaving them little time to pursue meaningful projects. 

Following the 2016 Council on Legislation’s actions allowing greater flexibility, we decided to begin holding Continue reading →

3 tips for using social media to create a buzz

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Evan Burrell using social media to create a buzz

By Evan Burrell, Rotary Club of Turramurra, New South Wales, Australia

I’m sure your club puts a lot of effort into planning events like fundraising dinners, charity golf days, car shows, and changeovers ceremonies. You probably focus right down to the smallest detail. So why not put that much effort into promoting your event on social media? Continue reading →