Need Ideas To Grow Your Club?

August is Membership and Extension Month, but growing club membership is tricky, especially in difficult economic times.  Still there are several Utah clubs which have been successful!   The most successful at attracting and retaining new members are doing 1 or all of the following three things:

1.      Constantly invite prospective members to hear a speaker, come to a social, help with a project. If it is club culture to do this, the club grows.

2.       Repeatedly employ the Penny Program: Set date of a Prospective Member Meeting with a GREAT SPEAKER (District has suggestions).   DG Jerry sends prospective members a letter inviting them to that meeting. Rotarians follow-up the letter with one on one personal invitations.  See DG Jerry's Invitation Letter (below).

 3.       The Membership Committee creates a list of “classifications” they would like to fill.  They take that list to a Club Assembly, and the club brainstorms together who will accept the responsibility to approach each of the potential members in those classifications.    Use a classifications list and your local Yellow Pages to come up with your list.

But here are some other good ideas and suggestions for growth from clubs throughout the state (in no particular order):

·         Strong leadership exemplified by Past Presidents and Board members.  Membership and guests are impressed by our leader’s obvious commitment to the Rotary mission.  Our leadership has been and remains energetic, charismatic and visionary and our actions speak louder than words.  A successful growing club must start with someone who embodies those characteristics. 

·         Engaging speakers or presentations. Do not schedule people out of obligation and avoid repetition.  Decline “salespeople” or blatant commercialism when they ask to make a presentation.

·         Recognize guests and make them feel welcome without appearing predatory.

·         Keep meetings focused and fast-paced!  Don’t put people to sleep.

·         Promote selflessness, make fun a priority and never take yourselves too seriously.

·         Never fail to trumpet your horn about you mission or presence in the community.

·         Stop to think about why you wanted to join.  Consider repeating that experience for someone new.

·         Find community involvement in fun events (i.e. July 4th BBQ fundraiser)

·         Regularly schedule hands-on service in fun projects and activities in which people want to get involved (such as Northern Wasatch Rotary Club's exceptional garden project pictured here)

·         Develop a membership composed of friendly, likable people with interesting and diverse backgrounds.

·         Make sure you have fun meetings everyone wants to attend.

·         Monitor your club image in the community.  Is your club well-respected with meaningful projects and influential membership.

·         We do not stress about attendance, but everyone wants to come because they want to be a part of what we have going on

·         Social Gatherings:  Our club has a social gathering at least once a quarter.  The purpose of these gatherings is to have fun and get to know our follow members.  No speeches, no fund raising, no business meeting, just fun.  Our examples of this are our Halloween Party, Christmas Cookie Exchange plus we have had St. Pat’s and Mardi Gras parties.  One of our best parties is our change of command party, (we do have a speech here).  We have had these parties catered and also pot luck and they have both been very successful.  Yes, drinking does go on.
 

·         Play together!  A club that plays together sticks together.  Needless to say our ski days, bike rides and bowling parties are always a great thing. Another very successful program we have is our annual Moab retreat.  Getting away for a weekend of fun and frolic is tremendous for building fellowship.  Plus we have had rafting trips to Jackson Hole and The Green River.

·         In our club we have never had a recruitment plan.  It is always suggested that if you know a person who would fit in is to ask that person to come to a meeting.  Usually after one meeting that person wants to join.  No pressure, just interest in that person.  Success breeds success.

Extension = forming new clubs.   Those forming a new club can choose to have the traditional weekly lunch meeting with a speaker, but  at least some of our clubs need to appeal to a new generation of Rotarian, people who can’t take 2 hours for lunch, people who want to be more involved in decision making from the get-go (versus waiting for a few years to be on a board), people who want to do service in less time at a lower cost.  Our experience is that “thinking outside the box” can frequently result in new members becoming passionate Rotarians.

Does your club have their plan to grow membership?

SAMPLE PENNY LETTER

SAMPLE CLASSIFICATION LIST (right click to download your own copy)