Membership Minute July/Aug 2010 | Rotary District 6150

The Membership Minute

July/August
2010

Club brochure promotes community involvement to prospective members

When it comes to recruiting new members, it’s important to illustrate your club’s ongoing efforts to address local needs. In a recent study, qualified prospective members overwhelmingly expressed an interest in Rotary club membership if it entailed active involvement in meaningful community service projects. And nobody knows the benefits of involvement in your Rotary club better than you, the members. So how do you communicate your club’s accomplishments to prospective Rotarians?

You can start by producing a club brochure to distribute to business professionals, guest speakers at club events, community leaders, or anyone you think could be a future Rotarian. You might also display your club brochure in local businesses — you never know who might pick one up and want to get involved. The brochure should advertise your club to prospective members, offering specific details about its accomplishments.

If you need assistance or ideas, download the new club brochure templates from the RI website. These customizable templates are available in three formats, for clubs with varying levels of technical expertise and software. The files include a Club Membership Inquiry Form, which can be inserted in the brochure and completed by those who want to know more about membership in your Rotary club. Clubs can use the forms to learn more about prospective members and invite them to weekly meetings, projects, or events.

Additional resources for promoting Rotary club membership include:

Word of mouth. Download a speech template for telling people about your experience with Rotary in under two minutes. The key? Be specific.
Membership Development Best Practices Exchange. Learn from fellow Rotarians’ successes, and share your club’s innovative strategies.
Prospective Member Information Kit. Include your club brochure in the kit to distribute to club guests.
New Member Information Kit. Educate new members about Rotary as part of your club’s retention strategy.
Videos such as This Is Rotary, Rotary Minute, Why Rotary?, or Welcome to Rotary. Provide links on your club’s website, and update the site weekly.

Top 10 tips for increasing membership

There are almost as many ideas for recruiting club members as there are Rotarians, which is not surprising considering Rotary’s diversity. While some universal strategies come up again and again, others capitalize on new technologies or aim to expand Rotary’s demographic reach.

Read the top 10 tips for increasing club membership on the RI website, and submit your ideas in the comments section.

Rotary coordinators help clubs and districts implement the RI Strategic Plan

A new development for the 2010-11 Rotary year is the Rotary coordinators program. Under this program, a network of 41 Rotarians work in partnership with the RI directors, regional Rotary Foundation coordinators, Public Image Resource Group members, and district governors to promote and implement the three priorities of the RI Strategic Plan in districts and clubs. Club and district membership committees may collaborate with Rotary coordinators to develop strategies for strengthening Rotary clubs.

Find information on this new program, including contact information for your Rotary coordinator, at www.rotary.org/rotarycoordinators.

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