IC13 - Strengthen Your Membership: Opportunities for the Growth and Future of Your Club
1. 2013 RI CONVENTION
Strengthen Your Membership: Opportunities
for the Growth and Future of Your Club
Moderator: Patrick Chisanga
Panelist: Virginia Kirn
Panelist: Haresh Ramchandani
2. 2013 RI CONVENTION
Strengthen Your Membership:
Opportunities for the Growth and Future of Your Club
Vice Chair of the Membership Development and Retention Committee
Patrick Chisanga
11. 2013 RI CONVENTION
GET READY FOR SOME NEW IDEAS!
Virginia Kirn will share
some strategies for
attracting and
engaging young
professionals
Haresh Ramchandani
will discuss
opportunities for the
growth and future of
your club
15. 2013 RI CONVENTION
The Rotary Club of Seattle
We recruited 75 new members under the age of 35 to our club.
16. 2013 RI CONVENTION
The Rotary Club of Seattle
• We are the 4th oldest club in
the world, founded in 1909
• We are the largest club in
the world with 600
members
17. 2013 RI CONVENTION
The Rotary Club of Seattle
• We are a formal
downtown club that
meets for lunch
• Historically we have
sought only Executives
for membership
19. 2013 RI CONVENTION
Culture Shift
• New Attitude – Capture the hearts of up and coming leaders and
make them Rotarians for life!
20. 2013 RI CONVENTION
Make Membership Attractive
• Generous discount on the dues
• On-site day care
• Happy Hour meeting times
• Hands on service in lieu of lunch
DISCOUNT
Happy Hour
Hands on
Service
Day care
21. 2013 RI CONVENTION
Make Membership Attractive
• Young Rotary Leaders
Committee
• Leadership Opportunities
• Facilitate access to their
interests
• Invest yourself in their
success
22. 2013 RI CONVENTION
How the Young Rotary Leaders Program works
1. Creates a welcoming
environment W E L C O M E
23. 2013 RI CONVENTION
How the Young Rotary Leaders Program works
Monthly meetings
for Young Rotary
Leaders
• 2
4 Fellowships
every year • 3
4 Community
Service Activities
every year
• 4
24. 2013 RI CONVENTION
How the Young Rotary Leaders Program works
Vet out prospective
Young Rotary Leaders • 5
Welcome new Young
Rotary Leaders • 6
25. 2013 RI CONVENTION
How the Young Rotary Leaders Program works
1 Young Rotary Leader
on each committee • 7
100% participation
towards TRF and our
Seattle Rotary Service
Foundation
• 8
26. 2013 RI CONVENTION
Find out more
• The Rotarian Magazine September 2012
www.rotary.org/en/MediaAndNews/TheRotarian/Pages/Seattle1209.aspx
• Recruiting video focused on younger members – watch for the
cameo appearance of Bill Gates Senior at the end!
Youtube.com/seattle4rotary
33. 2013 RI CONVENTION
Interdependence of the 3 RI Priorities
Enhance
Public Image
and Awareness
Focus and
Increase
Humanitarian
Service
Support and
Strengthen
Clubs
35. 2013 RI CONVENTION
It is a living management tool that:
• Defines a shared commitment
• Provides long-term direction
• Creates a framework to establish goals and objectives
• Optimizes use of resources (M&M)
35
What is club visioning?
37. 2013 RI CONVENTION
37
Why is a plan needed?
Tradition of
annual cycles
has not been
effective
Establishes a
multi-year
coordinated
plan
Need for
greater
Continuity, Con
sistency, and
Consensus
Ability of ALL
club members to
voice the focus
of the club
38. 2013 RI CONVENTION
38
Effective clubs are able to…
Sustain and
Increase
Membership
Implement
Successful
Service
Projects
Support
The Rotary
Foundation
Develop
Leaders
Beyond the
Club Level
39. 2013 RI CONVENTION
39
5 Planning Questions
Who are we?
Where are
we?
Where do we
want to be?
How will we
get there?
How will we
know when
we’ve arrived?
41. 2013 RI CONVENTION
Club Visioning Topics
41
Club Visioning
Topics
What do we
stand for in
the
community
Club size
and
attributes
All Avenues
of Service
Foundation
Success
Public Image
RI Strategic
Plan
42. 2013 RI CONVENTION
The Benefits of Club Visioning
1. Plan-Long range (strategic)
2. Annual goals (Actions and plans)
3. Continuity in projects/decision making
4. Consensus for decision making
5. Club members know “what we stand for”
42
43. 2013 RI CONVENTION
The Benefits of Club Visioning
6. Larger/stronger field of club leaders
7. Succession planning for club leadership
8. Involve all members in club activities
9. Membership Development
– Vision is what we recruit and retain to
10. Relevance to the community
43
49. 2013 RI CONVENTION
DID YOU KNOW?
Meetings
I didn’t know
that!
I want to
learn
more.
I have so
many
questions.
50. 2013 RI CONVENTION
I am going to ask you 2 questions, for each question I will give 3 options.
Please applaud for the option you think is the answer!
We are going to have some FUN with a ‘Did you know?’
meeting right now!
For almost the entire first century, Rotary experienced sustained membership growth virtually every year. During our first decade, annual membership more than doubled, and in our second decade, we grew, on average, by 20%. During the third through fifth decades, Rotary’s growth slowed, but still averaged 5%, adding 10 to 15 thousand Rotarians each year, except for small losses two years during the Great Depression, and two years during World War II.During the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and early 90’s, as our concept and organization spread globally, our average membership increase ranged from 1.5 to 4%, growing by 12 to 40 thousand Rotarians each year. For almost a century, Rotary knew only membership growth.
And then, almost suddenly, in 1997, Rotary’s regular, sustained growth all but stopped. Since then, we have experienced eight years where our membership numbers declined from one year to the next, the most we ever experienced in our history. Except for one year, our membership growth has been measured in tenths of a percent, when it occurred at all.
For sixteen years, since 1997, we have been stuck on 1.2 million members.
While membership in certain parts of the Rotary world increased, other parts have stopped growing and are losing members. The growth in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Central and Southeast Asia, Korea and India have been offset by the losses in North America, Great Britain and Ireland, Japan and Australia/New Zealand.
In 1997, worldwide, the average club size was 42 members; currently it is 35.
Clearly, one size does not fit all parts of the world. What increases membership in Korea, cannot address the challenges in North America. The successes in India would be hard to repeat in Great Britain and Ireland. The traditions of Japan are not the traditions of Sub-Saharan Africa.
What is clear however is that globally, Rotary is faced with a membership Challenge. We need to strengthen and to grow our membership, beyond the 1.2 million members, that has virtually been static for the last 16 years.
To lead our discussion today, I have two experienced Rotarians from two different parts of the world…
Virginia Kirn from the United States will look at strategies for Attracting and Engaging younger members, while Haresh Ramchandani from Jamaica will discuss opportunities for the Growth and Future of your Club.