membership forum
Membership.... plus !! - District membership taskforce
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Sometimes Rotarians moan when they hear the words that we need to be mindful of increasing
membership numbers – but please bear with me – because it is to the credit of every club that we are currently in a nett gain position for membership this Rotary year – the first time for some years.
I sincerely wish to say how positive this is for the district and hopefully this means that we have turned a corner and can look forward to nett growth in the years that follow. The credit for this turnaround lies with each and every Rotarian that has asked someone to look at Rotary in a positive way and simply started a conversation about membership. The best way to advertise Rotary and the work we do is to be seen and heard – and leave a positive impression on those to who we make contact.
People shall be attracted to successful organisations.
DG Stephen
Recently the RC Belmont held a very successful event to promote and raise funds for Headspace. The club invited people from local Geelong businesses and this not only raised funds for Headspace but it also raised the profile of Rotary. For many people who attended this was the first time they had been exposed to Rotary and the impact it made on these people was fantastic. When people can see what Rotary represents and they Rotarians can organise a successful event , they begin to talk about the “ Rotary Brand “ in a positive light and that creates interest. The next step is to turn interest into a conversation about joining and being part of our membership.
District has begun training a group of Rotarians to be a Membership TaskForce. The concept is for the TaskForce to visit clubs and facilitate methods on how to increase membership. I am pleased to say that we have forteen Rotarians who have agreed to be part of this initial team and they represent a broad demographic of the district. The final training day is set for mid July and after this time the district shall have a team who can visit your clubs and provide you with assistance. Using facilitation skills to identify membership goals, conducting a club assessment , then developing plans , implementing them and doing a review are all part of this framework for membership success. Many thanks to those Rotarians who have agreed to be part of this TaskForce – your passion to assist with club growth is part of the reason why we heading in a positive direction.
In summary, membership is not a word that we should hide from. It all comes back to collaborating on different ideas and being aware of the tools that drive us forward. The key elements are attraction, retention and extension. Armed with these tools and skills we can continue to have net gains in membership.
Well done and congratulations to everyone for achieving positive growth in membership in our district in 2016-17.
District members participating in the recent membership training, facilitated by PDG Jessie Harman