Sustaining and Growing Your Rotary Club Presented by Cec Blackburn District 5370 Membership Chair

Overview Why do people volunteer? What sustains volunteer participation? What can Rotary offer volunteers? Why do people leave Rotary? How can you analyze the membership retention in your club? What can Presidents and Members do to sustain membership – now and in the future?

WHY DO PEOPLE VOLUNTEER? Have been personally affected by the cause To explore one’s own strengths To improve job opportunities Fulfill religious obligations or beliefs Meet people or because friends volunteer Support family activities Gain a sense of personal achievement Have Fun

What Are The Strengths of Rotary as a Volunteer Organization? A mission and vision that merit support Results and accomplishments to be proud of Collegiality and contacts Fun Challenge Purpose and Morale Building

Top Reasons Given For Leaving Rotary Unable to meet attendance requirements Competing priorities Relocating to a new community Business/professional pressures Club meeting time not convenient Financial constraints Family responsibilities Health concerns

Canada’s Population is Changing Visible minorities now make up 13% of the total population Women now outnumber men Fewer than 50% of Canadians are married Almost 5% of Canadians are divorced 13% of the population is now 65 and over Older people, and single and divorced people contribute the most volunteer hours per person 1. Source: Statistics Canada National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating, Catalogue No. 89M0017X.

The Voluntary Sector is Expanding In 1997 in the US, the not-for-profit sector was recognized as the fastest growing sector of society. Statistics Canada reported that in 2005, over 6.5 million Canadians participated in volunteer activities contributing an average of 162 hours each per year. 1 There is now greater competition among organizations for the participation and commitment of individual volunteers

The Challenge for Voluntary Organizations Sustaining current membership Recruiting and developing future members Building membership and capacity for the future

Why do Rotary Members Stop Volunteering? Weak club leadership Ageing members Weak club programs Clubs not meeting the needs of members

POSITIVE RECRUITMENT STRATEGIES WILL PREVENT TERMINATIONS Conduct a screening interview Ascertain goals & objectives Arrange for a Mentor (Not Sponsor) Assign pre-induction activities list Meaningful induction ceremony

IDENTIFYING MEMBERS WHO MAY BE ABOUT TO TERMINTATE Absenteeism 2.Withdrawal from special events 3.Lack of participation in club projects

THE PRESIDENT’S CHALLENGE Sustain & grow membership Implement successful Service Projects Support The Rotary Foundation Develop Leaders to serve beyond the Club level

What are the Strengths of Your Rotary Club? Respect? Inclusiveness? Collegiality ? Fun? Challenge? Purpose and Morale Building? Results and accomplishments to be proud of?

Worksheets to Analyze ROTARY MEMBERSHIP RETENTION (See the last two pages of your handout ) The following four slides show how these worksheets can be used by presenting the membership histories of two Rotary Clubs- “A” and “B”…….

CLUB A Membership has fluctuated over the past 3 years from a low of 30 to 42 today. During the same period, 25 new members were inducted. Nine members have terminated. The Club Leadership Plan was implemented; however there has not been a membership Chair or an active recruiting program. The Club participates in small grants to Community organizations and assists in overseas projects. In the past the Club has participated in several major projects in the Community and hosts a Bingo (8hrs) each month.

CLUB B Vibrant Club with a membership of 60+. The Club is (3) for The new President has identified a membership concern – the average age of its members and is undertaking a Club survey to address the issue. The Club is prominent in its area of the city, plays a major part in the life of the community and is well regarded by city leaders for its activities and involvement.

Discussion Questions Will your Club need to make any changes now to be sustainable in the future? What inventive things can your organization do? Where will you go from here? How can you get started?

What Can You Do to Encourage Volunteers to Join and Remain with Rotary?

ACKNOWLEDGE EACH VOLUNTEER! 1.Be honest and sincere 2.Acknowledge specific behavior 3.Recognize everyone in the same way 4.Be timely 5.Use a variety of creative methods 6.Make recognition meaningful to the individual

APPRECIATE YOUR VOLUNTEERS! 1.Understand volunteers and what is meaningful to them. 2.Identify both formal & informal methods of recognition. 3.Think beyond pins and plaques. 4.Show people what impact they have made and the benefits that their efforts have helped to achieve. 5.The easiest, cheapest & most meaningful way of recognizing a volunteer, is saying “THANK YOU”.

“Kind words can be short & easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless” Mother Theresa

Thank You! Contact Cec Blackburn Rotary Club of Edmonton Gateway