Membership Club Extension For District Leadership October 24, 2009 Rick Benson, PDG D-7980, CT

All Rotarians share the responsibility of ensuring membership growth and development through three key components: Recruiting new members Retaining existing members Organizing new Rotary clubs As Club Leaders you will play a critical role in your communities And in growing Rotary

And as of June 30, 2009, Zones (USA and Canada ) had only 385,683 members, a loss of 48,289 Rotarians Let’s look at the sad facts in North America

Membership Humanitarian Needs The “GAP” This membership loss in North America threatens our ability to meet humanitarian needs: the gap is growing in our own communities

Rotary’s Critical Point Ignore Growth Take Action Business as Usual Rotary is at a cross roads The Future of Rotary is truly in your hands Membership Humanitarian Needs The “GAP”

Rotary International Zone Membership Conference

Extension Goals Identify communities that are not served by a Rotary club Identify communities where another club could prosper without hurting the existing club We must not ignore those in our communities who want to serve, but who can not or choose not to attend existing clubs in the area More Rotarians = More service

Why should we organize new Rotary clubs? Meeting facilities may not be able to accommodate a larger group Too many Rotary clubs have found it impossible to continue increasing their membership as they have aged The meeting time may be inconvenient for large numbers of potential members Prospective members feel precluded from joining some clubs because of their gender, age or cost More Rotarians mean more resources to help the community

Why should we organize new Rotary Clubs? To provide an opportunity for more people to participate in Rotary by offering more options for membership in your community Different time of day Different day of the week Different location Offer different club size Offer different club culture Offer different types of meeting conditions

Why should we organize new Rotary Clubs? To attract, accommodate and retain ethnic or minority members that make up part of the community To hold a meeting in a language other than the dominate language in the community To make it easier to form lasting partnerships that can sustain projects to serve minority or ethnic communities in need

Your District Successes Which Communities in your Districts Have the most Rotarians? Why?

Our 7980 Successes Westport – 2 successful clubs; 150 Rotarians; 26,000 population Norwich– 2 successful clubs; 135 Rotarians; 36,000 population Milford – 2 successful clubs; 165 Rotarians; 55,000 population New London – Largest club in district (114); 26,000 population 2 meeting times: Lunch & Sunrise; different days Two new Provisional clubs – both young members / cocktail clubs

Your District Opportunities Put Your Extension Committee to work Communities where there are no Clubs: Communities with Underserved Minorities: Korean, Chinese, Latino, Spanish, Black, … Communities where more than 1 club is a possibility: Separate joint clubs – 1 per community large corporate parks Few other service clubs, but a culture of service Do a demographic study- Rotarian Community Coverage Analysis

The keys to organizing a new Rotary Club: More Clubs are not a threat to existing clubs Requires a dedicated District Special Representative, see 808 – New Clubs Needs a supporting Sponsoring Rotary Club Must Recruit quality individuals – who want to join Rotary for the “right reasons” Must identify and attract several “spark plugs” for club leadership Must educate the club members on Rotary Must involve members in club leadership (the club leadership plan) and worthwhile projects

Now You Have a List of Prospective Communities You are the Key to Extension! And your District’s Growth How do you physically start a new club?