1. Multi-district PETS Alliance 20 July 2018
Good afternoon. I’m Brianne Haxton, Manager of Membership Resources and Support. I’m presenting on behalf of Brian King who is traveling for Rotary today. I’m happy to be presenting between Eric and David since their work has an impact on Rotary’s membership. The Foundation is a great way for members to engage with Rotary and our communications and public image efforts are critical to attracting new people to further the ideals of Rotary.
Thank you for this opportunity to share some information with you about Rotary’s top internal priority – membership. As an organization, we’re continuing a dual-growth strategy for membership: We’ll continue to support our clubs so they are engaging to their existing members and relevant and attractive to prospective members. At the same time, we’ll develop new models for experiencing Rotary to attract new members who may not be able or interested in joining our traditional clubs.
Today, I’d like to share updates on our efforts to reach clubs, connect clubs with prospective members, and support Rotary leaders.
MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Multi-district PETS Alliance
20 July 2018

2. The Membership Development team is continuously working to develop and update resources to help clubs engage their current members and attract new members. This year, we’re proud to announce Engaging Younger Professionals, a digital toolkit to help clubs understand and engage the next generation of Rotary members. We’re also excited about the eight online membership courses available on the Learning Center. They feature realistic scenarios and club challenges with different paths to address each issue. These courses, which mirror training at regional and district membership seminars, could be effective pre-work for PETS.
These resources can be found at rotary.org/membership.
REACHING CLUBS

3. DIRECT CLUB OUTREACH
We know that one of the biggest challenges we face with our resources is getting them to the club level. In January, we collaborated with the Membership Committee and developed a mechanism that complements the hard work being done by district leaders supporting their clubs. We created a survey that asked club presidents and club membership chairs what their biggest challenges were. Their answers to that quick assessment populated a customized report that could be saved, shared, and referenced as often as needed. Following that survey, we sent club leaders targeted communications with relevant resources.
This outreach was a test– we sent it to 1800 club presidents and membership chairs in 22 districts in the US, Canada, Mexico, Columbia, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and Kenya.
Looking ahead to September, we are doing a global rollout of the direct club outreach. All current club presidents and club membership chairs will have an opportunity to answer a few questions to determine and help prioritize their challenges. Again, they will immediately receive a customized report with links to relevant resources and again, we’ll send them targeted communications to connect them with resources that are tailored to their needs.
I want to point out that your audience will receive their direct outreach from Rotary after they become president. Until then, you can help prepare them by holding a session at PETS to help them know their clubs’ challenges. Our initial test showed that many club presidents were interested in attracting new members… but perhaps they should actually begin by focusing on their retention. The “Is Your Club Healthy?” online course could be effective pre-work for such a session.

4. As I was saying, the responses from the direct outreach test that we completed this spring showed that many clubs are looking for resources to attract new members.
Lucky for them, we have a great way to connect clubs with prospective members who have expressed interest in joining Rotary… Membership leads.
MEMBERSHIP LEADS

5. NEARLY 20,000 MEMBERSHIP LEADS (2017-18)
From 1 July to 30 June 2018, we received nearly 20,000 valid membership leads. They’re the kind of members clubs are looking for– 64% are younger professionals and 35% are women. But in that time, we have seen only 42% of leads followed up on by districts and only 26% actually assigned to clubs. This is actually an improvement over the previous year, but think about this. Nearly 60% of men and women indicating that they want to be part of Rotary are simply being ignored. So this isn’t just a missed membership opportunity. It’s a public image liability.
Since the launch of the program back in December 2015 we have admitted nearly 3,600 membership candidates. It may not seem like a lot, but that’s 4 new members every day resulting from districts and clubs managing their membership leads online.
You’re well-aware that we’re not satisfied with adoption of membership leads. We could really use your help to make sure there is focused time and effort to cover membership leads-- Help connect the clubs with prospective members and also protect Rotary’s public image.
64% of prospective members are under age 40
35% of membership leads are female
Averaged 4 conversions (lead to member) per day

6. REGIONAL MEMBERSHIP OFFICERS
Lastly, I want to remind you of an excellent staff resource that you have to assist you with your PETS– the Regional Membership Officers.
REGIONAL MEMBERSHIP OFFICERS

7. REGIONAL MEMBERSHIP OFFICER TEAM
Nicole Jones Regional Membership Manager
This is the Regional Membership Officer team managed Nicole Jones. These Regional Membership Officers, or RMOs as they’re commonly known, each have their own defined territory that they work with – each with 2-3 zones and all in areas that have seen a large decline in membership. All of the North America has an RMO.
The RMOs are expert presenters, and they’re willing and able to help with keynotes and plenary sessions. They’re also adept at facilitated discussion. If you’re unsure who your RMO is, you can pick up their bio sheet on a table outside of this room at the next break. I’ll also be at the table and I’m happy to answer questions about any of our resources.
Julie Aubry Regional Membership Officer Zones 25, 26, 27 North America
Haris Sofradzija Regional Membership Officer Zones 30, 31 North America
Diana Edwards Regional Membership Officer Zones 24, 32 North America
Emily Tucker Regional Membership Officer Zones 21b, 28, 29 North America
Rebecca Holloway Regional Membership Officer Zones 21A, 33, 34
North, Central, and South America
TBD Regional Membership Officer Zones 7b, 8 South Pacific

8. SUPPORTING MEMBERSHIP GROWTH
1) Help club presidents understand their clubs’ challenges
Is Your Club Healthy? online course as pre-work
2) Train club presidents to use membership leads
3) Engage Regional Membership Officers
Thank you again for all you do for Rotary.
As you’re preparing your PETS, here are the three actions you can take to support membership growth.
Prepare presidents-elect by holding a session at PETS to help them know their clubs’ challenges. Resources like the Is Your Healthy? online course can taken at their convenience and ahead of time.
Dedicate time at PETS to cover membership leads– They’re an important tool for membership growth, and leads that are ignored can be disastrous to our public image.
Use the Regional Membership Officers! They can help with speeches and facilitated discussion. They’re experts in membership and can connect you with resources to help club leaders.
Lastly, if you have any questions, reach out to us. We’re here to help.

9. THANK YOU