Membership Minute

Posted by Anne Decker on Aug 09, 2024
Membership Minute
 
Membership Minute
August 2024Ideas for strengthening membership
Photo: Members of the Rotary Club of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, and other volunteers plant prairie grasses along the Milwaukee River. 
Actively listen to your members so you can enhance their club experience
Membership and New Club Development Month in August is an ideal time to focus on creating a meaningful club experience. One step toward this is by getting to know your members better. And you can do that by sharing your Rotary story and listening to theirs. Sharing our stories creates bridges between our own experiences and those of others. It helps us find connections, empathize with other people’s circumstances, and understand and appreciate different perspectives.

Review the webinar Connect and Inspire Through Storytelling, in which experts shared their advice about how to craft stories that engage and inspire others. Storytelling can eliminate barriers, foster a sense of community, and inspire positive change.

You can use the Member Interest Survey to discover the interests of your new and potential members, and then build better connections by offering what they want. Complete the Best Practices for Engaging Members online course to develop strategies for energizing people at all stages of membership.

If you want to improve your club experience but you’re not sure where to start, the Club Experience Concierge can help. By answering a few quick questions, you’ll receive a tailored list of recommendations to help.

Explore more resources on the Membership page.
 
 
Celebrate people of action with Rotary’s service awards 
Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation offer several awards to recognize members, nonmembers, alumni, and Rotary clubs for their contributions and impact. Rotary’s Service Awards reference sheet, a new resource, lists many awards and includes information about nominations, eligibility criteria, and due dates, as well as images of several awards. 
Nominate members for advancing women in Rotary
The Sylvia Whitlock Leadership Award honors one Rotary member each year, regardless of gender or length of Rotary membership, for actively working to advance women in Rotary. The award was established by a group of Rotarians in 2017 and is named for the first female Rotary club president, who went on to lead change for women and girls around the world through Rotary. Any member can nominate another member in good standing for this award during August. Write to riawards@rotary.org with questions. 
What Members Want: Crafting a Great Club Experience
During a breakout session at the 2024 Rotary International Convention titled What Members Want: Crafting a Great Club Experience, people were given 15 seconds to share their ideas on how to create an incredible club experience for their members. They mentioned creative and effective ways to make meetings more enjoyable, improve member confidence in club leaders, offer service opportunities that make a difference, and prioritize time for members to connect. Share your own success story with us.
Stories, not stats, attract people to Rotary 
“The human and relatable stories we tell are the ones that fire emotional triggers and create the special connections we have in Rotary.” — Joe Otin
Joe Otin, past governor of District 9212 (Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan), has inspired numerous people to join Rotary by sharing his Rotary story. Discover why he has found that presenting statistics about Rotary makes less of an impact than connecting with people’s emotions. 
 
 
Promoting happiness and friendship 
The Rotary Club of Helvetia Happiness in Mauritius began as a satellite club, focusing on the happiness and well-being of its members. Discover how this satellite club transitioned to become an independent club and how members are actively working to combat stereotypes and promote mental well-being.

Learn how Rotary members in different communities are finding ways to make connections in response to a friendship recession.
 
 
Membership Minute is a bimonthly newsletter that provides the latest membership trends, strategies, best practices, and resources to help strengthen membership in your clubs. The newsletter is sent to
Rotary coordinators, assistant Rotary coordinators, district governors, assistant governors, district membership chairs, district Rotary public image chairs, Rotary club public image chairs, Rotary club membership chairs, Rotary club presidents, Rotary club presidents-elect, Rotaract club presidents, district Rotaract representatives, and subscribers.
Please forward this to anyone who may be interested. 

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