Retention of members is critical to Rotary’s ability to
meet the growing demand for humanitarian needs and
volunteer services throughout the world.
Retention Ideas from the “Closing the Back Door” Workshop RI Convention in
Montréal, Québec, Canada Palais des congrès, 22 June 2010
The breakout session “Membership Retention: Closing the Back Door” was
moderated by Michael K. McGovern, 2009-10 Membership Development and
Retention Committee chair. Panel members included Hendreen D. Rohrs and
Peter M. Snider, regional RI membership coordinators, and Ron Beaubien, past
RI director.
The workshop focused on what's working in different parts of the Rotary world
and encouraged attendees to share their own ideas. The following is a list of
ideas shared
GETTING MEMBERS INVOLVED
Ask members to participate and take on responsibility.
Stop asking for volunteers. Use the direct approach, and ask
individuals to get involved.
Promote attendance at district and international conferences.
FELLOWSHIP
Make Rotary fun.
Travel together to club meetings and projects – or take a club trip
together.
Form a fellowship to get active outside of weekly meetings.
Go out to Sunday brunch with a group of members.
Have dinners at a member’s home, but don’t let the member know who
is coming.
FAMILY
Plan outings to involve new Rotarians and their families.
Promote the family of Rotary.
Invite families to club meetings.
Visit members' families
PROJECTS
Find out what gets a member excited about Rotary.
Do a hands-on project to replace the regular meeting once a month.
Get involved in a new, innovative project.
Ask “Rotarians in name only” what they want to do.
Identify a signature project – one the club is known for throughout the community.
Change the holiday party for members to a holiday party for orphans (or something
similar) to provide fellowship as well as a fun project.
Take on a challenging project, such as creating a wheelchair basketball court.
Select and conduct an outstanding and relevant community project
Change the meeting time so it accommodates members’ schedules – or move the
location of the club meeting to accommodate more members.
Select one day a month to meet in a location more convenient for members who find it
hard to attend, or at a venue that will cost less
Periodically have a 15-second “commercial” on each member’s business.
Have six Rotarians introduce themselves to newer members during a monthly club
assembly.
Ask members what Rotary means to them individually.
Have a “reversed classification speech,” where one member does a speech for another
member in the club.
CLUB ADMINISTRATION con’t
Conduct a “visioning” process, and promote continuity.
Offer a “business intern” program for qualified younger members in the
community. Provide lower membership fees and costs.
Offer different speakers and topics. Reach out to a speakers’ bureau
Recognize important member events, including anniversaries, promotions,
etc.
Hold a collection to help defray the cost of dues for those who are going
through financial difficulties.
MENTORING
Create a mentor committee, and offer three-year mentoring to new
members.
Designate someone to round up members who haven't participated in a
while and drive them to the club's meetings or events.
Develop a buddy system, pairing up a new member with an existing
member.
1. Tap Into Volunteers' Motives
Don't volunteers just want to help your cause? Well, yes and no. They no
doubt have good hearts and believe in your organization's work. But
most volunteers have additional reasons for volunteering -- perhaps
looking to meet new people, develop skills, and feel needed. If you
assign them to stand by a photocopier for long hours, it may not satisfy
any of those motives.
Ask volunteers at the outset what they'd like to get from their experience,
and look for ways to satisfy that. If, for example, a volunteer is hoping
to use photography skills, ask her to build up a collection of photos
ready for use in your newsletter, annual report, or website. If you have
regular volunteers, try to schedule them so that they overlap and can
talk with one another.
2. Tell Volunteers What You Expect
Start by giving each volunteer some formal training. Explain
the work of your organization and the volunteer's place in
it, including the importance of seemingly ministerial
tasks. Discuss what you normally expect volunteers to do
and what more interesting tasks they might "graduate" to
after proven good work.
3. Make Volunteering Convenient
Most nonprofits want volunteers to commit to working a certain
number of hours per week or month. But creating alternatives
to this model can be a good idea.
Some organizations, for example, ask people to make a general
commitment of hours, but then to call ahead and advise the
organization of when they'll actually be putting in those hours.
Others may recruit heavily for one-time events, or ask
volunteers to take on a particular time-limited project.
4. Make Volunteering Fun
You don't have to create a party atmosphere for your
volunteers, but realize that some tasks are
innately more fun than others. For example, if you
work with kids or animals, it's a fair bet that most
of your volunteers are hoping for some contact
with them too.
5. Show Appreciation
Every volunteer wants to know that he or she is making a
difference and advancing the cause. It's your job to make
sure the volunteer knows this, for example by:
saying thank you, early and often
planning some organized volunteer-appreciation
activities
giving little speeches at events saying how much
particular volunteers have done for your organization, and
accompanying this with awards, certificates, or small
plaques
After 10 years of being in Rotary I thought for a moment
“Why did I join Rotary?” and “Why do I remain?”
The reasons for joining Rotary are many.
For me there were about 4 reasons I joined.
In no particular order they were:
■ Networking. A room full of business leaders was an exciting opportunity for
my young career and my young self.
■Fun. Social events, travel, weekly meetings with interesting speakers is just
good, clean fun.
■Giving back to the community. It’s an honour to work with men and woman
also interested in making their community in their home town; and around the
world – a better place. It’s also infectious.
■Enhancing leadership skills. Working with business leaders on projects,
working with fellow Rotarians on large and small projects is an education in
itself.
That’s why I joined, and that’s why I stay in Rotary.
While pondering the past decade I am reminded of a fellow Rotarian I met
in Australia while on a Rotary Friendship Exchange. His business was
consulting for vineyards. He was obviously a very successful and
accomplished man.
While overlooking one of the vineyards he developed he told me his reason
for staying in Rotary.
It was simple. “After all these years in Rotary I have come to realize that at
this stage of life – I need Rotary more than Rotary needs me”.
I have since repeated a similar phrase as well, “I don’t think I could ever
give back to Rotary what it has given me. But I am going to try”.