Message from the RRIMC:

We are not measuring up to the challenge

by PDG Bevin Wall, Zone 33

District 7730
Dec. 18, 2008

Fellow Rotarians,

Here we are at the Holiday Season once again, or the Rotarian faithful know it “the pause that occurs between Family Month and Rotary Awareness Month”. I know that family and friends are gathering for various celebrations and get-togethers, and I wish you all joy, peace and prosperity into the new year.

Pres. D.K. Lee has set a very challenging membership goal for our districts in 2008-09 - a 10% net increase in membership and 2 new clubs per district. I know that District Governors are working hard on the membership front, and I know that there are lots of challenges out there with the unsettled economy, natural attrition, and the inertia of many clubs who do not see membership as their problem or who accept declining membership as something they cannot do anything about.

Despite the effort that it being made, as of this date we are not measuring up to Pres. D.K.’s challenge as gauged from the July 1 beginning of this Rotary Year. Zone 33 is up a modest 90 Rotarians or 0.27%. Zone 34 is up 7 Rotarians or 0.02%. The worldwide increase is 14,329 Rotarians or 1.19%.

But in these numbers, there are some bright spots. Even with modest increases, we are not losing members. If we maintain increases throughout the end of the year, we will break a negative trend line that stretches back more than 10 years. In the past four years, Zone 33 has net lost an average of 350 Rotarians per year, and Zone 34 has net lost an average of 315 Rotarians per year. With a strong finish we can break this trend line and establish a new, positive growth trend and expectation! 

What conclusions can we draw from our positive numbers at mid-year? That something special is at work transforming our membership results. My vote: (1) Rotary has made Membership a Global Rotary Priority, (2) Rotarians are becoming aware of the Membership Problem, (3) More Membership resources are being made available to Clubs and Districts.

All these feed into heightened Awareness by Rotarians. To this, my hat is off to Rotary Club Presidents who are the crucial movers in this endeavor. They are supported by Their AGs, DGs, Membership Committees & Chairs, RRIMC and Zone Membership Team, our Director, Eric Adamson, our RI Membership Committee, Presidential Conference Committees, RI Membership Staff, right up to the President of RI.

We cannot Make Dreams Real without having a strong, growing organization and the Rotarians to do the work. Every Rotarian, Every Year can share their Rotary experience and introduce a Prospective Member to their Rotary Club. Let’s make our family, friends and colleagues aware of the benefits of Rotary Membership. As we have already shown this year- Working together, we can do it!   

View the Nov. 30 membership figures from RI.

The Overlooked Obvious
(and it’s not the cost)

by PDG Jim Henry
RRIMC Zone 34
District 6960

Dec. 18, 2008

As Zone 34 Regional Rotary International Membership Coordinator (RRIMC), I have had the opportunity to assist struggling, and investigate failed, clubs.  Underlying causes vary, but similarities exist.  A common one is that former members had not been given information about the benefits and obligations of Rotary club membership.

The Overlooked Obvious - Members who join without knowing the benefits and obligations of club membership are more likely to leave within the first year or two.
Consider these facts:

Message from the RRIMC:

Plan to make Membership Month last all year

by PDG Bevin Wall, Zone 33

District 7730
Oct. 1, 2008

As the official Rotary Membership Month of August recedes into the rear view mirror of the Rotary year, I'll make a quick few observations as Regional RI Membership Coordinator for Zone 33. In a nutshell, hard work and planning are paying off for many districts, but the emphasis must continue to be successful.

Districts have done a superb job in conducting Membership events throughout the Zone, whether stand-alone events, multiple events, or in conjunction with other activities. Our District Governors, Membership Chairs and their teams are to be congratulated. Director Eric has been very supportive of President D.K. Lee's renewed call for membership action.      

The message that Rotary must grow to thrive (and survive) is being well articulated, and Rotarians are hearing the message. However, as we all know, Rotarians hearing a message, and Rotarians acting on the message are two distinctly different things. Remember Frank Devlyn's "Create Awareness, Take Action" theme- we must have both the awareness and the action! Two out of three words in this year's theme cry out for action. "Make" is an action word, and in it's position at the beginning of the phrase make it declarative! "Real" refers to reality, the way that things actually exist! MAKE DREAMS REAL!  

A roadblock to effective action, the "80/20" Rule, is still in effect at the club level, and this is a pivotal challenge. If the dynamic at the club level does not improve, then the rates of retention and recruitment will not improve. 

Clubs and Districts that have a plan, and institute a system of definable actions specific to their assessed recruitment or retention needs are those that are seeing positive membership growth. A successfully implemented plan requires member "buy-in", incremental measurement of success, and recognition.

Membership Strategic Planning was the emphasis for all District Membership Teams attending the Regional Membership Training Seminar in Evanston in June. Now, this planning emphasis is trickling down to the club level. 

Club Visioning Teams to assist clubs with strategic planning are now available, at a club's request, to come into the club and work with their leadership to help set goals, and to define measurement and success. Clubs must make a serious commitment to changing the current dynamic, and taking the next big step toward realizing their potential as Rotary Clubs and their place in their community. Experience Facilitators from The Rotary Leadership Institute are conducting these sessions. Clubs are welcome to explore this opportunity. For more information contact me at Bevin@RLI33.org. 

Planning is an important step to productive and forward looking action, but it is not "action". As Leaders of Rotary, the 2008-09 "Dream Team" must continue to work the plan, and keep a results-oriented eye trained on the short-term and long-term horizons of Rotary membership. For us, "short-term" should be a monthly assessment through the end of June 2009, with adjustment of the plan in January, as needed. "Long-term" should be measured annually, with a duration of no more than 3-5 years out, and must involve successive years leadership.

We must break the mold. As the saying goes, "If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always got!" In membership, let's together move our clubs beyond what we've always done, and we will see more opportunities for service and fellowship than ever before.

Message from the RRIMC:

Memberhip Ground Zero the Club

by PDG Jim Henry
RRIMC Zone 34
District 6960

Oct. 1, 2008

Most engineers rely on fundamentals for one basic reason – fundamentals allow us to build safe structures and functional reliable systems.  Fundamentals are what allow us to build space stations, put men on the moon and bring them back.  Relying on fundamentals, this time in human relations, can do the same for Rotary membership.

Subject Fundamentals:

1. The reason any Rotary Club exists is to advance the Object of Rotary.
2. The First Object of Rotary is to Develop Acquaintance as an Opportunity for Service, which is Membership Development.
3. Rotary is an organization of business, professional, and community leaders, active or retired, who have discretionary use of their time.
4. Business, professional, and community leaders are not accustomed to mediocrity, associating with anyone who does accept mediocrity, or being in mediocre organizations.
5. People join Rotary for their reasons, not the club’s or the invitee’s.
6. The major reason people join Rotary is to get to know others or to get to be known, which is, in today’s parlance, networking.
7. The major reason members stay in Rotary is because their needs are being satisfied.

One Possible Application of Membership Fundamentals to Strategic Plans.

Most Rotarians are, or were, in leadership positions of some type.  Leaders know that accountability is a sound fundamental, and that lack of accountability often leads to mediocrity and/or failure.  As clubs and districts prepare and/or refine Membership Strategic Plans, consider encouraging some degree of accountability that would encourage clubs and districts to practice fundamentals used by those who successfully advance the Object of Rotary.  For example, Membership Ground Zero is at the club level.  Imagine what could happen if club membership chairs had in their membership toolbox data that came from these, or similar, questions:

1. How many Rotary information meetings (fireside chats) for non-Rotarians or  prospective members did the clubs hold the previous month?
2.  How many potential member business, professional, or community leaders who had                                 discretionary use of their time were at the information meetings?
3.  What was the club’s average attendance percentage last month?
4. How many members resigned last month?
5. How many of the members that resigned had been in Rotary less than three years?
6. How many new members were inducted into each club last month?

Suppose each club membership chair gathered this information and passed it to their Assistant Governor, who communicated it to the District Membership Chairman who passed it to the District Governor and Regional Rotary International Membership Coordinator.  This simple practice would be a way to keep membership development in the minds of all concerned, and would lay the groundwork for improving clubs in satisfying the needs of their customer – the club member.