Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Moving Into the NEXT CENTURY of Rotary Service

The RI president’s monthly message
September 2010
Bigger, Better, Bolder


This year marks a significant anniversary for Rotary! Although the Rotary Club of Chicago started in 1905, the first convention of Rotary clubs was held in August of 1910 with 60 Rotarians representing 16 clubs. Our history as an organization of Rotary clubs started with that meeting in 1910, and we are now commencing a second century of service for Rotary as an association.

All of us want this century of service to be even more successful than the last. Therefore, this is an opportune time to ask: Are we taking the right steps to ensure that success? Are we doing the right things? Do we have a clear vision of the future? In the words of “ America the Beautiful,” can we “see beyond the years”?

As Rotary’s 100th president, I believe we are moving in the right direction. Our 33,000 clubs are Rotary’s biggest asset, and our success in the next 100 years will depend on the ability of our clubs to remain vibrant and vital. Their strength will determine our success!

The RI Board has taken several steps to offer more assistance to our clubs this year, including creating the Rotary Coordinators program to assist district governors in providing information about Rotary International’s programs and best practices to the clubs.

I firmly believe that if we help our clubs to become better and bolder, then the clubs will become bigger – both because of the increased pride of our Rotarians in their clubs and the increased awareness of Rotary by prospective members. Therefore, my goal is to help the district governors to help their clubs to become Bigger, Better, and Bolder!

This is a great time to be a Rotarian. Together we can make this century of service even more exciting than the last!

Ray Klinginsmith
President, Rotary International

http://www.rotary.org/en/AboutUs/RotaryLeadership/RIPresident

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Electronic Communication Webinars

Rotary International is offering a series of free webinars targeted to clubs involved in electronic communications. These webinars will include Rotarians sharing best practices and assisting other Rotarians.
Webinar topics and schedules

* Websites -- Developing a Club Website -- (To be held Wednesday, 13 October, at 10:00 CDT and Wednesday, 20 October, at 18:00 CDT. Times are for the Chicago area. Please check for your local time.) Get tips on how to develop and manage a website for your club or district from a panel of Rotarian website experts.

* Social media (To be held in February)
Share tips on how to successfully promote your club or district using social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

* Newsletters (To be held in April)
What are some tips and best practices for transitioning from a print newsletter to an electronic one?

To register for the Website Webinar, and for more information, go to:

http://www.rotary.org/en/MediaAndNews/Multimedia/webinars

Friday, August 27, 2010

Dynamic Clubs make Keeping Members Easier

Retention Ideas from the “Closing the Back Door” Workshop RI Convention in Montréal, Québec, Canada Palais des congrès, 22 June 2010

The breakout session 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.

FELLOWSHIP
 Make Rotary fun.
 Travel together to club meetings and projects – or take a club trip together.
 Form a hiking 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.

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.

FUNDRAISING
 Create a variety show as a fundraiser, and get the entire club involved.
 Hold a Men Who Cook fundraising event.

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.

CLUB ADMINISTRATION
 Hold a collection to help defray the cost of dues for those who are going through financial difficulties.
 Reassess club processes.
 Change the meeting time so it accommodates members’ schedules.
 Conduct a “visioning” process, and promote continuity.
 Periodically have a 15-second “commercial” on each member’s business.
 Have six Rotarians introduce themselves to newer members during a monthly club assembly.
 Offer different speakers and topics. Reach out to a speakers’ bureau.
 Offer a “business intern” program for qualified younger members in the community. Provide lower membership fees and costs.
 Ask members what Rotary means to them individually.
 Recognize important member events, including anniversaries, promotions, etc.
 Move the location of the club meeting to accommodate more members.
 Have a prepared agenda for each weekly and committee meeting, and keep to it.
 Have a “reversed classification speech,” where one member does a speech for another member in the club.
 Celebrate each member’s birthday.
 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.
 Hold summer meetings as picnics.

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.

FAMILY
 Plan outings to involve new Rotarians and their families.
 Promote the family of Rotary.
 Invite families to club meetings.
 Visit members' families.

RECRUITMENT
 Promote the practice of younger members introducing other younger members.
 Issue a challenge to attract younger members so that 50 percent of the club is under the age of 50.
 Specifically promote women in Rotary.
 Organize a New Generations club to target young professionals.
 Enlist the help of all club members in a recruitment drive.

For more current RI information, news and ideas, copy and paste this link for the "RI Weekly Update" http://echo4.bluehornet.com/hostedemail/email.htm?h=8804f1cd1e12d6adac111bc0ad28d474&CID=10634685432&ch=57AB97F11AD8195EC44CBD9AC92B4952

Thursday, August 26, 2010

The "Old Guard"

Following is a blog article from Seth Godin. Though he writes mostly for business, I find many of his writings can also apply to Rotary. This article about Senior Management types who don't adapt to the times almost sounds like what we Rotarians hear all too often.... "We don't do it that way!" or "That won't work!"

Senior management
A newly-retired executive takes a job as an adjunct professor and really shakes things up. Both the school and the students are blown away by her fresh thinking and new approaches.

A forty-year old internet executive who has been running his company for decades misses one new trend after another, because he's still living in 1998.
One thing that happens to management when they get senior is that they get stuck. (As we saw with the new professor, senior isn't about old, it's about how long you've been there).

If you've been doing it forever, you discover (but may not realize) that the things that got you this power are no longer dependable.

Reliance on the tried and true can backfire (Rupert keeps missing one opportunity after another, and keeps misunderstanding the medium he works in) or it can (rarely) pay off (Steve Jobs keeps repeating the same business model again and again--it's not an accident that Apple has no real online or social media footprint. Steve believes in beautifully designed objects, closed systems and evangelizing to developers and creatives).

Worth quoting--one of Arthur C. Clarke's lesser known three laws: "When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is probably wrong."

The paradox is that by the time you get to be senior, the decisions that matter the most are the ones that would be best made made by people who are junior...

Seth Godin [blogmailfromseth@yahoo.com]

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

The Board Told Me I Had to Join Rotary

A wonderful article was recently shared with me -- and I thought you would appreciate it too.


Feature Article • By Joan Dixon • July 30, 2010 • from Blue Avacado, a newsletter for non-profits.


"If you've wondered how to break into the traditional civic leadership networks, Joan Dixon of the Community Foundation of East Central Illinois explains why the Rotary may be the unexpected solution:

"At one point I was the PR director for a large clinic in Champaign with 135 doctors, and my boss was a big time Rotarian. Another fellow suggested I join the Rotary, but my boss said I wasn't highly placed enough. Now that's old school thinking.

"So when I started in 2002 at the Community Foundation, our president said I had to join Rotary. Rotary was limited to men until 1989, when the Supreme Court said it had to open its membership to women; but even then there were not many females for a long time. Our club was only 21% female, but, as is typical, we would not have gotten lots of things done without the females. To their credit, most of the fellows in our club now recognize that.

"I was a little hesitant to join Rotary because it's an every-week commitment. Our club has lunch every Monday, and you're expected to attend -- one of the clubs meets at 6:45 am and it's "all the bacon you can eat"! If you are traveling you can attend a meeting of a Rotary club in the town you're visiting, or you can go online and fulfill the attendance requirement there. It's turned out to be like going to the gym. It becomes a routine and you plan around it.

"How has the community foundation benefited from your involvement with the Rotary?

"I've built the reputation of the foundation through my contacts at the Rotary. I'm always comfortable going to someone and saying, "You've shown an interest in children's issues -- I know that from the work you've done in Rotary. Let me talk to you about how we at the community foundation can help you with that." Through the Rotary I know lots of bankers and lawyers and people that can be helpful to the foundation.

"What happens at a Rotary meeting?

"We have a large club for this area with about 180 members (some clubs are as small as 20), so there will be about 120 folks at the meeting. We start by singing a patriotic song such as God Bless America, then we have an invocation or thought for the day. That's followed by announcements about Rotary committee meetings, and, if a club member has done something that's made the newspaper, we announce that or there's Rotary signsomebody to be thanked.

"Then we have a speaker for 20-30 minutes. For example, next Monday we're having a wheelchair athlete who has won the Boston Marathon and who is involved with helping people in Ghana with disabilities. The week after that the head of the Convention and Visitors Bureau will be talking about what the Bureau is doing. After that we'll have the head coach of the university football team and then the head city planner. So you can see we learn about all kinds of things and I get to meet everybody in the community.

"What if you're interested in the Rotary, but are not sure you will fit in?

"Go online and find out about the clubs near you and just show up. One club might have a more convenient meeting time, or might have younger members, or just feel like more of a fit to you. People aren't intentionally insensitive, but it does happen. At our club, for instance, some people give a prayer that's just too much, and we have to remind them that it's supposed to be more of a non-denominational thought for the day than a full-blown prayer.

"And why should a nonprofit person join Rotary?

"The folks in Rotary are interested in the community and they're a good resource: for board members, for volunteers, for donors. Rotary can help you make a connection to many people who can contribute to your organization's success. Don't be thrown off by the time commitment. When your organization needs something, chances are you can get it through one call to a Rotary member or in one more call to whomever that Rotarian refers you.

"Who pays the dues?

"The cost varies by club; to join our club it's about $300 initially and then ongoing it's about $150/year. The community foundation pays my dues; it's very typical that your organization pays. It's an investment of a few dollars and a lot of your time, but it pays off for the organization.

"How did you get to be Rotary president?

"It's a great organization, but the truth is, I just forgot to say no!

"Joan M. Dixon is President and CEO of the Community Foundation of East Central Illinois, based in Champaign and is pictured at a Rotary meeting about to begin. Thanks to years of childhood dance lessons and a BA and MA in theatre, Joan can even provide the entertainment -- in addition to chairing -- Rotary meetings!"


http://www.blueavocado.org/content/board-told-me-i-had-join-rotary

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Innovating our Rotary Members

From Bloomberg Businessweek
By Dov Seidman
August 17, 2010


The following excerpt is from an article in Bloomberg Businessweek. It's written for the business owner or manager who is concerned about employee engagement -- but can easily be "translated" into an article for Rotary club and district leaders. How do we motivate and engage our Rotarians?

"We cannot "motivate" engagement (or innovation, growth, or succession for that matter); instead, we must inspire the kind of outcomes we want by rooting ourselves in a set of values, being in the grip of an idea worthy of dedication and commitment, connecting around a meaningful and shared purpose, and aligning around a common, deep, and sustainable set of human, societal, and environmental values.

Why? Because sustainably engaged employees generate ideas, innovation, creativity, processes, and other outcomes that deliver long-term competitive advantages, and they also collaborate with others to make progress."


That speaks directly to "retention" in Rotary!

You'll find the entire article on the following link -- it's well worth reading and reading again and then sharing with your Rotary colleagues.

http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/aug2010/ca20100816_848695.htm

Sunday, August 15, 2010

4 Districts Collaborate to "End Polio Now"

Help accelerate Rotary’s pledge to End Polio Now.

Sunday October 24th


You are invited to join Rotary President Ray Klinginsmith and Districts 5130, 5150, 5160 and 5170 Rotarians, friends and family to walk the 1.2 miles across the Golden Gate Bridge. In the afternoon shop, dine and enjoy the fun flavors and colors of the Ferry Building.

Shortly after sunset RI President Ray will illuminate the Clock Tower at the Ferry Building with Rotary’s pledge to End Polio Now.

Mark your calendar now to be part of this historical day and Rotary's public image effort to eradicate polio.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

More Membership from RI President Ray

Five for One Plan

It is each member’s responsibility to propose a new member for club membership. In an effort to promote fellowship and capitalize on each member’s professional contacts, a method to encourage and engage all Rotarians in identifying new members is the Five for One Plan. This method was widely used by Rotary clubs
in the 1970’s.

Description of the Five for One Plan:

A club is divided into teams of five members each, and the teams are given names or numbers to identify them.

Each team:
1. Is assigned the responsibility to identify and recruit at least one new member during a particular month of the Rotary year to ensure a continuous flow of new members.

2. Is asked to identify several prospective members and then to recruit at least one of them for approval and induction during the committee’s assigned month.

3. Is encouraged to complete every step of the new member process, from the initial call or discussion to interest a person in Rotary, to issuing an invitation for membership, to ensure the prospective member becomes an active and engage member of the club.

An effective use of the Five for One Plan could produce a membership increase of 20% for the club during the Rotary year. However, the normal attrition rate for Rotary clubs is 10% per year, so the plan could effectively produce a net gain of 10% membership growth. Can you help your club be so dynamic that attrition is no longer 10%? How will you keep your members involved?

New Membership Ideas

Within President-elect Ray’s “Top Ten New Ideas for Clubs and Districts”, he encourages clubs and districts to adopt new membership approaches to help with recruitment and retention. Below is an idea to consider.

STAR (Special Training for Action in Rotary)

The STAR program was developed by the Rotary Club of El Paso, Texas, USA, in 1976. It is a method that can be used to involve and engage new members while preparing members for club leadership positions. Clubs are encouraged to adopt similar programs with a goal of promoting member retention through involvement, information and education. Since new members enter into a club on a consistent basis, the program can be repeated every year, or as often as needed. In addition to serving as a vehicle for Rotary information, the STAR breakfasts help new members get acquainted with each other as well as becoming familiar with a few of the club’s more experienced Rotarians. This is an opportunity to establish a small group atmosphere and foster an inclusive and inviting setting by catering to questions and discussions. In a large club, this can be a very effective tool for promoting fellowship. The following STAR guidelines can be adapted for use by your club:

● Each new member is placed on the STAR Committee and requested to complete a questionnaire of their interests and skills and provide a photo. The new member’s biographical sketch is then presented in the club’s weekly bulletin. New members are distinguished by a red star pasted on their Rotary badge with a red ribbon attached, and experienced members are encouraged to sit with them at club meetings and become acquainted.

● Hour-long STAR breakfast meetings are held once a month. All new members are encouraged to attend these meetings for one year.

● The STAR Committee is made up of past club and district leaders.

● All club members are invited to attend at any time to update themselves on Rotary information and to meet the new members. In addition, members of any other clubs in the district are welcome to attend.

● Typical meetings may feature a welcome to first-time attendees, recognition of new STAR graduates, announcements of upcoming club and district activities and events. Program topics could include each of the five Avenues of Service, club history, club community and international service projects, club foundation projects, The Rotary Foundation and the programs of Rotary International. Programs could be presented by directors or committee chairs responsible for the topic being covered.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Great RI Resources

Several new newsletters and updates have been released by RI in the last week, including:

Membership -- http://echo4.bluehornet.com/hostedemail/email.htm?h=1103b5802d87ed5c26519218cd1ab1e5&CID=10400000720&ch=FA43541787531ED32779EADA772541DC

Vocational -- http://echo4.bluehornet.com/hostedemail/email.htm?h=b09a2630d6c3a268755e5c546d42d572&CID=10371115753&ch=C33374A7871A4C45EA8A9C6CBCCE5227

New Generations -- http://echo4.bluehornet.com/hostedemail/email.htm?h=1363bc5ec456d2f786821fdeb695a37a&CID=10335228557&ch=CF631B38CE4603B6DD32E87EB761D29F

You will find lots of good information and ideas in these links. Take time to get familiar with all the aspects of Rotary. How can we use the individual and combined interests and expertise to work together for the purpose of helping to build DYNAMIC Rotary clubs?

Judi

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Next Generation & Rotary Membership.....Say What??

Sooo.....just how does the new 5th Avenue of Service, New Generations, relate to Membership? Consider this:

1. Is your club actively involved with the youth and young adult programs of Rotary? Is it enough to write a check to send a camper to RYLA?

2. Might there be potential Rotary members who would be attracted to an organization that works with young people?

3. Are the whereabouts known of the alumni of our New Generations programs (Rotaract, RYLA, Interact, Youth Exchange) -- do we keep in touch to know when they might be ready to join Rotary? (Ten or fifteen years can go very quickly!)

4. Are we mentoring the New Generations groups so that they might have the resources and assistance that only we can offer to them?



Following is an article from this month's "New Generations Newsletter" (available on the RI website):

August is Membership and Extension Month. The success of Rotary depends on the commitment and hard work of its club members, and the same applies to Rotary’s youth and young adult programs: Interact, Rotaract, and RYLA. Successful programs retain their current participants and stay connected to alumni while seeking out new and creative ways to grow.

When reviewing your membership and extension activities, ask yourself the following questions:

• How do you recruit new club members or program participants?

• Has your Interact or Rotaract club developed a membership strategy or membership goals for the new Rotary year?

• How can your Interact or Rotaract club keep members engaged and motivated all year long? What is the average meeting attendance throughout the year? How can you improve this?

• How can you better stay in touch with RYLA program alumni? Do alumni get involved in supporting future RYLA programs?

• How do you select your club projects or fundraisers? How can you better leverage the interests of club members when developing these service activities?

• What kind of presence does your club or RYLA program have in your community? On your campus?

If your club has a membership plan in place – or any specific strategy that you have found effective – and you’d like to share it with others, please e-mail it to ryla@rotary.org.


Include the New Generations regularly in your club activities and participate in their activities. We are their mentors and they are our FUTURE!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

How to create OUTSTANDING GROWTH in your Rotary Club!

From time to time, I find an excellent "best practices" idea. Following is a report from the Rotary Club of Springfield, Oregon (D511)) who had a spectacular year of bringing in new members in 2009-2010 and seems well on their way to having another great year. Read on.........

Rotary Club of Springfield, 2009/2010
Membership Co-Chairs: Jim Eckman and Ronda Schleicher

In reviewing the success of our club’s membership growth for the year, there are two factors that have contributed to our achievement. First, our club moved our meeting place to a very attractive facility in Springfield. Our members feel good about bringing prospective members to our new location, The Holiday Inn. Second, our Membership Committee and Co-Chairs are actively engaged and membership is always in front of the club. We worked diligently at forming an active membership committee that is diversified – from past presidents to those just completing the red badge process. We formed our committee at the beginning of the last Rotary year and the following are highlights of what we implemented during the year:

1.Membership Committee meets regularly – once a month!

2.The club is aware of our membership goals. This year our goal is to end the year at 115 ACTIVE members. (Note: the club increased membership by 13% and is looking for another 10% growth this year.)

3.To support and defray the costs associated with bringing in a new member, our club adopted a version of another club's “Free Lunch Program”. The club buys breakfast for the proposed member and the sponsor at the New Member Orientation breakfast. Also, when the new member is inducted into the club, the club buys lunch for both the sponsor and new member that day.

4.We made a minor change to our New Member Orientation. Our orientation was informational and relevant, but we now purposely wait one week before inducting a new member into the club. The purpose of this is to give the proposed new member time to really think about the commitments and obligations that come with Rotary and discuss this with significant others.

5.To help with membership retention and addressing the issue of members facing hardship in the midst of a recession we created a scholarship program. We created an “off budget” pool of funds, which are donated from members of the club at their discretion. The purpose of the funds are to help with annual membership dues and if necessary meals. We named this fund in honor of a member that passed away unexpectedly last year. Members of the club that are facing hardship have the opportunity to discuss their situation discretely with a select panel of Rotarians in the club. The fund is being used!

6.We always have membership in front of our club! Here are some examples:
a. Weekly membership moments in our bulletin
b. Recognize members with 90%+ attendance
c. Membership vocational minute – opportunity for members to share with the club exactly what they do in their classification
d. We formed a red badge committee to actively mentor all red badge members to see they complete their requirements in the allotted time.
e. Attendance – we have used different methods to reach out to members with attendance below 50% to encourage them to improve – letter from club President, post card from club Secretary and calls from past Presidents.

Do these ideas sound simple? Like Basic Rotary? YEP! But just proof that consistency in some of our basic skills will pay off great rewards - in this case, a club that is reaping the benefits of new Rotarians and new friends with whom to share Rotary service and camaraderie!