The Facebook Generation

Attracting the Facebook Generation: Change your culture or start a new club!

As a facilitator of a number of Visioning sessions for Rotary clubs, I have noticed that one of the top membership attributes that clubs strive for is "younger members." The kind of club that will attract men and women who grew up on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn will be very different than the clubs we see today. The question is this: are your club and its members flexible enough to give younger members what they expect?

Strategist Gary Hamel, author of The Future of Management, recently wrote a blog post entitled, Facebook Generation vs. the Fortune 500. In that article, he listed 12 characteristics of online life. Online life is the life of the "Facebook Generation." Text messaging, Tweeting and YouTube are not tools or channels of entertainment. They are just the way life is. As you read each of the 12 points, ask yourself how your club will make the Rotary experience attractive to folks who see these characteristics as "just the way it is."

1. All ideas compete on equal footing

2. Contribution counts far more than credentials

3. Hierarchies are natural, not prescribed

4. Leaders serve rather than preside

5. Tasks are chosen, not assigned

6. Groups are self-defining and self-organizing

7. Resources get attracted, not allocated

8. Power comes from sharing information, not hoarding it

9. Opinions compound and decisions are peer-reviewed

10. Users can veto most policy decisions

11. Intrinsic rewards matter most

12. Hackers are heroes

Can your club provide this kind of experience? Can established members accept a world where new members expect to have an immediate say in club matters? If not, perhaps creating a new club makes more sense. Why create a new club?

Sometimes it is very difficult to combine very different cultures within the same location. When IBM saw a huge opportunity for midrange AS400 computer, they built a new plant in Rochester, Minnesota. The located it far from IBM headquarters in Armonk, New York, because they knew that the AS400 was so different, that it would not stand a chance if it was too close to the IBMers who grew up with mainframes in their blood. When IBM got into the PC business, where was its "Entry Systems" Division located? Boca Raton, Florida.

So if you want to attract younger members - and keep them, you have 2 choices. Either change your culture, or create a new club. And if you are going to create a new club, don't think "Extension." Think about applying the 12 characteristics above because you are not extending your existing club by any stretch of the imagination. You are creating a NEW club that your current members probably won't recognize.

What's working to attract the Facebook Generation where you live?

From Greg Krauska, Past Membership chair,District 5950

The New ‘AMC’ Membership Committee Model

As any Rotarian knows, we communicate best in Rotary using acronyms (DG; PETS; RYLA; WCS; RI to name a few). It is in that same spirit that I introduce you to a new acronym for our District….. the AMC. The next time you are asked to take a Rotary Acronym Test, remember the title of Area Membership Chair.

So exactly what is an Area Membership Chair? In sterile terms, these are individuals who have made a commitment to serve on the District Membership Committee. However, the role of the AMC is much more far reaching and critical to our district than simply serving on a committee. In the structure of the District 5110 Membership Committee, AMC’s are recruited and primarily managed by the Deputy District Membership Chair. All take direction from the District Membership Director. Their primary responsibility is to offer support and assistance to a designated handful of clubs in their local area. A few of their responsibilities include:

 Assist clubs in setting Club Membership Goals.
 Provide assistance with New Member Orientations, Inductions & Red Badge process.
 Raise awareness of Rotarian membership benefits and responsibilities
 Review Attendance reports for your clubs.
 Encourage participation in training opportunities.
 Provide Membership related club programs when requested and appropriate.
 Coordinate efforts with Assistant Governors.
 Attend and participate in District meetings.
 Connect and follow up with Rotary International membership referrals

Although it is the goal of AMC’s to offer assistance, Area Membership Chairs are sensitive to the fact that all clubs are autonomous and each has its own personality.

The transition to an AMC model for the Membership Committee began three years ago through the hard work of District Membership Director Helen Lucas and Deputy District Membership Chair George Lewis. After attending the Presidential Membership Conference and other Zone membership events, and sharing/gathering information from membership peers in other districts about how to better serve and assist clubs with the issues of membership retention and growth, it became apparent that offering a local contact who would have knowledge, access to materials and resources and who may even have a personal relationship with key club leadership members could have a positive impact and influence on membership benchmarks.

The dedicated AMC’s who have made the commitment to serve the Membership committee are making a difference. Now, any club in the district who is in need of help and/or assistance with membership issues has an AMC who lives in their neighborhood, whom they can call, meet with, or even invite to make a presentation. These are individuals who are having a powerful impact on Rotary by offering their time to help preserve and grow its membership.

Past District Governor and author of The ABC’s of Rotary Cliff Dochterman (Rotary Club of Moraga, CA) observed: "Rotary International leaders keep emphasizing membership growth and extension because Rotary's very survival depends on it. If Rotary is to grow, we all must take action." In our district, the Membership Committee comprised primarily of 18 amazing AMC’s is available to help clubs do just that.

Submitted by D5110 District Membership Chair, Helen Lucas

NOTE: Nearly half of the districts in Zones 25-26 now have Assistant Membership Chairs. Though they may have slightly different titles, the job descriptions are essentially the same. Often the AMC is coordinated with the same region as the Assistant Governor. We are seeing a difference in terms of membership growth and Rotary knowledge in those districts who are providing the personal service of an AMC.

Your Voice, Your Solution for recruiting members

Rotary International News -- 4 January 2010

How do you attract prospective members to your club?

W elcome to Rotary International’s problem-solving forum. Each month, Rotarians are asked for their ideas and strategies to address challenges they deal with every day.

Provide your input to help create a Rotary knowledge base of best practices and new ideas that will help Rotarians around the world improve their clubs and their service to the community.

Please use the comments section to share your solution to the problem described below. Return to this page before the end of the month to read solutions from your fellow Rotarians. Comments may be used in abbreviated form in other RI publications, including the Rotary E-Learning Center.
Problem: Finding prospective members

Your club president wants to add two new members to the club.

How do you invite prospective members to a club meeting?

Past problems and your solutions:

* Club members don't volunteer their time
* Club doesn't accommodate family obligations

Go to:
http://www.rotary.org/en/MediaAndNews/News/Pages/100104_news_yourvoice.aspx

Social media trends in 2010

Social Media Corner:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rotary-International/7268844551
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=858557
http://twitter.com/rotary
http://www.youtube.com/rotaryinternational
http://www.flickr.com/groups/familyofrotary/


This year, the mainstream news media embraced social media, and Rotary clubs and districts demonstrated that they're comfortable using it, that it can provide great marketing, and that it can serve as an effective communication tool for reaching out to potential new members. With 2010 around the corner, social media predictions abound. Read about how social media will change in the next year.

Start the new year by writing better headlines
Your headlines matter. They are the words that make someone want (or not want) to read your Rotary story. When you send a press release about your club's efforts to local news outlets, does your headline catch their attention? Read more about writing better headlines.

January is Rotary Awareness Month
Because January is Rotary Awareness Month, it's a great time to reflect on what it means to be a Rotarian. Rotary's strength lies in the more than 33,000 Rotary clubs in 200 countries and geographical areas, and this an opportunity to make sure your community knows who you are and what you do. Consider these tips during Rotary Awareness Month:

*Share your club's Web site or blog through an electronic news release highlighting Rotary Awareness Month.
*Invite a journalist, media professional, friend, or co-worker to an upcoming club meeting.
*Write a letter to the editor of your local paper about your club's community and international humanitarian efforts.
*Coordinate a community service project with another local organization.
*Purchase or download the RI publications This Is Rotary, What's Rotary?, or Rotary Basics, and distribute them at key locations throughout your community.

Did you know that Rotary PR Tips reaches more than 6,000 people in 115 countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe? It's a great opportunity to learn how the media works and how other cultures promote their projects. What PR tip would you share with readers? Send it to pr@rotary.org.

See Yourself in Print!

Bryn Stiles, editor of Membership Matters, the Zones 24, 25, 26 & 32 Newsletter, is soliciting articles for the 2010 newsletters. Please send him your ideas and "best practices" or an article that you read or wrote that you think might be applied to Rotary membership (generational, social networking, PR, etc.) Send these ideas to Bryn at bryn.styles@gmail.com and while you're at it, how about sending to me too at judi5110@comcast.net.

Happy Holidays to you all!
Judi

Membership Recruiting Ideas

When it comes to recruiting club members, there are almost as many ideas as there are Rotarians, which is not surprising considering Rotary's diversity.

There are some universal themes that come up again and again. Others capitalize on new technologies and communication methods, or are targeted at expanding Rotary’s demographic reach. Below are 10 tips from Rotarians for increasing membership:

1. Invite friends, colleagues, or neighbors to participate in one of your club's projects.
2. Keep a supply of the Start with Rotary postcards and wallet cards, and give them to potential members.
3. Encourage prospective members who live outside your geographic area to visit the RI Web site, view membership videos, and complete a prospective member form.
4. Ask your district membership chair to contact qualified candidates who have come to the district's attention through an online referral.
5. Talk with potential members about Rotary's humanitarian work, including programs like PolioPlus. Mention the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's involvement in the polio eradication effort through Rotary's US$200 Million Challenge.
6. Invite professional women in your community to one of your club meetings. Initiate projects that focus on women's issues, and invite prominent women in the community to participate, speak, or lead.
7. Maintain contact with all local alumni of Rotary's educational and service programs, and organize events for them. Work with qualified candidates to help them join your club.
8. Advertise special programs or projects on social networking sites such as Craigslist, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Orkut, and invite visitors to your club meetings and events. Learn about RI's official social networking pages.
9. Sponsor an open house (or an open meeting with a special guest) that caters to a demographic group or classification that isn't represented in the club.
10. Maintain a Web site for your club so that interested individuals can easily find out who you are, what you do, and what inspires you.

CLASSIFICATIONS -- Food for Thought

It is just as important today as in 1905, when Rotary was first established, to recognize the worthiness of all useful occupations. ALL means ALL, not just medicine, law, science, theology, finance and education, but also law enforcement, repair, sales, service, farming, ranching, carpentry, etc. John W. Gardner, former Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare said: "The society which scorns excellence in plumbing because plumbing is a humble activity, and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity, will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy. Neither it's pipes nor its theories will hold water."

Thank you to PDG David Allen for sharing this quote.