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.
RI Zones 25-26 Rotary Coordinator News
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
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
Happy Holidays to you all!
Judi
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
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:
- Invite friends, colleagues, or neighbors to participate in one of your club's projects.
- Keep a supply of the Start with Rotary postcards and wallet cards, and give them to potential members.
- Encourage prospective members who live outside your geographic area to visit the RI Web site, view membership videos, and complete a prospective member form.
- Ask your district membership chair to contact qualified candidates who have come to the district's attention through an online referral.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
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.
Thank you to PDG David Allen for sharing this quote.
Monday, November 30, 2009
December 2009 Membership Matters
The December 2009 edition of Membership Matters is available from the Zone 24/32 webpage. It can also be accessed by clicking on the following link or pasting it to your address bar.
http://www.clubrunner.ca/zonedata/22/html/798/Membership%20Matters%20December%202009.pdf
http://www.clubrunner.ca/zonedata/22/html/798/Membership%20Matters%20December%202009.pdf
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
From Rosemary Aragon - Zone Public Image Chair
It's time to report successes!
Public Image Resource Group General Chair Pauline Leung (Taiwan) and Assistant General Chair Bob Tomlinson (Scotland) are looking for reports of the successful PR projects for our 2009-10 first-half progress report.
What worked?! Where did the public learn about Rotary? Please explain your successful project(s) in 200 words or less and include free-standing high resolution .jpg images this week.
Could you give me your brief description by Thursday November 20? Please don’t hide your light under a bushel—I have seen what you are doing!
Contact Rosemary at rba2002@earthlink.net
Public Image Resource Group General Chair Pauline Leung (Taiwan) and Assistant General Chair Bob Tomlinson (Scotland) are looking for reports of the successful PR projects for our 2009-10 first-half progress report.
What worked?! Where did the public learn about Rotary? Please explain your successful project(s) in 200 words or less and include free-standing high resolution .jpg images this week.
Could you give me your brief description by Thursday November 20? Please don’t hide your light under a bushel—I have seen what you are doing!
Contact Rosemary at rba2002@earthlink.net
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Best Practices. District 5160. RC Concord, California
‘Shoulder to Shoulder’ Plan -- A lifeline for member retention during tough times
For more than a decade, automotive services business owner ‘Harold Jamison’ had been an active Rotarian and local civic leader. Following his year as club president, Harold continued to accept leadership roles in Rotary, chaired the club’s endowment program, and volunteered for nearly every community service project. A multiple Paul Harris Fellow, a Rotary club could not ask for a more giving individual to represent the ideals of our organization than Harold.
Late last year, the downturn in our economy brought about what can only be termed the ‘perfect storm’ for this Rotarian and his family. His automotive business had just failed, and the buyer of his recently sold residence defaulted on a note payable. And, like most of us, Harold and his wife watched their retirement portfolio nearly evaporate in the closing months of 2008. Cash reserves that would have normally provided a ‘lifeboat’ for the crisis this family was experiencing were simply not available. Clearly, more than just emotions were sinking.
It was quickly becoming evident this Rotarian would not be able to meet his ongoing financial obligations to an organization to which he has been so committed for so many years. Rotary was about to lose a valuable long-time member who, under other circumstances, may have continued being active in Rotary for another decade or more. Truly a loss for all concerned.
Fortunately, Harold’s Rotary club in District 5160 had recently launched a unique retention strategy to address unforeseen instances such as this. The goal of the club’s ‘Shoulder-To-Shoulder’ program, now in its second year, is to reduce potential resignations of deserving Rotarians who have been a member for at least one year, are experiencing extreme financial hardship, yet are willing to remain active members through regular attendance and by participating in club service projects.
For Rotarians approved for eligibility in the S-2-S program, annual dues, luncheon billings and other financial obligations related to membership may be waived for a period of (up to) one year. To insure that the member is living up to his or her part of the agreement, an informal review is conducted every ninety days. If a need still exists, and provided the member has continued to maintain attendance and participate in ‘no-cost’ club activities, this fee exemption program can be ongoing -- for up to one year.
For confidentiality purposes, and to avoid any embarrassment to the member, only the club president, membership director and treasurer are brought into the process. The club’s board of directors, in approving the S-2-S program last year, gave broad discretion to a committee comprised of these two officers and its membership director, trusting that sound judgment would prevail in granting a member this exemption and then closely monitoring its progress.
The Board concurred that the anticipated loss of (dues and luncheon) revenues could be absorbed with a minimal impact on club finances. The rationale is that, by lending a helping hand at a critical time, temporarily removing the financial obstacles of being a Rotarian would enable an individual to remain active in a club service role and also benefit from the ongoing emotional support of the club’s fellowship. Most importantly, when economic recovery for the member does occur, it is very likely this Rotarian may feel even a stronger allegiance to the organization, recognizing we make ‘helping our own’ as high a priority as helping others in the community. Caring is a two-way street. When we care enough about our own members to take action, we are also taking a meaningful step towards membership retention.
It may be too early to gauge the long-term success of this fledgling program, however initial results are encouraging. During the 15 months since the S-2-S program was created in this club, four deserving Rotarians were deemed to be eligible by the committee. After being on the program for less than six months, two of those members are back on solid-footing and have resumed handling financial obligations on their own - - one relocated out of the area in order to secure employment, but hopes to become active in a Rotary club in his new locale.
As for Harold, he has recently found employment with a start-up venture that appears to have potential. He attends club luncheon meetings whenever possible and currently serves as president of his Rotary club’s Foundation and chairs their monthly board meeting. Harold is confident his situation is improving as each month goes by, grateful that his Rotary affiliation and fellow Rotarians provided this lifeline which enables him to continue the work of Rotary and yet focus on the challenges that still persist in his professional and personal life.
As Rotarians, we are frequently encouraged to apply the 4-Way Test to the things we think, say and do. When it comes to helping a fellow Rotarian maintain active membership during difficult times, this club’s innovative Shoulder to Shoulder program certainly meets all the criteria!
For additional information on the Shoulder to Shoulder program mentioned in this article, contact:
Rick Ernst, Membership Director
Rotary Club of Concord, CA USA
District 5160
email: rick_ernst@comcast.net
For more than a decade, automotive services business owner ‘Harold Jamison’ had been an active Rotarian and local civic leader. Following his year as club president, Harold continued to accept leadership roles in Rotary, chaired the club’s endowment program, and volunteered for nearly every community service project. A multiple Paul Harris Fellow, a Rotary club could not ask for a more giving individual to represent the ideals of our organization than Harold.
Late last year, the downturn in our economy brought about what can only be termed the ‘perfect storm’ for this Rotarian and his family. His automotive business had just failed, and the buyer of his recently sold residence defaulted on a note payable. And, like most of us, Harold and his wife watched their retirement portfolio nearly evaporate in the closing months of 2008. Cash reserves that would have normally provided a ‘lifeboat’ for the crisis this family was experiencing were simply not available. Clearly, more than just emotions were sinking.
It was quickly becoming evident this Rotarian would not be able to meet his ongoing financial obligations to an organization to which he has been so committed for so many years. Rotary was about to lose a valuable long-time member who, under other circumstances, may have continued being active in Rotary for another decade or more. Truly a loss for all concerned.
Fortunately, Harold’s Rotary club in District 5160 had recently launched a unique retention strategy to address unforeseen instances such as this. The goal of the club’s ‘Shoulder-To-Shoulder’ program, now in its second year, is to reduce potential resignations of deserving Rotarians who have been a member for at least one year, are experiencing extreme financial hardship, yet are willing to remain active members through regular attendance and by participating in club service projects.
For Rotarians approved for eligibility in the S-2-S program, annual dues, luncheon billings and other financial obligations related to membership may be waived for a period of (up to) one year. To insure that the member is living up to his or her part of the agreement, an informal review is conducted every ninety days. If a need still exists, and provided the member has continued to maintain attendance and participate in ‘no-cost’ club activities, this fee exemption program can be ongoing -- for up to one year.
For confidentiality purposes, and to avoid any embarrassment to the member, only the club president, membership director and treasurer are brought into the process. The club’s board of directors, in approving the S-2-S program last year, gave broad discretion to a committee comprised of these two officers and its membership director, trusting that sound judgment would prevail in granting a member this exemption and then closely monitoring its progress.
The Board concurred that the anticipated loss of (dues and luncheon) revenues could be absorbed with a minimal impact on club finances. The rationale is that, by lending a helping hand at a critical time, temporarily removing the financial obstacles of being a Rotarian would enable an individual to remain active in a club service role and also benefit from the ongoing emotional support of the club’s fellowship. Most importantly, when economic recovery for the member does occur, it is very likely this Rotarian may feel even a stronger allegiance to the organization, recognizing we make ‘helping our own’ as high a priority as helping others in the community. Caring is a two-way street. When we care enough about our own members to take action, we are also taking a meaningful step towards membership retention.
It may be too early to gauge the long-term success of this fledgling program, however initial results are encouraging. During the 15 months since the S-2-S program was created in this club, four deserving Rotarians were deemed to be eligible by the committee. After being on the program for less than six months, two of those members are back on solid-footing and have resumed handling financial obligations on their own - - one relocated out of the area in order to secure employment, but hopes to become active in a Rotary club in his new locale.
As for Harold, he has recently found employment with a start-up venture that appears to have potential. He attends club luncheon meetings whenever possible and currently serves as president of his Rotary club’s Foundation and chairs their monthly board meeting. Harold is confident his situation is improving as each month goes by, grateful that his Rotary affiliation and fellow Rotarians provided this lifeline which enables him to continue the work of Rotary and yet focus on the challenges that still persist in his professional and personal life.
As Rotarians, we are frequently encouraged to apply the 4-Way Test to the things we think, say and do. When it comes to helping a fellow Rotarian maintain active membership during difficult times, this club’s innovative Shoulder to Shoulder program certainly meets all the criteria!
For additional information on the Shoulder to Shoulder program mentioned in this article, contact:
Rick Ernst, Membership Director
Rotary Club of Concord, CA USA
District 5160
email: rick_ernst@comcast.net
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