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Retention of members is critical to Rotary’s ability to meet the growing demand for

humanitarian needs and volunteer services throughout the world.

CLOSING TH

E BACK DOOR

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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

CLUB ADMINISTRATION 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.

IDEAS FR

OM OTHER NON-

PROFIT

S 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.

How do they

do it?

IDEAS FR

OM OTHER NON-

PROFIT

S2. 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.

How do they

do it?

IDEAS FR

OM OTHER NON-

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S3. Make Volunteering

ConvenientMost 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.

How do they

do it?

IDEAS FR

OM OTHER NON-

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S 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.

How do they

do it?

IDEAS FR

OM OTHER NON-

PROFIT

S5. Show AppreciationEvery 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 oftenplanning some organized volunteer-appreciation activitiesgiving little speeches at events saying how much particular volunteers have done for your organization, and accompanying this with awards, certificates, or small plaques

How do they

do it?

Click icon to add picture

CLOSE TH

E BACK DOOR

Retain ou

r mem

bers

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”.