Welcome District 5190 Membership Chairs! This new Membership Blog is designed to keep you up to date on membership ideas, issues, activities, and program elements that will keep your club stable and growing. There is just so much going on in the arena of Membership, that I think that it might be best to get it out in a little smaller "bite-sized" chunks. Of course a great resource is our District 5190 web site http://www.rotarydistrict5190.org/ . Any resources that I refer to in this blog will be found on our website under Membership Development.
We're Halfway There: Not only are we about halfway to our goal of a net gain of 100 new members, we are halfway through this Rotary year. Amazing how time flies, isn't it? Let's gear up and start the big push to end the year with success!
Update: Our current membership number for the District is showing as 2,503 active members on the Club Runner summary. That's a gain of 60 from our July 1st SAR number. However, we need to intensify our focus for the second half of the year, especially our focus on retention. Last year we netted 8 new members district wide. We accomplished this by adding about 208 new members, and losing about 200! I know we can do better this year with increased effort and focus by you and your committee during the 2nd half of the year.
Ignite: This year fewer clubs are participating in the Ignite Membership Program. We need to turn this around. Last year we had 41 clubs attain "Premier" status in the program, with a total of 47 participating at some level. Premier clubs were very successful. They grew by an average of 4%, while non-Premier Clubs shrank by 2% on average. Please, if you are looking for a relatively easy way to "Ignite" your club membership, give me a call (530-906-2253) or email me (woody5190@gmail.com) for info. on implementation of the Ignite Program. We are flexible, and want this to work for you and your club.
Engage your new members: Engagement is the key to developing and retaining great Rotary members. Engagement shows them you care, and helps them build a habit of participation with you and your club. It really is the glue of retention! There is a new tool that DG Vicki has put together for your use on our website. There are a total of 12 letters all written and ready for you to fill in the blanks and customize. The letters are intended to engage and help orient new members. They are designed to be mailed to a new member weekly (or whatever interval you decide) to help inform and welcome them to your Rotary club, based on the belief that new Rotarians benefit from understanding the basic tenants of Rotary, as well as specific information about your club. This is a fabulous tool! Imagine how your recently inducted member will feel about your club after receiving these letters. You can get your club secretary involved to help you, or appoint a member of your committee to accomplish this important task. Click on the link below to go directly to the Membership Development page. (You might have to log in first.)
That's all for now. Stay tuned for more Membership information on this District 5190 Membership Blog!!
PDG Woody
D5190 Membership Chair
