EVERY MONTH IS MEMBERSHIP MONTH!

Posted by Debi Bush (Denver Cherry Creek) membership@rotary5450.org 
 
 
Major Keys to my Club’s Success -- the 5 W’s
 
It’s August which in Rotary talk means “Membership Month.” Over the years I have mentioned that every month (and week and day) should be focused on membership. It’s time to have a discussion with yourself and your fellow Rotarians in your club to ask a few difficult questions:
  • Welcoming — We do a great job of welcoming guests and visitors when they visit us early on a Tuesday morning. The Membership Chair (yes, it’s me) or our President welcomes the guests and visiting Rotarians at the beginning of the business part of the meeting. 
  • Warmth — Nothing demonstrates the warmth for my club than going around the room for Happy Dollars. We have the opportunity to share happy and sad events in our personal and professional lives and this creates a special connectedness. We’re fortunate because we’re a small enough club (29 members and growing) that we’re able to have everyone speak. I understand that larger clubs don’t have this luxury and sometimes have a handful of members donate Happy Dollars. Figure out how your club – regardless of size – can bring this type of warmth to your weekly meeting.
 
  • WOW ‘em — We continue to have a great schedule of speakers including Rotarians from our own club. This is appealing to guests as well as our own members and provides more reason to come to the Tuesday meeting. Clubs in our district bring in great speakers so you could look at other clubs’ websites for ideas.
  • Wonderful Follow Up — Just as in business, one needs to follow up in a prompt manner with a prospective Rotarian. We do a pretty darn good job with that. There are several steps in this process and maintaining consistency is yet another key to our success. Placing the prospect onto a drip marketing email list also helps because it’s not always the right time for someone to join after they have visited. We keep our club top of mind with monthly speaker and project update emails.
  • Workaround & Flexibility — We are a relaxed club that accomplishes great things. I believe that our mission to work with and around a member’s hectic personal and professional life keeps them “sticky” to the club. We try not to pressure members about attendance, yet we do encourage frequent attendance and make-ups. We try not to pressure members about sponsorships; however, we encourage them to donate or find others who will. We have learned not to pressure members about the amount of time devoted to a committee or project; however, we do our best to discover a member’s passion and interests so we keep them engaged and they may want to put in extra effort on behalf of the club when possible.
Get your Rotarians emotionally involved and committed to Rotary for that is Engagement! DG Mary Kay says” Work hard and play hard together!”
 
Let’s make membership the flame to attract new Rotarians and engage our current Rotarians and light up our district to continue to be at the forefront of membership initiatives and growth.

Exemplary Membership Growth (in alphabetical order)
  • Centennial
  • E-Club One of D5450
  • Erie
  • Gilpin County Peak to Peak
  • Grand Lake
  • Kremmling
  • South Jeffco