Rotary Membership zone 15

New clubs and celebrations in district 2220

2011-01-12T21:05:00.003+01:00

Two new clubs have been chartered in Stavropol and in Vladikavkaz.
A Rotaract club has been chartered in Kazan and an Interact club in Yaroslav.
The St Petersburg RC celebrated its 20th anniversary in October 2010 and the Murmansk RC celebrated 15 years in November.
Congratulations to our Rotary friends in Russia.

Membership measures

2010-06-20T09:57:00.005+02:00

We are approaching a new Rotary year which among other things means that there will be new Rotary leaders in the clubs and in the districts. The well known saying "What gets measured gets done" is also valid for membership development in clubs and districts.
So I encourage you to define some easy to follow up measures which will drive membership development next year. For instance number of new members to be inducted, number of invited guests, attendance at the club meetings, etc.
From July 1 Matti Honkala is Rotary Coordinator for zone 15 and he has asked me to assist him with membership development. I am looking forward to working with Matti and also to the continued contacts with you.

E-club

2010-06-15T20:02:00.002+02:00

At the COL it was decided that it is possible to start two E-clubs in a district. An E-club is for members who for different reasons cannot regularly attend club meetings which take place in a physical location.
eRotary London is one of several existing e-clubs. Go to their website and see how it works.

Inter Country Committee - ICC Russia-Scandinavia

2010-06-12T16:30:00.003+02:00

In short ICC is a cooperation between two countries with the aim to establish twin clubs, to organize exchanges for youth, vocational exchanges, find joint projects, etc. Read more about the beginning and development of ICC in Rotary.

Vladimir Kalugin is coordinator in district 2220 for ICC Russia-Scandinavia and Christina Bredin is coordinator Scandinavia. At the ICC meeting in Moscow on June 4 we were invited to visit Murmansk in November to participate in celebrating 15 years with Murmansk RC.

To be engaged in an ICC is a good way to strengthen membership in the clubs and we hope that many clubs in Russia will be interested in finding twin clubs in Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway.

Rotary in Russia 20 years

2010-05-30T22:33:00.003+02:00

On June 5 there will be an International seminar in Moscow to celebrate the 20 years of Rotary in Russia with participation of Carl-Wilhelm Stenhammar (RI president 2005-06) and other rotarians who were deeply involved from the start.
During the first 15 years the Russian clubs were part of two Swedish districts and one Finnish district. In 2006 a new district was opened by Carl-Wilhelm Stenhammar and the European part of Russia became district 2220.
Russia is part of my membership responsibility as RRIMC in zone 15 and it has been exciting to follow the development of the district during these three years. I will travel to Moscow to participate in the International seminar. I will report about the event in this blog next week.

Checklist - a useful tool

2010-05-14T08:24:00.006+02:00

In professional life and in private life checklists are widely adopted to get the right things done. So why not at the Rotary club.
Membership committée chairs in clubs are busy people like everybody else in today's business world. To help them deal with the important issues regularly a good check list can become very beneficial.
Read more about this matter in the article by PDG Alana Bergh in the Membership newsletter for zones 24,25,26&32. You will find examples of useful checklists there.

Decisions at COL

2010-05-06T23:15:00.004+02:00

One of the decisions taken at the COL which is of importance for membeship development is to permanently approve e-clubs. Maximum two in a district. Read more about it here.
Another decision is that the "85 rule" only applies to those of 65 years or older.

Follow the decisions at the COL

2010-04-28T22:15:00.002+02:00

This link will take you to the Council of Legislation's unofficial voting results. Some of the decision will have inpact on membership development, so it is good to be updated.

New club in district 2220

2010-04-28T22:12:00.001+02:00

Please help me welcome the new club in Yaroslavl, Russia which was chartered in March with 25 members. The club has its meetings on Sundays.

NEW CLUBS

2010-04-14T12:59:00.003+02:00

It is a true please to announce the start of two new clubs in our zone.
Ängelholm-Bjäre RC, district 2400 was chartered end of March with 35 members, 13 women and 22 men.
Märsta RC, district 2350 will be chartered beginning of May with 21 new members.
Congratulations to these two districts and the people who have made it possible. The best way to increase membership in Rotary is no doubt by starting new clubs. So I hope that more districts are doing the same.

Training for DMC and committée members

2010-04-11T21:41:00.004+02:00

At the zone institute in October in Alborg, Denmark there will be "The Rotary Coordinator seminar" which will focus on three areas:
- Building membership through stronger clubs and districts
- RI programs
- Best practices that will strengthen clubs and districts
This seminar replaces the Membership seminar, so I recommend that you to send somebody from your district to this seminar. If you register before April 30 the fee is low. To send people to a regional seminar is a good investment for the district.
For more details, go to the seminar website.

What makes your club unique?

2010-03-28T17:13:00.004+02:00

In large cities there are many Rotary clubs. So each club needs to think about its image and what you have that makes your club unique. When new members are recruited to Rotary they have a choice of several clubs and you want them to join your club. So what do you answer when the prospect members asks: Why should I join your club? What's special with your club?
The best persons to answer these questions are your club members. So let the club members discuss this during one Rotary meeting and write down everything they come up with. Then the board has ample of positive things to use when they want to formulate the best answer to the initial question.

Recruitement and image

2010-03-18T18:34:00.005+01:00

A club's image is directly related to its ability to recruit new members. Therefore it is important that the club membership committée works closely with the club PR committtée. They need to cooperate and find the best way of creating a positive image of Rotary. Effective PR is often created by the way rotarians speak about Rotary with their friends, colleagues, and neighbours. A dynamic club website which is updated regularly and features programs, members, projects, etc makes good advertisement for the club.

Click on this link to download the Club membership committée manual. It contains everything a Club membership chair needs to become successful in recruitment and retention.

PETS times

2010-03-05T11:25:00.004+01:00

Membership development is an important issue during the Seminars for incoming club presidents which are going on in all districts now. They should get the overall picture of membership development worldwide and in their own district.
Ask them if they have a Club Membership Chair who has this function for three years for the sake of continuity. It is important for every club to include goals for membership development in the club goals. Each club should involve all members in discussing which goals are relevant. Clubs planning their future have potential for better projects, better meetings, a more inviting atmosphere for new members, and motivating existing members.

Attract the Facebook generation

2010-02-19T10:40:00.003+01:00

Most clubs want to attract the younger generation, but to do so the club needs to be present where the young generation meets. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and You tube is part of the young generationn's daily life. Rotary International has wisely seen to it that you will find Rotary in all these sites. The local club however has to be there on its own merits.

In some districts a Facebook group has been created for the incoming presidents, so they have their own forum to communicate and discuss with each other after PETS. Many clubs have their own Facebook group where the members keep in contact with each other and the president has instant access to all club members.

So when you have young people joining the club, please make them part of upgrading the club to the new generation of Rotarians.

Membership reports January 31

2010-02-14T22:18:00.005+01:00

Click in the table and you will see it enlarged. If you want to download the complete report, use this link: http://www.rotary.org/RIdocuments/en_pdf/memb_comparison_current_en.pdf . If you want to see the member count by country, this is the link: http://www.rotary.org/RIdocuments/en_pdf/memb_count_country_current.pdf

Celebrate Rotary's birthday 23 February

2010-02-07T17:15:00.003+01:00

Hopefully all clubs are planning to do something to celebrate Rotary's 105th birthday on February 23 or another day during that same week. In cities with several Rotary clubs a joint celebration is a good way of bringing many rotarians together and do not forget to tell your local media about the event.

World understanding

2010-02-06T17:04:00.003+01:00

February is world understanding month in Rotary. The best way of getting to understand other cultures in the world is visiting Rotary clubs in other countries and talk to the members. To develop friendship with Rotarians in other countries.
Through GSE we offer young people to travel to other countries and get an understanding of the new country. Through RFE - Rotary Friendship Exchange, Rotarians travel to other countries where they stay in the homes of Rotarians and develop a long term friendship and understanding. Rotarians who have participated in RFE say it is the best way of getting to know Rotary outside your own country.

January - Rotary Awareness Month

2010-01-08T16:34:00.003+01:00

Make sure clubs know where they can find help to promote Rotary in their community. Most districts have appointed a PR chair who is a good person to turn to when clubs need advice. Rotary International has produced a lot of excellent material ready to use, go to the Humanity in motion site and see for yourself.
When you have guest visiting your club who are not Rotarians, make sure you give them some printed material about Rotary and your club. You can buy good quality printed material from shop.rotary.org.
Run an informative slide show during a club meeting. You can download it from here.

Membership figures from Nov 30, 2009

2009-12-14T23:22:00.006+01:00

The latest membership figures have been sent out to all DMCs. And when you analyze your own figures you will know what to do about it.

Please make sure you have a good time slot at the PETS so that you can discuss membership development with the incoming presidents. If they want something to happen during their presidential year, planning has to start early next year. And I am sure your support will be most appreciated.

Thank you for your membeship efforts this year.

I wish you a relaxing and enjoyable Christmas and all the best for the New Year!

Building a puzzle

2009-12-01T22:26:00.006+01:00

At the district conference in D2340 the Membership committée wanted to do something different that people would remember. So a puzzle was created and built on stage where a special membership message was delivered for each piece.
Membership development comes out of team work and it really took team work to build this puzzle, which was greatly appreciated by the audience.

Two new club chartered in D2220

2009-11-24T21:23:00.004+01:00

The Pokrovka Rotary Club was charterd on October 9 as the ninth club in Moscow. The charter President Alain Fournier-Sicre, French by birth but since many years living in Russia. The club has many members of French origin but there are also Russian members. The first project of the new club is the opening of a library for young blind people. They also plan to sponsor the start of a Rotaract club.

The Sochi Rotary Club was chartered on November 14. The city of Sochi will soon be very well know as the winter olympic games will be held there in 2014.

It is a great pleasure to welcome the new members of the Pokrovka RC and the Sochi RC into Rotary and good luck with the clubs.

And there are more clubs to come. Initiatives have been taken to start new clubs in a number of cities in district 2220.

Invite Alumni as members

2009-11-17T21:55:00.003+01:00

In every district there are a number of alumni (GSE-students, ambassadorial scolars, RYLA participants, etc) who are waiting for an invitation to join Rotary. These people have experienced Rotary at its best and have very high thoughts of Rotary. So do not let them wait any longer, give them a call or send a mail or SMS and invite them for next week's Rotary meeting.

I ask all Membership Chairs to cooperate with the district Alumni responsible to create a win-win situation for alumni and for Rotary.

Informative Club web site

2009-11-08T15:18:00.003+01:00

Potential new members will no doubt check out the website of the club he/she would like to join. So what is the status of your club web site? Does it really promote what your club does? Does it help new members to find the right persons to contact? District Membership Chair and PR Chair can help clubs to improve their web sites. Start with your own club.

The importance of RETENTION

2009-11-01T14:06:00.004+01:00

The first step to retaining a member occurs the very day a member joins your club, or maybe even before. Each new members deserves a high quality introduction to Rotary so that he or she knows what Rotary has to offer by also what is expected from a member.

New members must be given information about the interesting history, customs and traditions of Rotary. All new rotarians must be brought into the wide circle of friends we call the Family of Rotary. And of course they are given a meaningful task in the club that makes them feel that they are worthy members of the club.

One of the most critical factors that in particular young members leave is the quality of the club meetings. All club meetings must be interesting, fun and enjoyable.
We have to be alert to symtoms which lead to resignation. Frequently missed meetings, lack of interest to participate in projects, failure to participate in social events, family or business problems. Here is where club leaders play an important role in contacting the member and have a conversation about possibilities for the member to stay with the club.

Membership seminars Oct-Dec 2009

2009-10-25T20:23:00.005+01:00

These are the remaining Membership seminars this autumn.
When you click on the table you will see it larger.

Five will find one.

2009-10-18T16:24:00.005+02:00

There are many creative ways to go to the market to find new members. Why not try the "five find one" concept which has been used widely with great success. It involves all the members of the club.
Divide the members of the club into teams of five. Each team will get a time frame during which they work together to find suitable prospect members who they invite to the club. Before a specified date the team should have at least one candidate who they will present to the club as being interested in becoming a member. In a club with 30 members this concept will result in at least 6 new members in one year.
Why not give it a try!

"My club is not doing anything."

2009-10-12T21:04:00.004+02:00

This is the answer from a large number of former Rotarians when asked why they left Rotary.
Let's work with the clubs and make sure this will not be the reason in the future. When rentention is addressed at the PETS this should be an important issue to discuss among incoming presidents. And any club working according to the Club Leadership Plan will no doubt be better prepared to deal with the issue.
The district membership committee can cooperated with the AGs to help clubs start doing things.

Photo gallery from Warsaw

2009-10-07T17:08:00.003+02:00

This link will take you to the internet site of the zone institute in Warsaw. In the left menue you will find links to a photo gallery and to the presentations.

Regional Membership seminar Warsaw

2009-10-03T09:44:00.004+02:00

The seminar in Warsaw was a stimulating event with all participants engaged in the questions discussed. The success of a seminar of this kind is always depandant on the engagement of the participants and my feeling is that we had a very open, creative and friendly atmosphere in the group.

Documentation from the seminar is available on http://www.rotary.se/ Look under tab "Medlemskap".

Discussing about Facebook and other media for communication we mentioned last year's participant Karin Sköld, who had a flying start on theFacebook. Read more here.

District Membership Chair (DMC)

2009-09-13T15:19:00.004+02:00

According to the latest survey 20 % of districts worldwide do not have a membership committee. Ensuring that a district has an active membership committee is crucial to successful membership development efforts.
According to the survey made in zone 15 this autumn 93% of the districts have a memership committee.
In the check list below you will find some of the tasks for the committee:

Encourage clubs to set membership goals and make a membership development plan.
Visit clubs and speak about effective membership activities
Ensure that each club has a membership chair.
Arrange membership seminars
Cooperate with PR committee and AGs

Membership seminars this autumn

2009-09-10T23:43:00.002+02:00

Reach One, Keep One

2009-09-02T09:24:00.003+02:00

The new memership slogan emphasizes the need for Rotarians to focus on both recruitment and retention in their membership growth efforts.

The RI Board of directors adopted the new membership slogan at its June meeting. The new slogan complements the board's long term membership strategy.

"Reach One" reminds us that because Rotary membeship is by invitation, it's essential that each Rotarian reaches out and invites someone to join.

"Keep One" reminds us that it's not sufficient to simply sponsor someone into Rotary. We must also see that new members become active and involved Rotarians. It is an essential element in membership retention.

Membership report 30 June 2009

2009-08-04T23:01:00.004+02:00

Difficult to read? Click on the image and it will be enlarged.

The future of Rotary is in your hands

2009-08-04T09:48:00.010+02:00

RI president John Kenny has established the following membership goals for 2009-2010:
Club recognition requirements:

A minimum of one net member increase
A minimum of 80 % retention rate

and certification by the district governor of two of the following achievements:

- Increased percentage of qualified women
- Increased percentage of qualified younger professionals (under age 50)
- Induction of at least one alumna or alumnus of RI or the Rotary Foundation
- Increased diversity of membership (classification, gender, age, ethnicity)

District recognition requirements:

A minimum of one net member of increase in each existing club
A minimum of 80 % retention rate
A minimum of one or two new clubs organized

All clubs and districts who reach these membership goals will receive a certificate signed by RI president John Kenny.

Time for Convention in Birmingham

2009-06-13T19:11:00.003+02:00

Next week the Rotary Convention in Birmingham starts and as always I am very excited to meet old friends and make new friends from all parts of the Rotary world.
In the House of Friendship there will be a Membership booth which will be manned by RRIMCs throughout the convention.
On Monday June 22 there will be three membership related workshops targeted at club officers and those interested in membership development: recruitment, retention and organizing new clubs. I have been asked to participate as members of the organizing new clubs panel. As we have started two new clubs in my district this year I hope that my experience will be of interest to the participants.

Membership statistics from May 31, 2009

2009-06-10T11:03:00.003+02:00

Click on the image to see it bigger.

Membership statistics for April 2009

2009-05-07T23:57:00.004+02:00

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Click on the image and it will open and become larger in a new window.

The Story of Rotary International

2009-05-04T23:43:00.007+02:00

Rotary International is pleased to announce a new paperback edition of its popular history book A Century of Service: The Story of Rotary International . It is available at shop.rotary.org in English, Japanese, and Spanish for US$15 and includes a new foreword by 2004-05 RI President Glenn E. Estess Sr.
Written by Rotarian David C. Forward, the book captures the successes of Rotary's first century of service in a rich collection of facts, stories, and photographs. Since its hardcover release at the 2004 International Assembly, the book has sold more than 30,000 copies.

This is an excellent resource and easy read. Get them for personal use or give them as gifts to new members when they do their induction speech. What better way to educate new members about our great organization.

Regional Membership Seminar 24-25/9

2009-04-23T13:59:00.006+02:00

Planning for autumn activities and events are being made now by and districts and clubs. Please make sure that you include the Regional membership seminar in Warsaw in your planning.
And if you have not yet set the dates for your district membership seminars, please do so and send them to me. This blog will feature all the dates so that rotarians can visit the membership seminar of other districts to get new friends and new ideas.

Social networking

2009-04-16T09:13:00.002+02:00

Did you know that Rotary International has a YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook page so Rotarians can connect with one another online? You can also use these sites to find links to current Rotary news, videos, and discussions from around the world.
For on-the-go people who can learn anywhere, these sites have a lot of potential. Read more about Rotary's involvement in social networking.

Latest membership report available

2009-04-13T21:48:00.004+02:00

Three districts have membership increase - well done. Hopefully we will see a few more increases before the end of the Rotary year.
Please check out your district in the Comparison to start figures membership report 31 March 2009.
Link to report.

Financial update on the global financial markets and their impact on Rotary

2009-04-13T21:36:00.004+02:00

General secretary Ed Futa has outlined the financial situation of Rotary during the present circumstances. Link to the document.

Four months to go

2009-03-01T11:44:00.000+01:00

With four months left of this Rotary year it is time to check how your district is doing with regard to membership numbers and new clubs. Contact the clubs and ask them to check how their membership numbers correspond to their goals. There is still time to take actions and achieve the goals.

How is the economic situtation affecting Rotarians? Use a survey to find out what is needed by clubs. Districts and clubs can help Rotarians with job problems. Districts can release funds to help clubs with financial support if needed. Some clubs help support members in needs by bringing down costs for meals and dues.

RRIMC training in Chicago

2009-02-26T19:44:00.000+01:00

Last week there was a training seminar for RRIMCs from all over the world in Chicago. It was valuable days with new information brought to us and the opportunity to exchange experiences. We also discussed a lot about what Rotary clubs need to do to remain competitive.

The importance for districts and clubs to have strategic planning that will help them develop a long-range vision and set goals.

It was also interesting to meet incoming RI President John Kenny who gave a speech at our first dinner.

Rotary Membership zone 15

2009-02-18T04:32:00.000+01:00

WELCOME to this blog that will keep you updated on Membership issues. Please use the possibilities to make comments.