SOME IDEAS ABOUT KEEEPING MEMBERS

Retention is an important part of membership development. How can we develop members into good Rotarians if they keep leaving. This year's Presidential Citation recognises and emphasizes this element. Clubs must retain 85% of their existing members to qualify.

In the many years I have been a Rotarian, I have observed that there are several issues that are pertinent to retaining existing members and it is my hope that by sharing my views I will help you troubleshoot better.

• Rotary education for new members and continuing education of Rotarians – It never ceases to surprise me how we take the inculcation of Rotary ideology in new members for granted. Rotary is a dynamic organization and there is constant change within our great organization. It is the responsibility of the club leadership to keep all members informed and abreast of these changes. Contiunuing education lies at the heart of any living organization. Secondly, Rotary education must not be shared in a ‘preachy’ fashion. Rotarians and accomplished individuals and what is required is a dialogue. I would encourage the transmission of Rotary knowledge in an interactive and fun setting – for example, a Rotary quiz. Alternatively this information can be shared through the bulletin. The bulletin editor can be given one or two fining sessions to ascertain who is actually reading the bulletin!!
• Dignified induction ceremony for new members – This is most essential. The dignity we profer to those whom we are inducting into Rotary membership is an indication of how highly we value our Rotary membership. If we share the view that Rotarians are important people and have an important contribution to make to society, then this should be reflected in the manner we induct and treat every new Rotarian. Because they are now members of this important fraternity. 
• Good assimilation of members – Spare no effort in assimilating new members into the club immediately. Get them involved in club projects directly and open our hearts and minds to them. Allow them to experience the great fellowship of Rotary. Just don’t talk about it. Invite them to your homes and share Rotary with them.  There some clubs where certain members tend to be in cliques. The Past Presidents’ clique, the lawyers’ clique, the District Officers’ clique, etc. etc. etc. It is natural to be close to those who share common interests with us – but make an effort to open you hearts in the interest of building a strong club.
• It also important for younger members to be given leadership positions within the club to show them that their participation is an integral part of the club. Don’t keep them out until they get fed up and leave. RI has challenged clubs around the world this coming Rotary year to induct a Rotarian under the age of 35 into the club.
• Have a life outside of Rotary. Try to share fellowship around non-Rotary and hobby activities. Like bowling together or mountain climbing or karaoke.

Rotary needs every hand it can get. As Rotarians we are aware of the enormous problems that afflict human society. You need to look into your hearts and search for the reasons that made you a Rotarian and more importantly, kept you a Rotarian. SHARE this with the new Rotarians and our organization will prosper and grow strong. And our communities will benefit from your inspiration. YOUR WORK IN ROTARY IS THE INSPIRATION THAT MANY ARE LOOKING FOR.

“Rotary summons men to respond to their best impulses. ..their best selves… [to] lift up their heads in every land. The best things in us are not confined by national boundaries. ” - Allen D Albert, The Tree That Is Rotary, THE ROTARIAN, December 1934

THE RIGHT CANDIDATE BY PP ARTHUR YEONG (RC KINTA)

I wonder if this business of membership development and retention is not unlike that of bumiputera membership development of a few years ago.

Remember we used to have a District Committee for Bumiputera Membership Development ? It was eventually disbanded and the reason I was told by a Malay PDG then was that in 3300 most bumiputras were Malay and it was not in their culture or habit to join clubs. I am not sure if we ever had a Women (or Lady) Membership Development Committee. Yet we have ladies joining Rotary.

My humble opinion is that people will join Rotary and leave Rotary for their own reasons. We may try to increase the reasons for their joining and reduce the reasons for their leaving but each one must find his (for brevity I will use this pronoun) own motivation for joining and staying in Rotary.

Of course conduct that is generally unpleasant or unacceptable must be avoided. Disparaging remarks, rudeness, sexism, racism, nepotism, in short anything that will fail the Four Way Test of all that we think, say and do, must be eliminated. Conversely, every kind of good conduct must be encouraged and emulated.

Other than that, I think it is ultimately a simple question of whether we induct the right candidate or not.

Let us ask ourselves : are we deliriously happy with Rotary in 3300 in general and with our own Rotary Club in particular ? If the answer is not “yes”, why have we not resigned ?

I cannot speak for anyone else but personally I have to admit to certain sporadic unhappiness with Rotary but these episodes do not last very long. I had wanted to resign about 6 months after I was inducted. Why did I not resign ? Will that shed some light on the subject ?

I did not resign then because I found a past president (in Ipoh-Kinta as it then was) I could talk to and who appeared to understand what I was going through. So whenever I had notions of giving up, I would go to him, bellyache to him, sometimes raving and ranting, and he would always put things into perspective for me. And the urge to leave subsides.

Another reason is that I feel I have discovered my niche in Rotary. I have found something which makes being a Rotarian meaningful and valuable. This makes it worthwhile spending my time and effort attending the Regular Dinner Meetings of my Club and all its activities. For its sake I put up with some of the things that may make others leave.

I know that these two reasons may not be good enough for everyone to remain in Rotary, which brings me back to my point : we have to induct the right candidate.

That then begs the question : what constitutes a right candidate ?

I cannot answer that. Everyone will have their own answers.

I can only guess that the right member genuinely believes and practices the tenets and principles of Rotary like Service Above Self, He Benefits Most Who Serves Best, Every Rotarian An Example To Youth, that we may one day achieve World Peace and Understanding and so on.

He may also be someone who believes that together we can make the world a better place, with the rich helping the poor, the healthy helping the sick, the privileged helping the under-privileged and so on.
He may believe in equality among peoples, justice, human rights and so on.

Unfortunately these are traits that may not be easily discernible or visible. They do not appear in neon lights on human foreheads.

Ultimately the right candidate, whatever strengths and weaknesses he has, whatever he believes in or eschews, has to be the one that will not leave or resign.

MDR Chair Comments

Thank you PP Arthur for your illuminating and insightful thoughts. Couldn't agree with you more. We did have a Women's Membership Committee for a few years that proved more successful than the Bumiputra Membership Committee.

Some tips for starting an e-club by Arnold R. Grahl and Ryan Hyland

As the mother of two small children, Simone Carot Collins found it increasingly difficult to attend meetings of her Rotary club after starting her own business.

Carot Collins, 2010-11 president of the Rotary Club of Freshwater Bay, Western Australia, Australia, talked to two other Rotarians in a similar situation, and approached her district governor-elect about exploring the possibility of an e-club. Carot Collins is now president-elect of the provisional Rotary E-Club of Sunset Coast, in District 9455.

"E-clubs are an invaluable way to enable committed Rotarians to remain engaged with Rotary work rather than losing them from the organization entirely," says Carot Collins, who is also past chair of the Rotarians on Social Networks Fellowship. "A change in life circumstances can make it very difficult to participate in a regular Rotary club, be it having young children, starting up a new business, or taking a job that involves regular traveling."
E-clubs have been around since 2004, when a pilot project allowed about a dozen clubs to experiment with the format.

The 2010 Council on Legislation decided to make e-clubs a permanent part of Rotary International, approving a limit of two per district. There are now more than 30 e-clubs, whose members meet weekly, plan service projects, and build friendships online.

Starting an e-club involves essentially the same process as starting any Rotary club. The responsibility of approving the new club rests with the district governor, who appoints a special representative to gauge interest and find potential members.

Selecting the special representative is crucial, says Philip Schunk, 2010-11 governor of District 7210 (New York, USA).

"The special representative must have -- or have access to someone with -- superior technical skills, and be able to communicate well to charter members," says Schunk, who helped organize an e-club in his district.
He says the representative should work with potential e-club members to ensure that they find a qualified vendor to help set up a website, if necessary, and identify members who can be trained to handle day-to-day operations. The website will need to safeguard personal data and accommodate secure financial transactions.

"Rotary needs to adapt and keep up with technology," says Schunk. "With e-clubs, we can build membership and extend our reach of fellowship."
The Rotary E-Club of District 3170 became one of the newest additions to the fold, celebrating its charter 2 July during a special dinner with members of its sponsor club, the Rotary Club of Vasco da Gama, Goa, India. Members who could not attend celebrated via the club's website.

Like Carot Collins's club, the District 3170 e-club meets both in person and online. Lizette Ödfalk, the club's public relations chair, says it has 25 charter members. Some are former Rotaractors who wanted to become Rotarians but needed flexible meeting arrangements; others are former Rotarians who had moved to places where it was difficult to maintain club membership. The club also looked to contacts on social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn. Club members are from Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, China, India, Malaysia, Norway, South Africa, and the United States.

Before starting an e-club, ask these questions:
*Why create an e-club? What need does it meet?
*How will it conduct service projects and activities?
*How will it create and strengthen friendships?
*What support will it need from your district?
*If you've found prospective members, do they have the necessary technical skills?
*What platform will you use?
*Will members meet in person as well as online?

MDR Chair's comment
We need to think more innovatively in D3300 about a more inclusive approach to Rotary membership. E-Clubs need to be started correctly and with the right amount of Rotary input but more importantly they need regular shepherding and support from the District. Let me know what you think.

FOR CLUB LEADERS - GETTING ALONG BETTER

At my last club meeting, I had an outburst of sorts. Someone complained their name was spelt wrong in the club bulletin and I reacted by saying - "I am really tired of negative comments. Someone put a lot of effort into getting the bulletin out and it looked great - but there was hardly a complementary world about that. But we are really good at being critical and negative".

I realise now that I was overreacting but that notwithstanding I would be great if we could be better at intimating our views and if we were more vocal in complementing others rather than just criticizing them.

I read this some time ago and  want to share it with you.

Proven Ways to Get Along Better With EVERYONE

1.     Before you say anything to anyone, ask yourself 3 things:

• Is it true?

• Is it kind?

• Is it necessary?

2.     Make promises sparingly and keep them faithfully.

3.     Never miss the opportunity to compliment or say something encouraging to someone.

4.     Refuse to talk negatively about others; don’t gossip and don’t listen to gossip.

5.     Have a forgiving view of people. Believe that most people are doing the best they can.

6.     Keep an open mind; discuss, but don’t argue. (It is possible to disagree without being disagreeable.)

7.     Forget about counting to 10. Count to 1,000 before doing or saying anything that could make matters worse.

8.     Let your virtues speak for themselves.

9.     If someone criticizes you, see if there is any TRUTH to what he is saying; if so, make changes. If there is no truth to the criticism, ignore it and live so that no one will believe the negative remark.

10. Cultivate your sense of humor; laughter is the shortest distance between two people.

Do not seek so much to be consoled, as to console; do not seek so much to be understood, as to understand; do not seek so much to be loved as to love.

COMMENTS FROM PP FRANKIE YAP - RC SITIAWAN

Some points to share with our members:

1. Most of my friends are worried about the financial aspect incurred as a Rotarian. They have formed an opinion that to be a member one has to set aside a substantial sum every year.

2. Some  Past Presidents are too money minded. They kept stressing on the capital 'M'. This really frightens existing members, what more prospective members who happen to be at the lunch meeting.

3. We should not be thinking of making more money for the club's coffer instead should focus more on service and fellowship. To keep pinching money from fellow members may be a cause for concern for retirees as well as pensioners.

4. Too much unnecessary comments and criticism from Past Presidents who think they are far better than others is bad for a club. Members will be bored and find it stale to listen to the same guy commenting and harping on the same topic all the time.

STALEMATE

STALEMATE - that's the expression we use when we are at an impasse. I feel that is the case with membership development in our District.

I was District Membership Development Chairman when Low Teong’s was Governor and I remember visiting nearly every club in the District to talk about the importance of growing our great organization. Richard King was RI President and he emphasized the importance of bringing in new members in the face of a global contraction in Rotary membership. We came close to 1,800 Rotarians that year.

More that 10 years later we are still hovering at around the same number. Why?

I want to start a discussion on membership development, which is the lifeblood of any organization. Now more than ever the spirit of volunteerism must be shared and promoted.

Here are some reasons why we should promote membership growth.

• Think about why you became a Rotarian. One of the reasons is because you understand that you are not going to live forever – you have to balance your personal ‘account’ with God before its time to kick the bucket. Helping your fellow man is certainly one of the fundamental tenets of any “bucket list”. You have an obligation to spread that message.

• We are Rotarians because someone shared Rotary with us. We in turn have an obligation to share Rotary with others. Don’t you think?

• More members mean we have a greater capacity to serve the good of our community, our nation and the world.

• New members bring fresh ideas to the club and create a dynamic force for good.

• We all know that older members tend to ‘burn out’ after many years of Rotary service – new blood is vital to keep the engine of service going.

  

Please feel free to share your views of why we should promote membership growth in our great organisation.

Let me share a thought expressed by our Founder Paul P Harris.

“We are here on earth and we are here to stay during our respectively allotted periods. How much of happiness and how much of misery shall be our share remains with us almost entirely to determine. If we possess a modicum of reason, it will be apparent to us that it is the part of wisdom to cheerfully make the best of the situation and to harmonize our own lives with nature’s inexorable laws. We are entitled to the maximum of happiness; and may we be sane enough to observe that the route to a life full of happiness does not lie in intemperate indulgence. We need and the world needs an optimistic, rational philosophy of life.”

GOD BLESS ROTARY AND ROTARIANS

Input From President Chew Song Kong - RC Port Klang

At times if some of us open our mouth, we get shot down, as I have seen at some Rotary Assembly. It became a more like a political forum, or Parliament sitting, where the majority will out shout the minority. Or if it's not that sweet to some ears, it will fell on deaf ears. End of the day, majority still wins. The true picture is that senior Rotarian's does not want to change to suit others, it's the life style that have been embed ed in them. Ask your self, how many old people you know can change their way of life? Rotarian's are human too!

We talk about change or retention of Rotarian's, will it works if the whole district minds are already set not to change? The only way out for some Rotarian's is to get out or joint other organizations like Lions and Kiwanis, which where the younger generation goes.
So before we get to change others, look around ourself, can we change the Rotarians mind set around us? If can, good news, we move to step 2, change others!

This is strictly my thought, pls allow me to express what is in my mind, for it is a shame to see what was a fine and big organization like Rotary going down. Change before it's too late.

" When we make changes, we are saving ourselves, when we can influence others, we are saving others"

Thank you.