Getting New Members

Suggestions for recruiting members to grow your club

Recruiting members to grow your Club ...

“You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result”

(Gandhi)

See also Sharing Good Practice and Ideas and Resources

Doing nothing at all is not an option if you want to increase and retain your membership.

Below is a list of ideas for recruiting more members. If you have tried these before without success, it does not mean that another attempt will not be successful.

It is very important that if we are going to be successful in recruiting more members, we need to share good practice and ideas.

So if you have any ideas to add to the list below, PLEASE SHARE THEM.  If something is missing, please tell us and it will be added straight away. If you are doing something in your area that is proving to be successful, it may be repeated elsewhere. Please tell us about it.

The Membership Task Force

The aim of the membership task force is to provide practical help to clubs with their recruitment.  We have provided a list of those things we can help you with. We are not here to tell anyone what to do; we are here to help. 

We shall divide these ideas into the direct approach and the indirect approach.

  

THE DIRECT APPROACH

The direct approach involves openly seeking new members. This means letting everyone know that you are recruiting new members and asking people to join.

 1.  Carry out a recruitment drive

a. Let everyone know that you are actively seeking new members.  Make it clear in your marketing literature, on your website and social media.

b. Have a letter writing campaign. Write to local business people, community members and people you know. Tell them about Rotary and invite them to join

c. Host an information meeting for potential members  

d. Encourage members to bring potential members to the club. Develop the ethos that the responsibility for membership is with every Rotarian.

e. Invite family members and friends to join

f. Consider diversity and actively seek members from groups that are not represented in you club.

g. Invite potential members to join the club 

2. Let people know you are recruiting

a. Produce information packs for visitors about Rotary and becoming a Rotarian.  

b. Advertise the fact that you are seeking new members in local papers and social media sites. If you cannot get an article in the local paper, write a letter to the editor for the letters page.

c. Join local business forums or community forums and tell them about Rotary.

d. Try to get on a speaker’s list for other community groups and give a talk about Rotary.     

 Hosting an information meeting.

Information meetings are an excellent way for developing people’s understanding of rotary and encouraging membership.  There is no right or wrong way in the format an information meeting should take. Some clubs have a good interest speaker, invite potential members along and provide them with some literature. Others clubs give a short presentation about Rotary and their club and include the benefits of membership and commitment.    See our Sharing Good Practice page to see what other clubs do.

 THE INDIRECT APPROACH

1. Raise your Club's profile

a. Get articles into papers, magazines, online magazines and social media about the activities of your Club. If you cannot get an article in try getting letters in the Letters to the Editor sections if they have them.

b. Distribute your Club Newsletter throughout your community. Put them in waiting rooms at doctors, dentists, libraries, charity shops etc.

c. Put posters up on community notice boards and those you see in local supermarkets.

d. Give our community awards for groups and individuals who do outstanding work in your community or for significant achievements.

e. Produce marketing materials for your club such as bookmarks, posters, postcards and brochures. Distribute them around your community.

f. Build a website for your club if you do not have one. (See below)

g. Give talks about your club to other organisations.

h. Be pro-active in your community. Have a stall at fairs and festivals and other community events.

i. Get involved in local strategic partnership initiatives. 

j. Take advantage of social media and other online outlets to market your club. (See below)

k. Produce a monthly newsletter and distribute it around your community.

l. Develop your community service projects and raise awareness of them. 

m. Print club business cards with club meeting location and time and contact details.

n. Market the benefits of joining Rotary in your literature.

o. Have some social events to attract potential new members.

Scroll down for 100 quick ideas to recruit new members

  

MEMBERSHIP – 100 RECRUITMENT IDEAS

 

These pages belong to you. If you have ideas for recruiting new members, please share them.

Clubs are always looking for ways to grow and recruit new members, There are many things club members can do in order to attract new members. Here, you’ll find a hundred viable approaches that one could use in order to recruit more members.

1.      Ask someone

2.      Bring a guest to meetings

3.      Advertise in newspapers & cable TV

4.      Have a clear club goal & a strategic plan

5.      Letters or personal contact with local businesses

6.      Contact with Chamber of Commerce

7.      Place customized bookmarks in library books

8.      Have public meetings at malls, outdoors, etc

9.      Have a booth at malls, fairs, festivals etc.

10.  Place pamphlets in doctors’ offices, hospitals, cafeterias, libraries, etc.

11.  Host an Open House

12.  Hold a club assembly only on membership

13.  If you have a Rotary Club, ask Rotary Foundation alumni to join

14.  Give the membership chair one minute at every club meeting

15.  Make the membership chair a club director

16.  Put together guest information packets

17.  Service projects that serve a need in the community

18.  Invite family members to join

19.  Send letters to people in the news with an invitation to visit the club

20.  Print club business cards with club meeting location and time

21.  Distribute extra copies of magazines that relate to your club in waiting rooms, etc (i.e.: Rotarian)

22.  Hold high-profile meetings

23.  Hold wine and cheese receptions for prospective members

24.  Ask for help from RIMC/RIMZC

25.  Have a special guest day

26.  Send club members to district membership seminar

27.  Make prospective members feel important

28.  Honour outstanding community members with awards

29.  Don’t take age into consideration

30.  Make some meetings social events

31.  Build a club web site

32.  Use group email to promote your club

33.  Put posters in public areas

34.  Ask corporations and employers to sponsor or subsidize membership

35.  Have a reward program for those who bring in new members

36.  Create more fun

37.  Give a money back guarantee—if after 3 months a new member does not want to be a club member, return their fees

38.  Invite the media to cover well known speakers

39.  Use word of mouth

40.  Network with coworkers, friends, and family

41.  Follow up with guests

42.  Place a coloured dot on the watch of every member to remind them to bring a guest

43.  Lead by example—how many members have you recruited?

44.  Have members give talks at other organizations

45.  Provide guests with free meals

            46.  Update your clubs classification survey

47.  Look for members in ethnic groups not represented in your club

48.  Provide brochures for new employee packets in members companies

49.  Advertise at sports events

50.  Ask the district for help

51.  Hold joint meetings with other groups

52.  Share your club experience with others

53.  Participate in community events

54.  Write letters to the newspaper about the campaigns your club is working on

55.  If a prospect can’t attend your meeting due to time, suggest another club

56.  Publicize club successes, elections, events, in local newspapers

57.  Circulate the club newsletter widely

58.  Design a club brochure

59.  Hold recruiting events with two or more clubs

60.  Form/join a speakers’ bureau

61.  Wear your club's pin

62.  Mention your club at meetings of other organizations during announcements

63.  Send newsletter to guests

64.  When asked about your leadership skills & career success, tell them about your club

65.  Ask the AG to attend a board meeting to talk about membership

66.  Ask every member to submit 3 prospects to the membership chair

67.  Make it FUN

68.  Give every member a club decal or bumper stickers for their car

69.  Give testimonials about your club while guests are at the meeting

70.  Repeatedly invite prospective members

71.  Practice selling your club at Club meetings—have a one minute elevator speech ready

72.  Conduct a Membership Satisfaction Survey (RI Publication #417)

73.  The club president asks three club members as a personal favour to each recruit one new member

74.  Bring your boss to a club meeting

75.  Make direct contact with women’s business associations

76.  Bring your co-workers to a club meeting

77.  Bring your subordinates to a club meeting

78.  Have new member kits

79.  Use books, brochures, videos and posters from RI

80.  Hand out invitation cards for a “Free” lunch (breakfast, dinner)

81.  Have members constantly promote and rave about your club

82.  Meet at a good location

83.  Assign every member to a 5 person recruitment team—each team brings in a new member every six months

84.  Develop a strategic plan membership is a year-round priority and needs to be planned

85.  Have incentives for recruitment

86.  Have a large poster that lists all the members who have sponsored a new member in the past year

87.  Select a missing classification and work on filling it

88.  Display a thermometer showing progress towards club goal

89.  Feature a member’s “benefit of the month” in the club newsletter

90.  Induct new members with piazzas & invite spouse/partner

91.  Develop a welcome letter from the president for all new members

92.  Contact all members who have resigned in the past 3 years

93.  Use billboards at bus stops and road sides

94.  Ask club members to put club ads on their commercial trucks

95.  Recognize new members in newsletters

96.  Regularly check the RI web site for ideas

97.  Subscribe to the Rotary Membership Minute on the RI web site

98.  Invite spouses to social functions

99.  Ask recipients of Rotary service or donations to speak for Rotary

100. Pass out sweets to remind members that Membership Matters and that we need more members.

 

  

These pages belong to you. If you have ideas for recruiting new members, please share them.