“Rotary 2020: - The Next Generation”

“A New Model For Rotary”

Australian Presidential Membership Conference

Canberra 11 – 13 July 2008

Sample Club Membership Presentation (RC Canberra City)

Conference Inputs

RI President DK Lee

Keynote Speakers Sir William Deane Jenny Macklin Ron Beaubien, 2007-08 Chair of the Rotary International Membership

Committee Cary Pedicini – CEO Volunteering Australia Natalie Forrest – Prime TV Peter Ruehl – Australian Financial Review Hugh Evans – Oak Tree Foundation Regional membership Coordinators

• Noel Trevaskis, Sylvia Buyers, Rob Wylie

Convenor: RID John Lawrence, OAM Chairman: Len Goodman, AO Treasurer: Gail Kinsella

Over 600 Rotarians – concerned, committed and full of ideas

Rotary Strengths

Rotary’s infrastructure Rotary’s image of middle class and

conservative is reassuring

We invite people of the same age, same background or even the same profession. This is not the way to build a strong Rotary Club

Outdated habits & routines, reluctance to change Rotary is not relevant to younger people 80% of Rotarians have not sponsored a new

member Declining Membership = Declining Capability +

Declining Relevance

Rotary Weaknesses

Volunteering

Never before have Australians been so willing to volunteer – 75% increase in young volunteers from 1995 to 2006

Age group that volunteers most is 35 to 44 years Many traditional membership-based organisations are

struggling to attract members Trend toward “episodic volunteering” - temporary,

interim, occasional, project based Volunteers are no longer staying with one group

forever

Intergenerational change

People are not joining organisations – prefer more loosely woven relationships

People don’t want to go to meetings that they don’t get value from

People don’t want to pay membership subscriptions Young people turn to online communities because

they can’t feel connected to their real community. New community styles are built on affiliation around

issues rather than geography Young people are busy and poor – but will take time to

serve

Age of Members(Australia)

Under 40, 4%

40-59, 48%

60+, 48%

Total Rotary Membership(Australia)

32500330003350034000345003500035500360003650037000

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Working or Retired(Australia)

Working, 70%

Retired, 30%

Rotary Opportunities

Foster Australian youth innovation - document and develop ideas. The infrastructure is already available in Rotary clubs. Imagine if the ideas of our youth were fostered in a strategic way

Do what is necessary to help schools and community. Schools and universities are where young people will find their place to connect

Tap into corporate volunteering. Rotary is well positioned to do this - we understand both business and the non-profit sector. Stay in touch with alumni of other programs

Marketing

Rotary must sell itself to attract new members. Building trust through the community is the best way to promote Rotary

It’s a race with similar organisations for members and support, both physical and financial

Promote programmes – most people have no idea youth exchanges etc are happening

Internet is the fastest growing marketing tool e.g. facebook

News needs to be “unusual” – take opportunities when you have a good “unusual” story

Our Marketing Targets

Gender(Australia)

Male, 83%

Female, 17%

Gender(Our Club)

Male, 74%

Female, 26%

Gender

Membership

Total Membership(Our Club)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Age of Members(Our Club)

Under 403%

40-5933%

60+64%

Our Age Profile

Working or Retired(Our Club)

Working46%

Retired54%

Demographics

Develop clubs to truly reflect community demographics (cultural, professional, tradespeople, gender, age (otherwise Rotary loses relevance & respect) – connect with multi cultural associations

Australia is a good community which is socially empowered

Rotary is looked upon as Anglo-Celtic background

Structure

Needs to be national (stronger than District) Look for opportunities to create beneficial relationships

with other clubs – e.g. project sharing Set up new look satellite clubs (either within or spinning

off clubs) Connect with multi cultural associations Develop ongoing relationships with businesses, councils,

volunteers etc Review club by laws to suit preferences of future

membership target groups (e.g. friends of Rotary, attendance requirements, frequency of meetings etc.)

Management

Need for a strategic plan Adapt to change within society Use current technology Conduct regular surveys of member

satisfaction Focus on engagement rather than

attendance

Meetings

Meetings must be businesslike Meetings should be flexible and include a variety of times, locations

and guests. Frequency should be up to the Rotary club Interesting, friendly, fun meetings matching preferences of target

(non committed) attendees Invest more resources in planning speaker schedules, planning and

running meetings Reduce formalities Think about the need for meals Discontinue traditions that may discourage membership targets

Grace Toasts Sergeant quaint words (such as fellowship) Acronyms (RAWCS, RYLA etc)

Membership

Look for good leaders Provide for lower cost memberships Target uncommitted members – joining does not make

commitment – getting involved does Identify and use potentials of members Young members not able to influence enough club

decisions History of emphasis on professional people – need to

replace with emphasis on right people – heart, attitude & leadership skills

Survey members, find out what they want

Activities

Need a diversity of projects – things that excite different people

Adopt projects that are attractive to recently joined and future members

Provide opportunities and encourage networking – particularly amongst future club leaders

Valuable members need to have “worthwhile” benefit

Key Success Factors (Strategic)

Modernise meetings Reduce average age Improve gender balance Enhance vocational coverage Reflect community ethnicity Recruit and develop quality leadership Strategic promotion of Rotary’s image

Key Success Factors (Operational)

Increase awareness of motivations of target members Support younger members’ objectives and ideas Be flexible on attendance, subscriptions, meeting formats Excel in hospitality Adapt to less long term and more episodic commitment

from members Reduce “obligatory” fund raising from members Focus community service on areas of preference to target

members Engage, resource and empower public image marketing

capability Adopt new technologies Manage procrastination and resistance