All of us felt “out of control” and isolated with things happening in our culture in 2020, especially because of COVID. How did Rotarians deal with it? We stayed in touch and socializedtThrough our Rotary Clubs and Zoom meetings.
Membership has taken a big hit because of the isolation COVID caused – every club has felt it. So how do we deal with these losses DIVERSIFY. Don’t tune out yet!! That “trigger” word has many meanings beyond age, race, etc. and all the other attached negative perceptions.
Your club can shake things up and try new practices such as:
- Change meeting times. Lunch to morning, or one meeting monthly as a social (different place & time), or alternative meetings on different days and times for members who can’t make regular meetings. Just because you’ve always done it one way doesn’t mean there can’t be any variety.
- Add “get to know a Rotarian” presentations at meetings. Club members take the floor to talk about themselves. You think you know people in the hour you spend with them, but you don’t.
- Increase the number of service projects. After all, that’s why most people join Rotary. Partner with other clubs and community members AFTER your club has completed a community needs assessment.
- Quickly bring new members into the fold with a survey about which committees, projects and fundraisers they’d like to be involved with. Put them to work on their choices. Give them an opportunity to choose instead of assigning them.
Does all this sound familiar?? Then you probably read it in the September Rotary magazine (pages 48-49), and I give the author full credit. Surprised you, didn’t I – it’s all about DIVERSITY, and It isn’t always about race, sexual orientation, or country of origin. It’s more about new ideas, adjusting tradition and gaining new members.
Has your club gotten outside the box with new ideas? Send them to me via text (619-694-7073) or email- [email protected] so I can publish them next month.