GETTING SERIOUS

ABOUT

MEMBERSHIP

By Geeta ManekDISTRICT GOVERNOR 2012-2013

D9200Rotary International

DISTRICT 9200•We are comprised of 6 East African countries:

•KENYA•SOUTH SUDAN •TANZANIA •ERITREA•ETHIOPIA •UGANDA

•The total population of all six countries is about 130 million in an area of 3,139,000 square kilometers.

DISTRICT 9200

How Was Growth Achieved?1. Increasing our presence in untapped territories, particularly rural and

remote towns.

2. Conducting Membership Drives such as cocktails and open events to explain Rotary and share our success stories from community intervention

3. Through successful Community-Owned Service Projects that attracted the attention of individuals in the community

4. District 9200’s strong foundation: • Our current leaders are able to seek guidance from past leaders and are

answerable to them

• We strive to promote leadership beyond the Club and even District level, which ensures we are well-versed in Rotary procedures

CHALLENGES FACED

• Spreading Rotary into rural areas where infrastructure was a significant barrier, this led to:

– Insufficient information reaching Clubs

– Poor communication

• Poor membership in fledgling Clubs which weakened their efforts

• Minimum standards were laid out initially, thus some Clubs were satisfied with just the bare minimum and not challenged further

MEMBERSHIP• The value of DEDICATED AND PASSIONATE members

cannot be stressed enough - retention is more important than recruitment

• I always insist on holding the sponsoring member responsible for the wellbeing and retention of the new-comer to ensure participation, attendance and payment

• Each member is a COG in the ROTARY WHEEL.

• Therefore, we aim to induct people who will make good future Rotarians by ensuring they understand their responsibilities and the demands of Rotary.

EXISTING CHALLENGES • Weekly Attendance

• Rotary has to compete with the other priorities and hectic lifestyle that diverts members’ focus away from Rotary

• Youth interests are social and they want to do hands-on service as opposed to weekly meetings

• Failing to meet the expectations of new members• Time Management

• Content has to be relevant

• New generations finding some protocols to be ‘outdated’

• Most of Clubs are concentrated in urban centers, those in remote areas are not supported sufficiently

2012-2013 MEMBERSHIP

GOALS• Last year as one collective District, therefore, it is imperative we

have a stable foundation going forward

• We have a challenging target of increasing membership by 1100 to reach 5000

• This is a net growth taking into account attrition

• 40% FEMALE, 20% NEW GENERATIONS

• 50 INTERACT CLUBS

• AWARDS – MEMBERSHIP, ETHICS, DIVERSITY, NEW GENERATIONS

FUTURE APPROACH & STRATEGIES

• Ensuring Professionals are consciously invited and followedup:

– Earlier in July we hosted a Corporate Breakfast to extend ahand of friendship to Corporations in the community

– Continuing Membership Drives

– Regular evaluation of Classification List

– Check the ageing of members through the duration ofmembership

– Inviting those who work and live around us to attendmeetings, fundraisers and service projects

• Encouraging youth and women to assume leadership roles since they can offer a fresh perspective and identify impediments they face

• Easing the transition for Rotaractors from Rotaract into Rotary – Through mentorship – Encouraging Rotaractors to form new Rotary clubs

stemming from their Rotaract Club– Rotary/Rotaract simultaneous conference

FUTURE APPROACH &

STRATEGIES

FUTURE APPROACH & STRATEGIES

• Social Media

– I encourage Clubs to harness the Internet, in particular Social Media, to their advantage for widespread PR and effective communication

– Rotaractors and Rotarians have begun to follow me on TWITTER and/or FACEBOOK

– Hotline for those thinking of ‘throwing in the towel’

• Making Service the focus

THANK YOU