Posted on Nov 28, 2017


Rotary District 7910 recently surveyed its membership, soliciting feedback to inform a strategic plan. The survey asked for Rotarians’ views on the support and assistance Clubs receive from the District and what is important to them in carrying out the mission of Rotary. The survey asked for basic demographic information and asked participants to rank the importance and effectiveness of various District programs. It also asked questions concerning District committees, Assistant Governors and District communications.    Charts and Data Information

 

17% of Rotarians from our District responded to the survey, which is a very desirable result. A majority of the respondents were current or past Club leaders, members with a solid knowledge base about Rotary and District operations. In this report, we are including only graphs since the comments might identify the respondents and we promised to maintain confidentiality regarding the feedback.

We chose to analyze the results in conjunction with our strategic planning for the District. Because we have this information, we believe it will be most useful in setting the course for the District for the next several years.

There were three major themes that were apparent from the survey and the comments:

1 – Improved Communications

2 – Greater Assistance with Membership Programs

3 – More Opportunities for interactions with Rotarians from other Clubs

 

Improved Communications:

District 7910 Rotarians overwhelmingly prefer that communications with the Clubs come through their Assistant Governor. Clubs want better relationships with their AG, would like to see them more frequently, and would like the opportunity to utilize the AGs to convey the club’s activities to other clubs. The experience with AGs among Clubs varies, and we see this as an area for improvement.

The strategic planning committee believes it’s important to refocus the job of AG so they can participate in more activities, develop trust with Club members and offer advice, training and resources to Clubs. The District will look to increase the number of AGs so each will have responsibility for fewer Clubs, allowing them to spend more time with each of their Clubs to develop a deeper rapport. Finding Past Presidents to take on the role continues as a challenge but we anticipate being able to develop a larger pool of AGs over the next 3-5 years.

Membership:

Membership remains a significant concern for the Clubs. Recruiting new members is not a problem for most Clubs. Over the last three years, the Clubs brought in 624 new members and terminated 791. Over 55% of those joining terminated their membership before completing three years in the Club. The failure to keep Rotarians tells us that the Club experience does not meet the expectations that were conveyed to many new members when recruited.

Many Clubs have an aging membership and believe doing service consists of fundraising and writing checks. The Clubs that are experiencing steady growth and attracting younger members are focusing on hands-on service activities in their community and are willing to shed stale traditions that have lost their relevance in today’s world.

The strategic planning committee believes the proper focus of the District Membership Committee over the next 3-5 years should involve finding ways to make suggestions to Clubs to make their Club experience irresistible. If the Clubs offer an irresistible experience, people will stay no matter what the circumstances and will want to be part of Rotary.

The challenge is helping Clubs change their culture when many of the experienced Rotarians enjoy the Club culture the way it is and don’t understand why people of different generations don’t share that experience.

Another area of focus needs to be creating new Clubs. The District Membership Committee in conjunction with the District Public Image Committee will be rolling out suggestions for improving the optics of the Clubs and with the District Service Committee will be focusing on more hand-on service opportunities.

More Opportunities for Interactions with Rotarians from Other Clubs

The survey clearly indicated that Clubs want to do more multi Club events, including fundraisers, service projects and social events. There is a need for more networking and social interaction outside the Club. Historically, the District has viewed responsibility for organizing such events to be with the Clubs. The survey indicates the District needs to shift the role to become more actively involved in helping the Clubs organize these events.

Nothing underscores this more than the District’s experience with Rotary Means Business which has attracted Rotarians throughout the District as well as non-Rotarians to engage in business networking. With a focus on multi-Club social engagement, the District will look to enhancing other fellowships over the next several years.

The strategic planning committee also believes the District should take a larger role in leading multi-Club service projects. Done with moderate success with food packaging, future District Governors are looking for ideas for District-wide service projects.

We are in the process of building out a District Service Committee to help promote projects and this committee recently completed a pilot of Rotary Service Saturday with the intention of repeating this event once/quarter.

The multi-Club experience varies and is dependent on Club Presidents networking together. The training and opportunities to network begin more than a year prior to taking office as a Club President and we are committed to providing and promoting opportunities for Presidents-elect to meet one another and develop bonds. Unfortunately, some Clubs don’t select leaders in time to maximize this networking. The District is committed to helping Clubs with succession planning.

It’s the hope of the District leadership that surveys like this will continue each year with greater participation to assist leadership in gaining a pulse of the Clubs and encouraging better communication, membership and multi Club opportunities.


 

STRATEGIC PLAN

  1. Strengthen Communication

    1. Strengthen role of Assistant Governor

    2. Develop additional training opportunities

    3. Encourage Rotarian involvement in District committees

  2. Improve Membership Experience

    1. Ensure all Club imaging and optics are relevant and appealing

    2. Drive member engagement through service

    3. Form a subcommittee to work on new Club extension

  3. Create More Networking Opportunities

    1. Enhance Club leader bonding across clubs in 7 areas

    2. Develop more opportunities for club leaders to meet and mingle

    3. Develop District-led multi-club service projects

    4. Grow and expand fellowships