NEW LIFE , MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND RETENTION
Today we are embarking on a challenging journey , a journey to become a better acquainted with three fascinating aspects of Rotary….
How we continue to bring new Life into RotaryHow to make Better Rotarians andHow to Retain members in the clubs.You all are the incoming leaders in your respective clubs, being the leaders you will be closely concerned with all these vital considerations during your year in office and of course there after.
Our guides on this journey will be the answers to the questions I ask….
I am sure that you have your own answers , but none of you can dodge the questions.
First—-TO WHAT DO YOU BELONG ? ?
Our great movement is the lengthened shadow of one man, our Founder , Paul Harris . Those early days of Rotary were both heady and difficult . Paul had a concept that was attractive to the businessmen of Chicago, but only Paul had the dream of where Rotary would eventually go . It is thus truly amazing to find that most of the things we do today we’re all put in place during the first year of Rotary’s existence.
However , the potential of Rotary is infinite and we are constantly finding new ways to serve. Since 1905 we have lived through ” Over a century of discovery” . In these 111 years we discovered Community Service , Educational and Youth Programs , Humanitarian Service , the peace initiative and of course the glory of our Polio Eradication Program.
To see how Rotary and the Rotarians are viewed by a great world Humanitarian we can go to Rome. It was After the Convention in 1979 , that Pope John Paul said.
“You come from many different nations , and backgrounds. You bring with you vast experience in the Economic, Industrial , professional ,cultural ,an scientific fields. In the solidarity of your association you find mutual support , reciprocal encouragement , and a shared commitment to work for the common good “.
Is this how you see Rotary. ? Don’t you thrill with pride at belonging to such a great force for good ? At the same time , this pride of belonging should not blind us . We need to think and to discuss before we decide how we best serve in our own part of the Rotary World . For we are the guardians of the Noble Rotary Dream. It is this noble dream which motivates us to untold heights of achievements . Here in this Seminar we realize that we Rotarians are part of the great Society of life.
No Organisation can be separated from its members , and people develop their true potential with the help of a movement based upon its ideals and purpose.
It makes no difference whether these ideals are religious , cultural , or social . Rotarians should need Rotary as much as Rotary needs Rotarians. Rotary is ideal in action . But Rotary has no existence , except the existence we give it. Rotary has no glory except the glory that comes from the noble service , and devotion of its members.
WHY DO YOU BELONG ??
Think of yourself . Why did you join your Rotary Club ? Was it to be with your friends , or perhaps to acquire the distinction of belonging to the premier service Organisation in the world ? Today , some years later , we are the members who recognize the good we can do in the world, and this attitude shows how we have grown and matured in Rotary way.
I believe that in every person there are two essential needs that have to be fulfilled if their lives are to have any purpose and meaning. The need to share , and the need to serve. Fellowship and Service —the basis of Rotary ; and we come to realize this as our Rotary experience grows.
Look around the world today, and you will find that the young people are not much interested so much in movement as in causes. There is no way we will take Rotary forward as a power for humanitarian service just because we wish to be bigger . We have to light a fire in people’s heart. I believe absolutely , that no Organisation has a right to take people’s time unless it also uplift their lives. Our task is to find ways to allow all our potential members , as well as those who are already in our clubs , to see the Nobel purpose of Rotary.
WHY DO YOU STAY AS A MEMBER ??
Do you remain a Rotarian because of your interest in all aspects of Rotary ?
Is it because you are so involved in Rotary Service and have been over a long time ?
Is it because you have been fortunate enough to progress along the Rotary Leadership path ?
We all have our own reasons why we remain a Rotarian. “What people make of Rotary is often a reflection of what they make of life.
Conversely , Rotary with its many opportunities for Service , means that in many cases what a person makes of life is but a reflection of what they make of Rotary.. Think about how this applies to you personally and to the other members of your Club.
HOW IMPORTANT ARE SPONSORS ??
Bringing a person into Rotary is a great privilege , and also a great responsibility . Those who tell you that you can make a person a member of a Rotary Club because you met them at a function or heard them make a speech or recognized there name are WRONG. To me this is the way “FLOW THROUGH MEMBER”.I believe that a chance meeting has to grow into mutual friendship before we can asses any person’s potential as a future Rotarian.
The new member is our very precious and tender asset. Even though they might be giant in their own field yet they are new in Rotary. We need to consider their feelings . We need to nurture their progress . We need to increase their knowledge . We need to promote their involvement.Recruitment solely by slogan and heartiness is the way to dis repairable and desperation , and we should have nothing to do with it.
Behind every Rotarian stands the shadow of the person who brought him/her into membership. Think of your own sponsor . Think of the hopes and expectations which that person had when you became a Rotarian.
I wish you could have known my sponsor . Late D T Talwalkar, a man taller than life. He was one of the best known person in Mulund. He was the personnel Manager of A C C and also an Honorary Magistrate in Mulund Court.
He was not only my sponsor but he was like my guardian in Rotary. He always made sure that at Rotary Meetings I was never at loss. I will always remember his words when he introduced me to the club …..
He said ” I am expecting big things from this young man .”
Sadly he died just a few months before I became the President of my Club , The Rotary Club of Mlulund. But I have always tried to live to the expectation he had . I cherish his memory , and know that his guidance took me forward along the Rotary path.
Do all sponsors act in this way ? This is an area we must examine when we are looking at the Development , and Retention of our members. Address this issue in your club assembly. Put it in your club bulletin, include in your club announcements.
WHAT ABOUT THOSE WE LOSE ??
We have Rotarians from different field or vocation. I know we need them all. Each Rotarian is unique , and I am sure we need the criticism of the less involved just as much as we need the action of those who are always ready to help.
You see the dilemma is not QUALITY VERSUS QUANTITY. This begs the question. All of us strive to find quality members, but each year we are still faced with a massive membership loss. This means our problem is not those coming in , so much as those who are already there.
For a moment think of your own attitude at your Club Meeting. How do you nurture the new member ? How do you support the wavering member ? How do you enfold the leaving member ? And how do you,by your own example , show others how they can do the same ?
WHY ARE YOU DIFFERENT ? BECAUSE , YOU ARE THE LEADER…
We are part of a movement which is wide and universal . Our pride in belonging helps us to think big, and to discover greatness of soul.
When we leave this Seminar how will we pass on this information to others ? How do we show the joy of Rotary Service to those who are reluctant Rotarians ? Think of it. If we could make fully committed Rotarians out of. Only 60% of our membership we would have the most powerful movement for good that the world has ever seen.
As President Elect you must have made many plans and dreamed many dreams . It is now important that you share them with every Rotarian in your club.
Never forget that you are serving with fellow volunteers. They don’t work because of a contract. They don’t need or expect any Reward. They need to be taken into your confidence, and to have joint commitment to the ideas and values you are putting forward. Your dreams must become their dreams. Your plans must become their plans. This means that the goals and values they receive from you must be those they can share and appreciate.
This is how your leadership achieves fulfillment. This is how you turn your hopes into reality as you work out the most imaginative programmes. This is how all your members discover that Rotarians are part of the Great Society.
Sadly, we lose about 15% of our members every year. But, if we aim to retain just 60% of those who leave annually, and if we do it for just next five years, what a massive boost it will give to our membership. Not only that, but we would have the greatest body of experienced and committed Rotarians in the history of our movement.
Therefore, you the incoming leaders, will have to work with your Club Team to discover new ways and strategies for retaining those club members who may, even now, be planning to leave.Rotary.
What is the key to keeping these moveable members? I believe the answer is three fold……
INVOLVEMENT. INVOLVEMENT. INVOLVEMENT
Today, we peep through the curtain to glimpse the future and feel the stirring of a bright new tomorrow. Our Century of discovery ended eleven years back and rushing, In comes the century of realization. A century when mankind will truly appreciate the success of this Rotarian age, as they comprehend the magnitude of the Rotary miracle.
Who would have believed a few volunteers could achieve so much, or that our movement would continue so long ?
The new members who come after us ,with their belief in the Rotary dream , and their place in the great Society will ensure that all mankind benefits from Rotary Service.
My dear Friends , Cherish Your Rotary vision , they are the fruit of your soul. For we are planting trees we will Never sit under.I am confident that our task will be worthily accomplished and faithful carried out. I say so as you all know ROTAY SERVING HUMANITY.
5 June 2016