The Following Ideas, Comments and Suggestions Were Outcomes from the Discussion Groups by Topic

FUTURE LEADERS SEMINAR 2011

Discussion Group Outcomes

The following ideas, comments and suggestions were outcomes from the discussion groups by topic. Hand writing has been interpreted as well as possible.

Membership Recruitment Diversity and Success

Use social network, social occasions to encourage membership
Utilize and sell Rotary’s intellectual capital
Merging clubs
New members nominate a favourite charity and build a project around it
Start a new 30’s Rotary club
Sign “women welcome”
Rotaract relationship
One on one introduction
Source through Rotary program alumni eg RYE, GSE, RYLA, Rotaract, Interact, MUNA
Invite young people in pairs/groups
Membership cost options; assistance, discounted, associates
Interact clubs in schools
Focus on 40-60 yrs
Business card – all about Rotary
Focus on “keeping members” – making it relevant
Bring a friend dinner twice a year
Women invite women
Networking
Every member has a soft copy of an invite letter to hand on to particular members
Talent management programme
Look to Rotarians’ partners
Give out school gift – but then get into news letter
Get members to a meeting and make sure it is FUN
Personal approach to people we know
Guest speakers to members
Club must be friendly and busy
Testing blood pressure in shopping centre
Ask vocation, guest speakers, RYLA, GSE, Rotaract, Apex
Target empty nesters
Target past GSE, RYE, Science Forum and parents
Small business seminar
Friends of Rotary – invite to working bees
Target guest speakers
Different format for meetings eg regular, happy hour meeting, community service, vocational meeting
Change meeting times; ie morning one week, next week dinner meeting
Link with alumni GSE, exchange families
Club attendance – do clubs need to meet each week ?
Promoting projects
Promote Rotaract
RYLA/Rotaract alumni as source of members and focusing on them. Take a positive approach and plan to succeed – perhaps not relevant, although can be useful. Ask people to “meeting” or not ? Rather come to Rotary and have interesting guest speakers. Have diverse meetings eg social and offsite
Meetings sometimes not our best showcase – but can be,. Follow-up
Projects/causes get people involved eg plumbers on water project. Get people on the project and they may join Rotary.
Universities are great places for Rotaract. Rotary is well-known in Australian universities
Is Rotary known and what it does ? Not well known but not understood. Perceptions are that we are old male, We need to tell the story. Publicity now has Rotary younger members in photos
Emphasise personal development
Establish younger new clubs without the protocol and historical habits
The dinosaurs have to change. Challenge traditions
One night/month casual – finger food and stand around
Longer term rolling plan – keen to make membership grow over longer period as opposed to +10 one year and only 1 the following year
Change the club first – make it a happy place to be FIRST
Sell how good we are – make sure we tell the world
Message – giving back and make it fun
By invitation with personal contact
Aim at retirees
Friends of Rotary
High profile speakers

Membership Retention

Challenge traditions – young people have different set of values
Associates – minimum attendance, reduced fees
Fellowship; dinners, bring a plate get together, camping weekend
Find out what the members want to do at functions or community events
Change rules re attendance
Find out what member wants
Encourage members to do makeups at other clubs, go with them, expand their horizons
Look at culture of club
Balance traditions and change
Explain why we do things – traditions
Mentor – ease the new member in
Be action people – something to do
Challenge cringe worthy traditions
Past RYLA, RYPEN, GSE involvement
Family friendly functions
Rotary info spot to explain various Rotary programs, Paul Harris Felloe
Tune up – meeting a place to be; what we do in meetings; why did you join; why are you still a member
Reasons; not sharing the load, “fall outs”
Loss = silent killer. Rotary “a place to be”
Membership transfer – make easier
Look at club culture. Is it fun ?
Be diverse – make changes slowly
Make if fun !! Make it informative !!
Attendance vs Service – club structure and relevance and visibility; connection, signature project
Have a fun club. Key is your sergeant
New member - .. project as club project. Interesting meeting – good speakers. Need to feel wanted.
Provisional member until they have dined with all members
Avoid cliques
Get partners to run meeting on Partners Night
Some clubs are fishbowl clubs
New members encouraged to go to District Conference etc
Ice breaker – find out who is a lawyer, dentist etc
Secret greeter
Family friendly
Good social programme
Annual review of members views; ie club role, projects etc
Give each member a role/job
Review the cost of Rotary
Each club member speak for 3 minutes on their vocation
Rotary information session at club meetings
Good communication with new members. Short directors reports regularly
Ask new Rotarians what they would like to gain by being a club member – what are their interests
Have a good mentor programme
Exit meeting – learn why they left
Loss is leadership failure !!! Why
Give new member a job but with low expectation
Offer complimentary membership for young people eg RYE alumni, Rotaract
Know your members; what do they want; leadership skill
Relevance of club
Breaking up cliques, change seating arrangements
Older members reluctant to change – mentoring youth
Visit other clubs to see how other clubs operate – scatter meeting twice a year
Changing projects/responsibilities in the club
Commitment, not just one year
Modernizing club – changing traditions (grace, toast etc)
Do not worry about the over 60’s, they will die anyway
Youth programs may revitalize a club/members
What are the members’ needs ?

Membership – Technology and Pilot Programs

E-clubs – getting over traditions
“Try things” rather than “it will not work”
Shift emphasis from attendance to a service commitment
Corporate membership – local interpretation
Hybrid club that allows e-makeups in a traditional environment
There are many benefits of attending e-clubs eg broadening one’s Rotary knowledge, therefore members should be encouraged to visit these e-clubs
Using communication to raise a call to action – following action and change
Different approaches to the meetings; meals, no meals, times, costs, choices
Focus on connections – how do we conceptualise this
E-clubs, Skype, facebook, hybrid clubs
Satellite clubs
Distance – technology may be solution
Asian e-clubs eg Singapore – loggin as member or guest – 30 minutes for a makeup. Monthly physical meeting time poor members can achieve hands on projects. Menu driven rostering
Some monetary expectations sponsored by traditional ckub
Investigate strategies being applied eg Rotaract and apply these
Privacy issues, legal issues – risk analysis. Facebook – Gisborne good example. Blogs – need management.
Rotary Club blogging - use guidelines for advertising/promotion to update blogs
To move forward we must embrace all possible technology forms

District and Club Training Activities

Rotary Leadership Institute; clubs identify people to attend as future leaders eg board members, incoming presidents. Regionalised approach
Presentation skills across training areas. Inspired training with good content
Use social media to publicise training
Electronic learning/training especially in large districts
Exchange visits between clubs then share information
Need to prioritise training – too much on
Break out sessions are great for sharing
Challenge to get members to attend training
Link training to certificate recognized by TAFE
RLI good “cross pollination” of ideas
More relevant manuals, photos, banners (Australian/NZ)
Members need to understand that new information is available
Have trainers who are qualified as trainers
Diversify methods of delivery at training, PETS, meetings
More “roadshows”
Have immediate past positions talk to training sessions
Need district level planning that is varied, more interesting
Speakers going to clubs, areas is effective
Attending District Conference encourages members to attend (sponsorship by club)
Weekends out
Train the trainers eg at Institute
Duplication in training needs to be rationalized
Standard training programme for Australia and NZ
Training needs assessment
Help Rotarians to understand value of training and how it can be used for opportunities in District roles
Still need (social) interaction (face to face)
Awareness of costs and time
Make it fun
Sell benefit of training to members
Training hubs in district
Need: dynamic trainers, not just older, experienced members
Club Visioning working well but needs further push.
Issue re Service Chairman getting information back to project chairs
RLI starting to work. Probably too limited as people see it as part of PETS
Too easy for info overload, so need to look at how we deliver message. Too much cross over in training sessions
Pick good public speakers and motivators for doing presentations
Need to re-assess compliance and control by district on autonomous club
Re-assess assembly – boring – same, same, no difference
Need to assess the number of President trainings to avoid them missing valuable information because of numerous time commitments
Relevance of PETS – why are Districts different in their training – should be consistency
Training is a function of leadership – not forced.
Club Vision – more action required to inform clubs
More pre-planning for PETS
Presidents’ Elect Training – combining districts for parts of training; international focus; training available via technology, on line, webinars
Club Leadership Plan – succession plan to cultivate leadership in future years
Standard PETS content
Just because you have been an AG does not mean you can do a good engaging presentation. Get people who can deliver message
PETS – a clearer picture of what is needed for your role – not duck !%#

District and Clubs Communications

Emulate RIBI website to Aust/NZ district/club
Time to end printed directories an go electronic
Developing partnerships; corporate sponsorships, emergency services eg CFA
Printed directories quickly outdated – online preference
Web administrator limitations – websites only work if current
Must move forward with technology and not wait for all members to agree
Combine district conferences
Problem: District directory expensive and out of date quickly. Solution: electronic directory that can be updated instantly eg clubrunner
Reinforce email protocol
Standardize website over individual DG and district preferences
Problem: Information coming in to clubs from District etc is too complex, too late. Passing info onto members. Solution: Interdistrict storing of information – electronic forums to connect ?

Marketing and PR

Radio – joint club contribution, podcasts, listeners.
Contact reporters who write about charities etc they then go to their editors
Make contacts with media; GSE team - media/journalists relationships when they return
Mobile number – google maps register Rotary club – nee a mobile number
Register business on google maps
Social media
Youtube channel meetings recorded and played
Talk – especially to the younger generation
Billboards – sign on bus
Wheel covers for 4WD – 1300-4-rotary call centre NSW
PR is to create awareness, build knowledge. Advertise in clusters; have spin off seminars; create publicity via business people; work on the people we assist
We over play the service card
Projects need to be branded and be proud of it
Brand needs more awareness – not Rotary wheel
We need to create awareness – peoples’ knowledge is unknown
We don’t share what we get out of Rotary
Perception of old men; old, pale and stale
Clubs combining to advertise in paper on project
Facebook project
Use of blog
Face to face communication. All members promote by knowing “elevator speech”
Combine with other groups to leverage effect
Club prints and distributes local paper – profit 30% local project, 50% Rotary
Website – library; facebook – newspaper; blog – diary; twitter – short diary. Demographics for above ! Bulletins private space !
Communicating – twitter. Linkin – set up with press/media, upgrade 14 days – system optimization.
Get Rotary noticed – pull up banners
Re-branding exercise – simple is smart (Siegel & Gale)
Appoint a “purposeologist” in every club. Contact: Loryn Clark, District 9800
Make sure good PR info is shared; ie humanity in motion
Share PR and communication mediums in public places eg doctors rooms etc
Make sure you have an elevator speech
Make Rotary open to everyone – remove exclusivity
Promote Rotary in local businesses
Talk up networking opportunities
Stop speaking in Rotary language
Make sure we use the word Rotary eg Rotary Polio Plus
Young people and women be the public face of the organization
Make editor of local paper an honorary member of your club
Cappuccino Rotary Club (over coffee and muffins)
Power of a photo – what works well, make them interesting
Get a good connection with a journalist
Tell people what we do !
Clubs join together, using funds for local PR eg paper column, radio
Focus on local community activities in marketing – sells sponsorship
What’s in it for people, local businesses etc ?
Positive, strong images; youth focus images; female focus images
Better distribution of the marketing message
Advice of the annual calendar of marketing activity for clubs in line with global campaign
Clear brand identification; simplify the brand (realization that this is underway)

Rotary Beyond the District

We need to make the Council on Legislation realize we want to simplify Rotary. Are we going to keep changing our DGs every 12 months as people feel it’s very disruptive to the Districts.
Is our structure relevant to the future development of Rotary ? We need to change to become a flexible group to meet the needs of “causes” in the future, and attracting the next generation to continue in Rotary
Understand and use the millennium goals to raise funds for projects
Partnerships
Rotary Youth Exchange
Encourage Rotarians to attend International Convention
Are Rotary leaders an exclusive group ? (perceived)
A process to improve transparency
How do I go about getting on an international level
How do we find out about opportunities ?
Target those with appropriate knowledge
Challenge Rotary in forums like Future Leaders Seminar across multi districts
Partnership development with corporates for service delivery
More multi- district activities and projects
Issue – changes can only come from Council on Legislation. Problem – only every 3 years; submissions need to be in writing, with 3 year plans then issue not addressed for 5 or 6 years !! Why can’t Council meet more often via Skype or similar ??
Issue – why do we deny skilled people the opportunity to advance in Rotary unless they are a past District Governor ? People should be “promoted” on skills and merit. Unerstand the hierarchical process but don’t agree with it and it needs to be addressed.
Transparent processes – write more role descriptions
Challenge Rotary at seminar with provocative speakers (maybe non-Rotarians)
Develop blogs around challenging Rotary leadership – de politicize !!
Re-instate humanitarian grants
Club funder to allow members to undertake projects
Don’t change the theme annually
World leader to have 3-5 year plan
Council on Legislation - “e” conference it of Skype it. Still needs personalities. Can’t handle everything remotely – needs drivers.
What are our millennium goals – not published widely
Rotary as a multi-cultural organization has to be reflected in its behaviour and standards
Is “e” club really the future – what about social content, fellowship and friendships and an emphasis on local. Meetings could be varied, some “e”, some local regular meetings
Corporate membership, corporate partnerships
National projects need closer oversight

Service Projects

Project success stories; Anti-Graffitti group – free paint
Beyond polio – food security ? water security ? One major project
Beyond polio – something that we can fix within a reasonable time
Beyond polio – malaria ? something iconic
Portal of projects with idea, how you did it, outcome. Log into database RAWCS
Major project – someone will come up with a single idea
Beyond polio – something that we can fix within a reasonable time
Need a champion to lead projects; skills audit of club
Contact DG to tell them about projects to get them to promote to all clubs in the district
Sharing ideas with other clubs
Combined Rotary clubs can attain substantial result
Indigenous projects – lack of projects – why ? Not interested. Health scholarship s? Home hosting ?
Run a fundraiser and give money to competing applications
Adopt a purpose eg primary school
Setting up procedures eg running forums. Once set up – set free
Children in need in area of need eg Fiji, Timor. Photo/collage plus letter explaining dreams sent to Rotary club. $250 to child for education.
Apprenticeship exchange programme 6/52 – careful criteria
Scholarships; provide fees and kit to a carefully selected student eg
sport
medical
engineering
catering
Raise funds and other community services compete for funds
Partner with other clubs and organizations to carry out service projects
Create a website to post successful projects on
Encourage all Rotarians to participate in an International Service project

Rotary Foundation

Definition. Annual/Refresher
Education
Foundation chair
Weekly information
How do we more effectively market and educate members on Foundation:
Talk more about beneficiaries and outcomes
Use technology for remote clubs eg Skype a meeting speaker !
Help members feel they make a difference
Educate members by showing pictures of projects that have been completed
Incorporate EREY $100 in annual fees; obtain tax deductible receipt from Parramatta
Educate members – concentrate on individual items/parts of TRF before moving on
Have a dedicated Rotarian in the club to promote TRF
Future Vision is a positive move for the Rotary Foundation
TRF Roadshow of 4 group clusters (~ 400 people) over 4 weekends (2hrs each plus dinner) – exposing more people to the Rotary Foundation. Contact: John Barnes, District 9810
Members need to know TRF by experiencing it; eg Peace Scholar
Develop a cheat sheet about the changes:
Sell the simplicity
How it will affect the members
Publicise that 100% of TRF contributions go to projects, not to administration
Fundraising concept – donation of wine to be sold with 50% to Foundation and 50% to club; ie find someone with a product and gift it to be sold in this respect. (see RC Hutt City)
Centurion Club – an expectation (on subscriptions sheet include “The Rotary Foundation”). Educate about TRF along with this expectation
Future grants will be easier in Future Vision
District TRF personnel need to visit clubs to discuss programs
Combination of media to get the message across
Clubs take out, say, $3 per meeting to go to The Rotary Foundation. Members become Centurions
Simplify the different aspects of the Rotary Foundation by splitting into smaller parts. “Bit at a time”
Future Vision needs to be explained to non-pilot districts

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