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‘CLUB VISIONING MAY RE-ENERGISE YOUR CLUB’
Article three by PDG C. Ross Carlyle, D9830. Articles one and two appeared in this Newsletter

in the August and September 2020 editions

We are all aware that membership retention is collectively one of the biggest challenges facing Rotary
clubs. This has been a constant message over recent years. Despite all the effort and resources being
thrown at it, our membership loss outstrips our growth. Club Visioning may be the catalyst your club
needs.
Club Visioning is a process your club can take to meet the challenge of member engagement.
Club Visioning is a collaborative process where all club members come together to discuss the current status of the
club and how they want it to be in the future. They spend time workshopping ideas and come up with an agreed plan
for the future direction of their club.
It’s a three-step process:
• Look at where the club is now - structure, perception, reality etc.
• Work collaboratively to agree on a picture of how the club wants to be, say, three years on.
• Agree on plans and actions the whole club will take together to get to there within that time.

In the process all things may be considered and discussed - like traditions, club style, club membership target,
meeting types and frequency, avenues of service the club wishes to operate in and the type of service activities it
wishes to undertake, ways it may choose to fund service activities, how the club can best align with Rotary
International and District strategic plans etc.

The key is this:
• ALL members have an equal voice in the process
• ALL input is welcome, respected and valued
• In the end there is an agreed plan that ALL members can ‘own’.

Each club is unique and does some things in its own way. That’s OK, as the plan your club chooses to build through
Club Visioning should cater for the flexibility it requires.
A well-considered, agreed and documented plan goes a long way to enhancing member engagement and
participation, both keys to success in any club.
Club Visioning works best when run by a trained Club Visioning Facilitator. It does require preparation and is most
effective when run separately from a normal club meeting. Setting aside a few hours on a weekend tends to be the
most effective way.
Get some spring back into your club by having ALL members actively engaged in driving your club forward.

‘MEMBERSHIP GROWTH AROUND THE WORLD’

Article by ARC PDG Doug St Clair

Each month we get a report about Rotary membership numbers for all Districts from around the world
and this month I thought it might be worth having a closer look at this to find out where Rotary is
flourishing. Now I realise that the numbers don’t tell the whole story and, in some cases, can lead to
incorrect conclusions. This is particularly true where new districts are formed or where existing
districts are split or merged. I also know that membership numbers aren’t everything because they don’t
automatically translate into service for a local or broader community, however they are a priority of Rotary and we
do need members to continue the great work we do in the world.
The top 10 districts for membership growth in the 2019-20 Rotary Year as found in the latest numbers,
(notwithstanding my statement about merging and redistricting affecting count), were in Nigeria, Greece, Ukraine,
Kenya, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Brazil, India and Taiwan.
The top 10 districts for membership growth in the current 2020-21 Rotary Year with increases ranging from 16.2%
to 6.5% as found in the latest numbers based on only July and August were in India, Pakistan/Afghanistan,
Philippines, South Korea and Nigeria.
As you know we don’t fare so well in Oceania with only one District (9640) not recording a decrease in membership
across the 2019-20 Rotary Year. The better news is that on the August figures, ten Districts are ahead so hopefully
more will follow as we emerge from Covid-19.
Sometimes we just write off the growth in developing countries and assume that there is nothing that they can teach
us but I’m not so sure this is the case. Maybe there are some things that can be learned from the growing Districts,
wherever they are in the world.

Rotary on the Move October 2020 Page 5