Fingers in the Dike

Seven years ago, I faced considerable opposition and denigration locally for daring to initiate a campaign to start a new club; a response that I know has been meted out to fellow club instigators across Australia and other parts of the Western world. To be fair, I did also receive some incredible support, but my name is still mud in the eyes of some local Rotarians. I wanted to build a different club which focused on impact and volunteering instead of meetings, and I feel very grateful for everyone who played a part in the journey to create and grow the Rotary Club of Seaford. Ours is a club that has been recognised globally as an example of innovation and vibrancy. We’ve just celebrated our fifth birthday.

It’s always nice to be ahead of the curve. It's not a place Rotary beauracracy tends to occupy. Since our success at Seaford, I’ve been calling for more leadership and direction from RI on the need for new and innovative club models, and it would appear the penny has finally dropped. As a follower of numerous Rotary bloggers and influencers, I am starting to see increasing online content about “new style clubs”; content which is starting to reach and inspire a growing audience of Rotarians who are unhappy with the status quo. I genuinely feel that right now we are witnessing the swelling of a wave that could genuinely turn around Rotary’s membership fortunes in the West if enough people are bold enough to ride it. I cannot deny the sense of vindication as one of the many Rotary mavericks around the world who played a role in starting this movement given the opposition from some quarters along the way.

This blog is aimed squarely at the crop of district governors elect who will soon be participating in the 2022 International Assembly to prepare for their role as District Governor 2022/2023 and their district committees. 

I am yet to meet a District Governor who isn’t interested in growing membership. I suspect I’ve attended more Rotary district training events in and outside of my own District 9510 (formerly 9520) than the vast majority of Rotarians, many as an invited speaker. If there's one phrase I can always count on hearing at such events, it's this one: "Membership is our top priority". I'd actually be concerned if I didn't hear it. I’ve been very lucky to have met an extensive list of amazing District Governors and Governors Elect, some of whom I would consider close friends. They have all been hard workers and well intentioned, but those who have actually overseen net growth over their term in office form an extremely small minority. 

So why, if district membership growth is apparently such a priority, is it so rare? I'll answer that question shortly, but here is one undeniable fact about those districts which have achieved it. They’ve done it by starting new clubs. So lend me your ears, district leaders in waiting. Here, in a nutshell, is what you need to do to have any hope of growing your membership. 

You need to start new, innovative clubs, and most importantly, you need to take district ownership over the process. I will guarantee that you will get a better return on this membership investment than any other initiative. There are people right under your nose in your community that would be great for Rotary, but they don't see a version of Rotary that would be great for them. So we can either kid ourselves, believing that existing membership challenged traditional clubs will suddenly work out a way to attract and retain them, or we can build new clubs that will offer a more attractive value proposition. 

There are numerous initiatives district leaders can implement to foster membership growth, at club and district level. I should know, because I've had a crack at all of them. We need to be delivering inspiring membership messages at district training events such as PETS, District Assembly, dedicated membership seminars and conferences, but we also need to be spending time with clubs which need help. We need to be sharing examples of best practice and innovation to stimulate club growth. We need to help clubs with recruitment and retention, and we need to train our members on building our public image and effective social media use.

But we also need to be conscious of the time constraints and work loads of our district leaders, and be mindful of directing our efforts where they can do the most good. I was constantly praised for my hard work as a district membership chair and was often complimented for inspiring so many Rotarians with my membership messages. Positive feedback is always nice, but the only thing that grew was my ego. The district numbers continued their downward trendline across my three-year tenure. 

It took me a while to work out where my strategies were failing. It wasn’t the message or the delivery method, but the lack of willingness for clubs to wholeheartedly support change. This clearly was not unique to D9520. Over the last 5 or 6 years I've had literally hundreds of one-on-one conversations with Rotarians all over the world about their membership challenged clubs. They often come about after someone has seen me present at a conference or on a video or Zoom meeting, or read my book. The same story gets relayed over and over again. They like the ideas and concepts I've conveyed, but they struggle enormously getting them implemented.

This is not the first time I’ve made this statement, and it won’t be the last. Our global membership challenges are well understood and we have the answers. I’m not suggesting I personally have all the answers, but the answers are known. Our inability to turn around our membership fortunes is not due to a lack of knowledge, but a lack of will.

For those who haven’t heard it, let me share the number one reason that the Rotary Club of Seaford was born, or more to the point, why I personally instigated the process. I was frustrated with the lack of tangible results from my efforts as a district membership chair. I knew the ideas I shared (not all my own, many were borrowed from successful clubs elsewhere) would work if only they could be implemented. So, when the opportunity arose, I went for it. With the help of a small group of hard-working colleagues and the initial interest group, we got the club off the ground, and it has been a huge success. Why? Because we do things differently. You wouldn’t believe how many times I have heard comments from other clubs (not always to my face) that the things we do at Seaford wouldn’t work in their club. The reason these things won’t work in other clubs is pretty simple really; it’s because they would never try them.

So, I’ve been off on a tangent for a while, and now I’ll come back to the circumference. Why am I so bullish on the prospects of growth through new clubs? Because the advantages of starting a new club with a blank slate are simply enormous. Sensible, flexible, contemporary, proven club innovations routinely rejected by traditional Rotary are readily adopted by those who aren’t cast from the traditional Rotary mould. District leaders have historically invested heavily in futile attempts to modernise faltering clubs, and have left the investment in new clubs in the “too hard” basket. 

Of course we cannot ignore clubs that need (and ask for) our help, but from a return-on-investment perspective, the evidence suggests that new club formation is a smarter bet. I’d go as far as to say, it’s a no-brainer. In fact, I’ll go further than that, and make a bolder statement. The ONLY way we will ever GROW this organisation in the West is with new clubs. Every other membership initiative we invest in is at best holding our fingers in the dike. We are haemorrhaging members. Even if we do everything else really well, the best outcome we can possibly hope to achieve is to hold current numbers where they are. At best.

I’m not going to pretend that the process of getting Seaford off the ground was easy. It was the hardest undertaking of my Rotary journey. But we got there, and it is immensely satisfying; not just for the club’s members and the local community which has benefited from our work. It is also immensely satisfying to see how our club has inspired innovation elsewhere.  Of course, there are so many other great new examples of contemporary Rotary springing up about the place too.

I’ve talked a lot about return on investment, and this where I want incoming district leaders to pay particular attention. I’m not solely talking about the investment of time and effort, which of course are critical. Districts must budget for and finance new club startup initiatives if they are to be successful. For most of Rotary’s history, new clubs have been sponsored by existing clubs. I've no doubt this is still happening, and Satellite Club formation is playing an increasing role in growth. But it strikes me that these days, fewer and fewer clubs are in the position to sponsor new clubs. They have their own battles to fight, and finding new members for other clubs is often (justifiably) seen as a conflict of interest. It’s time for district leaders to take the bull by the horns.

Earlier this year I spoke at a training event interstate and gave a presentation called “The Case for New Clubs”. My parting challenge for that district is a challenge I lay down for all districts.

1. Establish a team tasked with investigating new club opportunities and partnering with local clubs and stakeholders to implement action plans.
2. Work to foster a growth mindset amongst all Rotarians in the district.
3. Fund new club startup costs.

Part 3 is especially important. If your district does not have a dedicated budget for new club start-ups, why not? I was very fortunate to get a $2,000 grant from our district public image budget to cover some startup costs at Seaford. Amongst other things, this paid for domain name registration and hosting for a website, flier printing and distribution, some advertising in a local paper and a catered information day. You cannot expect individual Rotarians and potential charter members to cough up for these expenses if you’re fair dinkum about starting new clubs. I know of examples right now where passionate Rotarians are trying to get new clubs off the ground. Some of these efforts are driven by district leaders. Some are not, but at least they enjoy good support at district level. But some get no support whatsoever, and in one example, a district governor stymied efforts. 

The growth we covet is possible, but we have to want it hard enough, and we have to work to achieve it. I've often heard commentary that we need our district governors to be leaders, not managers. Well, I can't think of a better way to lead. Stop talking the talk about membership growth, and start walking the walk.

In closing, I wish to share a wonderful short video from PRIP Mark Maloney on the importance of starting new clubs, even where existing clubs operate. I hope you take the time to watch it.