Ways to Recruit New Members

1. Ask someone

2. Bring a guest to meetings

3. Advertise in newspapers & cable TV

4. Have a clear club goal & a strategic plan

5. Letters or personal contact with local businesses

6. Contact with Chamber of Commerce

7. Bookmarks inserted in library books

8. Public meetings at malls, outdoors, etc

9. Booth at malls, fairs, festivals etc.

10. Pamphlets in doctors’ offices, hospitals, cafeterias, libraries, etc.

11. Host an Open House

12. Hold a club assembly only on membership

13. Ask Rotary Foundation alumni to join

14. Give the membership chair one minute at every club meeting

15. Make the membership chair a club director

16. Put together guest information packets

17. Service projects that serve a need in the community

18. Invite family members to join

19. Letters to people in the news with an invitation to visit the Rotary club

20. Club business cards with club meeting location and time

21. Distribute extra copies of the Rotarian in waiting rooms, etc

22. Hold high-profile meetings

23. Hold wine and cheese receptions for prospective members

24. Ask for help from RIMC/RIMZC

25. Have a special guest day

26. Send club members to district membership seminar

27. Make prospective members feel important

28. Honour outstanding community members with the “Rotary Award for . . “

29. Don’t wait for Rotaractors to reach age 30 before they are invited to join Rotary

30. Make some meetings social events

31. Build a club web site

32. Use group email to promote Rotary

33. Put posters in public areas

34. Ask corporations and employers to sponsor or subsidize membership

35. Have a reward program for those who bring in new members

36. Create more fun

37. Give a money back guarantee—if after 3 months a new member does not want to be a Rotarian return their fees

38. Invite the media to cover well known speakers

39. Use word of mouth

40. Network with coworkers, friends, and family

41. Follow up with guests

42. Place a coloured dot on the watch of every member to remind them to bring a guest

43. Lead by example—how many members have you recruited?

44. Members give talks at other organizations

45. Provide guests with free meals

46. Update your clubs classification survey

47. Look for members in ethnic groups not represented in your club

48. Provide brochures for new employee packets in members companies

49. Advertise at sports events

50. Ask the district for help

51. Hold join meetings with non-Rotary groups

52. Share your Rotary experience with others

53. Participate in community events

54. Write letters to the newspaper about the polio campaign

55. If a prospect can’t attend your meeting due to time suggest another club

56. Publicize club successes, elections, events, in local newspapers

57. Circulate the club newsletter widely

58. Design a club brochure

59. Hold recruiting events with two or more clubs

60. Form/join a speakers’ bureau

61. Wear your pin

62. Mention Rotary at meetings of other organizations during announcements

63. Send newsletter to guests

64. When asked about your leadership skills & career success, tell them about Rotary

65. Ask the AG to attend a board meeting to talk about membership

66. Ask every member to submit 3 prospects to the membership chair

67. Make it FUN

68. Give every member a Rotary decal or bumper stickers for their car

69. Give testimonials about Rotary while guests are at the meeting

70. Repeatedly invite prospective members

71. Practice selling Rotary at Club meetings—have a one minute elevator speech about Rotary

72. Conduct a Membership Satisfaction Survey (RI Publication #417)

73. The club president asks three club members as a personal favour to each recruit one new member

74. Bring your boss to a club meeting

75. Make direct contact with women’s business associations

76. Bring your co-workers to a club meeting

77. Bring your subordinates to a club meeting

78. Have new member kits

79. Use books, brochures, videos and posters from RI

80. Hand out invitation cards for a “Free” lunch (breakfast, dinner)

81. Members constantly promoting and raving about Rotary

82. Meet at a good location

83. Assign every member to a 5 person recruitment team—each team brings in a new member every six months

84. Develop a strategic plan membership is a year-round priority and needs to be planned

85. Have incentives for recruitment

86. Have a large poster that lists all the members who have sponsored a new member in the past year

87. Select a missing classification and work on filling it

88. Display a thermometer showing progress towards club goal

89. Feature a member’s “benefit of the month” in the club newsletter

90. Induct new members with piazzas & invite spouse/partner

91. Develop a welcome letter from the president for all new members

92. Contact all members who have resigned in the past 3 years

93. Use billboards at bus stops and road sides

94. Ask Rotarians to put Rotary ads on their commercial trucks

95. Recognize new members in newsletters

96. Regularly check the RI web site for ideas

97. Subscribe to the Rotary Membership Minute on the RI web site

98. Invite spouses to social functions

99. Ask recipients of Rotary service or donations to speak for Rotary

100.Pass out M & M candy to remind members that “Membership Matters” and that we need “More Members”