Rotaract in Great Britain and Ireland

JohnB

I know that some people on this forum have done really well with new interest clubs. At the conference we heard from Jonathan Nish that gumtree was the main source of new people for one new club.

My question is... where you've had a successful interest club, where did the people come from?

EmmaD · Joined: 09 May 2007 Posts: 11 Location: High Wycombe, D1090

Hey John

We have had a bit of success in our District this year - and particularly with Wycombe last year. Some of the tricks of the trade we used are as follows:

1. Websites - get on as many free local sites as you can. Best way to check is put random phrases into Google and see what comes up. Try 'community groups', 'social clubs' and the like - this will also tell you how far up on the list your club/District comes!

2. Posters - this is an obvious one, but it really works. Design one (we have several you can copy!) get it professionally printed (it really isn't expensive) and put them up .. everywhere. Sports centres, pubs, doctors, dentists, council offices, libraries .. anywhere that groups of people hang out!

3. Media - whilst this can be difficalt, once you are 'in' you are in and will never have issues again! Badger them ... send them ready made articals and adverts to play and they are 100% more likely to use it. Everything that is community minded let them know about it - speakers, monied raised, events ... let them know - they love it!

4. Self-advertising - there is nothing better than being in everyones faces - Rotaract shirts are always brilliant, as is heloing local charities collect in town wearing a shirt ..! Whenever you are around new people, talk about Rotaract - stranger on the train, colleagues at work, old school friends. Get the Logo out there - branding and all!

There is a lot more - I could go on forever ... but I shan't! If anyone wants help, I would love to offer myself up ...! I am Membership Officer for RGBI next year and would love to help clubs all over RGBU Kick-start, amd with Niamh, start lots of new ones up!

Please feel free to contact me if you want more ....
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Emma D
District Chairman 1090

"I am looking forward to looking back on this!"

gillianwain · Posted: Sun May 20, 2007 10:47 am Post subject:

The ideas that Emma lists, and that are in the "Kickstart your Rotaract Club" guide, are all good tried-and-tested ideas. The rule is: some ideas work sometimes for some clubs! I think the key for existing clubs is that if you ask "what is your club doing about attracting new members today", you should be able to reply with something – i.e. you should always be trying to do something that might attract new members. In my club we have tried lots of things over the years, and many have not brought members in at all, but in doing so at least we have always been thinking about making ourselves attractive to new people.

But I think what you’re asking about in this post is attracting members to a new club that is yet to exist. As you said, the workshop that Jonathan Nish ran at conference used the new Putney Rotaract Club as an example – being so close to London they made use of Gumtree and only publicised the club online. Gumtree is great for city-based clubs –as Jonathan found he had about 60 names by the time they organised the first meeting, solely through 2 or 3 months of posting on Gumtree.

But for those of us out in the sticks, Gumtree isn’t so useful. When we started Hart & Rushmoor Rotaract Club out in rural Hampshire a couple of years ago we tried the following:

Press release to the local newspapers (with good photo of other Rotaract clubs) published approx 10 days before the interest evening – attracted nine of the 13 people who came on the night. We followed this immediately with another press release saying how successful the evening had been and how it wasn’t too late to get involved, just come along to the next meeting, which attracted a few more people.

A bespoke glossy leaflet on display at libraries, community centres, gyms – attracted no one.

Rotarians in Fleet walked around a local business park knocking on doors and asking businesses to display the leaflet – attracted no one.

Rotarians in Farnborough manned a display stand at the tech college and gave out leaflets – attracted no one.

I was interviewed on some ultra-local radio shows: Garrison radio (covers Aldershot, and although it is broadcast publicly, it is specifically designed for forces families), Frimley Park Hospital radio and the local tech college temporary radio – attracted no one.

The other four people who didn’t come in from seeing the newspaper were brought along by Rotaractors from my club or Rotarians.

So, you can see that for us, the most successful method of attracting people was the newspaper. I think it was important that we tried the other methods too, though, as it meant we were all focused on finding people. And you never know which method will be the one that works for you!

JohnB · Posted: Sun May 20, 2007 3:23 pm Post subject:

Ultimately I need a "Kickstart your district" guide ... the club is doing great!

The kickstart your club guide is great for ideas, but lists lots of ideas, and admits that some don't work very well.

I'm planning to explore as many avenues as possible, but it really helps to know what works, as the district team isn't very big..

Someone mentioned at the conference that someone had created 6 interest clubs in their district.. who was that? I should have been paying attention!

Thanks for the input... it does help cross a few ideas off the list, or at least relegate them to backup options.

ClaireSeale · Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 12:12 pm Post subject:

That was me! And yes you should have been paying attention. Gees. Between the Birmingham 'new dcs' seminar and the watford conference two weeks later, i built six interest clubs. since then i have now got another one interest club. You know the mess my district was in while i was in birmingham, but finally my first club (i suppose, of Cool

, is to be chartered on the 2nd of june. One down, seven charters to go!

I suppose to start it off i just emailed all the rotary clubs in the district, (1020 has 6 Cool

, introduced myself. Told them i thought i had something important to say and would they be good enough to get in touch with me about speaking to their clubs. I had many replies and so far there are 7 interest clubs already begining to take place.

I asked each of the rotary clubs who were interested for names and addresses of local employers (for example banks, they often have people around 25ish working there), colleges (although all my clubs are about 30minutes to 2.5hrs away from edinburgh so this wasn't great), notices in the local town halls, librarys. I just wrote to them all telling them why rotaract was good and why it was good their employers got involved - based on the letter in the kickstart guide.

The biggest interest club at the moment has 12 so they technically could be chartering but they want to spend more time building the club before the go for the big plunge. I've never had anything in the press about the actually clubs, but there has been several cases recently where its been mentioned with my name in some of the papers.

I think the thing was with these clubs, they're all away from edinburgh so they're already quite community based (and nothing else to do), so i've been lucky in the district. Also, its not like there was any clubs before this all started so there was lots of room to do it.

Based on that, i thought that was why you wanted me to be in that rotaract video... now i know there's alterior motives!

Hope it helps, claire x
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Claire x

JohnB · Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 12:48 pm Post subject:

Sorry

I just wanted you to post to the thread Smile

Psycho Sal · Joined: 16 May 2007 Posts: 25 Location: Eltham, SE9

John, if you come up with a good way to 'Kick Start your District', do let me know! Claire has done really well in Edinburgh but I'm looking at the whole of Kent, East Sussex and some of Greater London!!! I am trying to organise meetings with four or so Rotary clubs at a time to get them to work together. For example, when I was in Rotaract in Chatham, there were three Rotaract Clubs (Chatham, Medway and Rochester & Strood) sponsored by four Rotary clubs (Chatham, Medway, Rochester and Strood). Now I would like to get the four of them, plus Gillingham, to sponsor one Rotaract club between them! I will keep you all posted on how this goes! Cool

_________________
Sally Till
Rotary Club of Eltham Phoenix
DRO 2007-08
DC 1996-97
RGBI Secretary 1997-98

ClaireSeale · Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 6:40 am Post subject:

Sally,

one of my, the Scottish Borders one, is sponsered by about 5/6 clubs in the area. i just go to which ever can offer me a spot to speak, and they ask for representatives from the other clubs to come along too and they in turn report back to their club. It's quite efficient, because its a 2.5 hour drive from my house. And by the way, my district is south east scotland, the futhest point club from my house is 3hr one-way train journey Razz

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Claire x

gillianwain · Posted: Sat May 26, 2007 4:07 pm Post subject:

Claire's obviously put a lot of hard work in, but I think what has helped her is that Rotary in D1020 has been very interested in getting Rotaract going for the past three or four years. When I was on the RGBI team as Extension Officer in 2003/04 and then Chairman in 2004/05, I spent a lot of time on the phone to some great Rotarians in D1020 and D1010 (N Scotland). Sadly for D1020, of the two of the Rotarians I was in talks with and who would have tried hard to get Rotaract off the ground, one became very poorly (I believe she may have died) and the other moved down here to Hampshire. So I think the Rotarians were just waiting for someone like Claire to come along and be an enthusiastic Rotaractor prepared to get off her bottom and work with Rotary.

John, getting Rotaract going in D1080 is not down to you: Rotaract is a Rotary programme, and the Rotarians must decide for themselves if Rotaract is something they want to have. In your role you can try and persuade them that that is the case, point them in the direction of the tools they can use, and encourage them along the way by doing what you can, but in the end it is down to them. (Sorry Sally!)

With regard to a Kickstart your Rotaract District guide, this does exist indirectly, in the form of a combination of existing materials – the club kickstart guide and the great District Development Plan document that Lisa Burnett put together a year or so ago (both available on the RGBI website). I think the two used in tandem will help you to plan for the future, but will only work if you involve Rotary in the first instance.

ClaireSeale · Posted: Sun May 27, 2007 11:16 am Post subject:

Gillian, do you know who that woman was, who became poorly?

Unfortunately d1020 rotary are pains at the moment, in fact, they managed to loose the dc's chain for about 6 months and the dg didn't know it existed. If you did speak to anyone that was 'up for it' pleaseee tell me who they were! As we speak, i'm reading an email from a club i'm about to visit already telling me his personal opinions as to why the interest club in their area won't succeed and that i pretty much shouldnt bother. As i said before, i sent emails to club presidents asking to come and speak at their clubs, i've had 4 replies saying they've never heard of rotaract. This is an up-hill battle/war... HELP!!!!
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Claire x

Psycho Sal · Joined: 16 May 2007 Posts: 25 Location: Eltham, SE9

I hope no-one sees this as a negative, but when I was in Rotaract it is was always known as 'Rotary's best kept secret' We were discussing publicity last night at a club event, and Terry commented that there is only one rule for Rotary publicity - Rule One 'Don't mention Rotary!'. It seems they apply the same rules to Rotaract!

Claire, try speaking to your DG elect, especially as he/she takes office in a month's time! My DGE is an ex-Rotaractor Surprised

and is really keen to get other people to experience all the fun he had! He has set me the task of 8 new clubs next year!!!! Anyway, your DGE can recommend you to all the clubs as a potential speaker, and believe me, as someone who has been Speaker Secretary, that's a real plus, and he/she can also get all your AGs on board so you can ask them to organise area meetings where you go along with a few other Rotaractors and give a presentation to representatives from 6 - 10 Rotary clubs. Good luck!!
_________________
Sally Till
Rotary Club of Eltham Phoenix
DRO 2007-08
DC 1996-97
RGBI Secretary 1997-98