Did you know August is Rotary Membership Month? Here are some ideas on membership building from rotary.org.

All Rotarians are ambassadors of Rotary and their clubs. This is especially relevant during Membership Month in August, when the focus is on building strong, vibrant clubs by inviting prospective members to join Rotary. Interested in growing your club but not sure how to get started?

Here’s an easy three-step plan to bring to your next club meeting.

1. Start with Rotary Basics
The colorful Rotary Basics guide (published in the August issue of The Rotarian and Rotary regional magazines) gives an overview of what Rotary clubs do. Order copies from shop.rotary.org for members to share with prospective Rotarians and club guests. Include your club’s contact information with the guide or direct prospective members to www.rotary.org/join, which includes a link to the Prospective Member Form.

2. Handle prospective-member inquiries
Club presidents receive inquiries about membership either directly from candidates or via Prospective Member or Rotarian Referral forms forwarded from Rotary International. As always, invitations for membership are at the discretion of your club. Consider creating a brochure or elevator speech to provide an overview of your club. If you develop a standard welcome e-mail to initiate correspondence with prospective members, include:

• Welcome and thank-you to candidate for his/her interest in Rotary
• Overview of the club, including a brief outline of Rotary’s mission and humanitarian goals, a recent club/district service project, and typical club/district activities
• Meeting information, including the name, meeting time, and location
• Additional resources, including links to club/district websites or Rotary publications
• Follow-up information about the club’s next steps in the membership process

3. Send prospective member kits
Follow up your welcome letter with the Prospective Member Information Kit (423), which provides basic information about RI, The Rotary Foundation, and the responsibilities of club membership. Have a club leader contact the prospective member to ensure they’ve received the kit and to answer any questions about Rotary membership.

Do you have a great idea for growing your Rotary club? Submit your idea in a comment. District Membership Chair Gary Bradham and his team would love to hear from you.