This is an updated version of the PowerPoint deck presented by Mary Shackleton at the 2017 Rotary District 7230 Conference. Mary covers changes made by the 2016 Council on Legislation. She also addresses new membership types and club meeting formats.

1. How to Improve the Curb Appeal, Design, and Functionality of Your Rotary Club
Mary Shackleton, Assistant Governor, Rotary District 7230, Area 5
Attracting Engaging

2. Love List

3. Your club may need some renovations, if…
 Potential members aren’t liking the look of your club.
 Current members are embarrassed to invite their friends and colleagues
over… and perhaps even thinking of moving out.

4. Like remodeling a house, modernizing your club will likely be
messy, always take longer than planned, and require certain
adjustments along the way.
If you are flexible and embrace the process of change, you
will find that the outcome is worth all the effort.
You might even shed a happy tear at the big reveal!
They Often Love the Results

5. Membership Assessment Tools
Strengthening Your Membership:
Creating Your Membership
Development Plan
Rotary Club Health Check
Be a Vibrant Club
Presidential Goals/Citations

6. Club Resources
 Club Assembly Discussion
 Confidential Club Member e-Surveys
 SurveyMonkey
 Club Strategic Plans
District Resources
 District Membership Chair and Committee
 Cecily Smith (2018-19)

7. Rotary Program Alumni Contact information
Rotary club, district, and zone leaders can get alumni
reports on My Rotary.
Rotary Membership Leads
Rotary club, district, and zone leaders can get
membership leads on My Rotary.

8. Good real-estate investors and agents know the the value of
comparable property.
Visit other Rotary Clubs and civic organizations. Investigate
their schedule and events. Ask how they recruit members.
Collaborate with nearby Rotary Clubs on membership. Make
referrals if another club in the area is a better fit.

9. Your club’s printed materials (brochure, club card, etc.),
Website, and social-media presence should be modern and
outward facing. They are the front door to your club.
If your club doesn’t have the necessary internal resources:
 Offer an internship to a local student.
 Invest in social-media-management tools like Hootsuite, Buffer,
SocialOomph, SocialFlow, etc.
 Purchase Website services like ClubRunner, DACdb, Squarespace,
WIX, WordPress, etc.

10. Become a more “open-concept” club!
Remove barriers (and excuses) that prevent members and
potential members from active participation.
Make more events family and commuter friendly.
Evaluate the mix and schedule of club activities.
Consider disconnecting meals and meetings.
Discuss different types of memberships.
 Corporate
 Family
 Passport
 Service
 Rotary Community Corps

11. If a custom is essential to your club’s identity, don’t knock
it down. Make necessary tweaks.
Take into account the views of senior club members and
engage them in the process of renewing your club.
Actively listen to their concerns. Make sure they
recognize the club they built in the club you become.

12. Every year, Rotary International adds 100-150 thousand new
members, and loses roughly 100-150 thousand existing
members. On average, that’s around 3 members per club and
a zero net membership gain overall.
That’s not the Rotary wheel we need.
The following may help your retention rate:
 Sponsors/member mentors to “on board” newbies.
 A system to check in on existing members – “We miss you!”
 Exit interviews with leaving members.

13. If you watch any HGTV, you’ve heard this before.
It may have been really groovy back in 1973, but maybe it’s
time to give a 21st century look and feel to your club.
Reconsider certain elements of your club meetings.
Support the audio/visual needs of presenters. (Hint: They
are a great membership pool. Impress them.)

14. With recent Council on Legislation changes, there’s never
been more room for your club to reshape itself.
Examples of such flexibility
 Dual Rotaract/Rotary club membership.
 Clubs can set their own meeting length, frequency, and attendance
requirements (as long as the club meets twice a month).
 Clubs have greater flexibility in their constitutions and by-laws.
Changes to you club’s operations may need to be supported
by corresponding amendments to your club’s by-laws.
Don’t forget this essential step.

15. Like mold, termites, and dry rot, unresolved conflict is
detrimental to the health and safety of your club’s structure
and its membership roll.
Prospects may not know the source, but can often smell the
tension that you’ve grown used to, or may even ask for a
home inspection.
There is a solution to these issues – Rotary’s Four-Way Test!

16. Everyone should immediately feel comfortable at your club’s
events and see themselves “living” there.
Be inclusive and take steps to become better reflection of
your community, if needed.
Roll out the welcome mat! Be friendly! Smile!
Rotary is not a political or religious organization. Leave such
discussions out of your events.

17. If you haven’t done this already, develop an membership
application process.
Don’t be afraid to ask for résumés, references, and
interviews.
Your club will spend its resources welcoming a new
member, so do what you can to insure that your
investment will pay off. And that prospective members
know what to expect.

18. Your prospects and members are already market players,
willing to share some of their time, talent, and treasure.
(Call them “Club Hunters.” They’ve crossed the threshold
of your Rotary clubhouse.)
But, they make “purchasing” decisions based on their
perceptions of Return On Investment.
Don’t waste their time, talent, and treasure.
Get new members involved right away, with something
that interests them.

19. With a few changes, members of your club, new and old,
will be flipping out at what a great club they’ve joined, and
stepping-up to do even more through Rotary.
The changes may not be easy, but they’ll be worth it. You’ll
attract new members and engage current Rotarians. The
club you save may be your own!