Rotary Club 13: Why is your membership declining? · Within these zip codes, Club 13 will find the...

Rotary 13: Why is your membership declining?

Eric Buselt ▫ Aaron Francis ▫ Marcia Kelley ▫ Stephen Nichols

Journalism 829 ▫ Marketing Research

Bob Basow, Professor

Rotary Club 13:Why is your membership declining?


Table of Contents

Project Researchers ......................................................................................................................... 1 Problem to be Solved ...................................................................................................................... 1

Proposed Groups and How to Reach Them................................................................................. 1 Current Membership .................................................................................................................... 2

History ............................................................................................................................................. 2 Why Rotary? ................................................................................................................................ 3 Rotary, Kiwanis and Lions Comparisons .................................................................................... 3

Research .......................................................................................................................................... 4 Sources and Findings ................................................................................................................... 4 Qualitative Research .................................................................................................................... 4

CityData.com ........................................................................................................................... 5 Prizm Research ........................................................................................................................ 5

Quantitative Research .................................................................................................................. 5 Rotary Chapter 13 Research .................................................................................................... 5 Focus Groups ......................................................................................................................... 10 In-depth Interviews ................................................................................................................ 12 LinkedIn Discussion .............................................................................................................. 14 Survey .................................................................................................................................... 15

Slide Show ................................................................................................................................. 21 Recommendations ......................................................................................................................... 30 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 31

Marketing Campaigns ............................................................................................................... 31 Review of Meetings ................................................................................................................... 31 Member Opportunities for Service ............................................................................................ 31 Database of Interests ................................................................................................................. 31 Student Initiatives ...................................................................................................................... 32

Appendix ......................................................................................................................................... 1 References ................................................................................................................................... 1


List of Figures

Figure 1: Club 13 Membership Declines Over the Last 25 Years .................................................. 2 Figure 2: Breakdown by Gender, Race and Age of Current Members .......................................... 4 Figure 3: Years as Rotary Member ................................................................................................ 6 Figure 4: Membership by Gender ................................................................................................... 6 Figure 5: Membership by Age ........................................................................................................ 7 Figure 6: Perceived Weaknesses of Chapter 13 ............................................................................. 7 Figure 7: Core Values of Chapter 13 .............................................................................................. 8 Figure 8: Rotary Youth Camp ......................................................................................................... 8 Figure 9: Financial Generosity of Members ................................................................................... 9


1 1

Project Researchers The following four people conducted the research for this project:

Eric Burselt

Aaron Francis

Marcia Kelley

Stephen Nichols

Eric Buselt spent several years working in Kansas City advertising agencies after he obtained his

undergraduate degree from KU, but missed the Lawrence community – including its great

running trails. He currently lives in northwest Lawrence, where he serves in several leadership

roles including Marketing Consultant for Lawrence Free Methodist Church.

Aaron Francis has 15 years of military experience in the Army and the National Guard and has

worked for the past six years in Strategic Communications where he is currently a Military

Analyst at Fort Leavenworth. Francis received his undergraduate degree in Aerospace

Engineering from Westpoint. He is the married father of three.

Marcia Kelley works full-time for an energy management company in Lenexa. She has two

undergraduate degrees from KU in Journalism and English. She is a published author, and she

has also been a speaker through the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Speakers’ Bureau in Atlanta,

Georgia. She is married and the mother of two teenage boys.

Stephen Nichols is the owner of Boswell Small Business Marketing Inc., a company that

specializes in helping businesses form revenue-producing connections with their target

audience. Nichols is from Lenexa, Kansas and a current Rotary member.

Problem to be Solved Rotary International, Chapter 13 in Kansas City, Missouri, is our client. This Rotary Club is

trying to change its current image of old Caucasian male members and bring in more females and

members from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Additional issues include retention of current

members and a lack of marketing efforts to boost Rotary awareness.

The marketing goal for this group is to reach younger people and people from diverse

backgrounds, and to increase public awareness of the Rotary group to boost club memberships.

An ancillary goal is to increase diversity in this group’s membership. Marketing efforts would

go outside the current primary demographic profile of current members.

Students from the Journalism 829 Marketing Research class volunteered to help the organization

work on this problem.

Proposed Groups and How to Reach Them

The following are several diverse groups for the Rotary Club to consider for future membership

and suggestions on how to contact them:


2

High school and college students. The Kansas City metro area, and as far away as

Lawrence and Columbia, has a large number of colleges, and junior colleges. Contact

counselors or scholastic groups at each of these schools to invite the best and brightest

students to a meeting to expose them to Rotary. Many of these students will later move to

the Kansas City Metro area for employment after college. Rotary has a group called

Interact to get high school students interested in Rotary. For college-aged students, Rotary

has a group called Rotoract.

Women. Contact groups such as the Women's League or other women's groups where they

have the resources and similar philanthropic interests to get more women exposed to

Rotary.

Hispanic and Asian. Contact each group's Chamber of Commerce to invite them to

meetings. African-American. The heart of the African-American community is the

church.

Retirees. Many people have been displaced because of their jobs and retired early, but they

are still looking for ways to stay active and help others in their community and many have

the resources. Rotary may just need to change their marketing message to attract these

people who fall into their average age group.

Current Membership

Membership has steadily declined over the last 25 years, (1985-2010). Over the next five years,

an even more rapid decline in membership of nearly 32% may occur as the men in the 71-100

group ages.

Figure 1: Club 13 Membership Declines Over the Last 25 Years

To understand Rotary International, and particularly Chapter 13 has evolved over the years, we

need to take a closer look at the history of Rotary.

History According to the Rotary International web site (http://www.rotary.org), Rotary started February

23, 1905 as the world’s first service organization by Paul

Harris, an attorney in Chicago. He started Rotary because

he wanted a professional club filled with individuals like

those that had influenced his life as a youth. The Rotary

name came from the fact that meetings were rotated

Club 13 Membership

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

1985

1987

1989

1991

1993

1995

1997

1999

2001

2003

2005

2007

2009

Year

Mem

bers

http://www.rotary.org/


3

between the members’ offices. By July, 1925, Rotary had more than 2,000 members and more

than 108,000 members, including presidents, prime ministers and other dignitaries. Today, the

organization has more than 1.2 million members in 32,000 chapters in over 200 countries.

Why Rotary?

Over the years, members began pooling resources and helping communities in need and the

organization developed his motto: Service above self. Members we interviewed said they joined

Rotary because of:

Commitment to service

Networking

Rotary International has supported such causes as illiteracy, the environment, the world’s hunger

crisis and helping children at risk, and today’s focus of ending polio. Some of the international

service projects have originated and expanded in countries such as Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan

and India. Projects for these areas include clean drinking water, Polio Plus and Shoes for Orphan

Soles.

Rotary, Kiwanis and Lions Comparisons

In order to establish background data useful to Rotary 13 in Kansas City, our group developed the

following qualitative comparison of similar service clubs represented by chapters in the

immediate area. Beginning at major organizational level, the data is not specific to individual

chapters, but based on the parent, international club. The goal is to better define and frame the

specific Rotary 13 club’s stated triple problem of “declining, aging and non-diverse membership”

for further quantitative analysis.

Rotary Lions Kiwanis

Motto “Service above Self” “We Serve” “Serving the Children

of the World”

Founding 1905 Chicago 1917 Chicago 1915 Detroit

Founding

Principles

The “Object of Rotary” is

to encourage

and foster the ideal of

service as

a basis of worthy

enterprise

-Promote the principle of

good government and

good citizenship.

-Take an active interest in

the civic, cultural, social

and moral welfare of the

community.

“Exchange business

between members and

to serve the poor”

Key

Tenets/Values

-Development of

acquaintance as an

opportunity for service,

-The “Four Way Test”

-Hold friendship as an end

and not a means.

-Accept no profit or

success at the price of my

own self-respect or

because of questionable

acts

“Six permanent Objects

of Kiwanis

International”

Flagship

Projects

PolioPlus/“End Polio

Now”

-Eradicating Preventable

Blindness (Helen Keller

1925)

-Iodine deficiency

disorders worldwide

-HIV and AIDS in


4

-Diabetes Awareness Kenya and Swaziland

Geographic

Scope

>130 Countries 206 countries >80 countries

Miscellaneous

Major

Changes

Persecuted by Nazi Party

in 1930s

Became international in

1920

1924 “Six permanent

Objects” adopted,

became service-

focused

Raw Size 34M clubs,1.22MM

members

45M clubs, 1.35MM

members

7.7M clubs, 240M

members Sources: www.rotary.com, www.lionsclubs.org¸ and www.kiwanis.org.

When conducting our research for this project, we found that the Rotarians had put a lot of

thought into the groups to whom they would be associated. In addition to Lions and Kiwanis, the

additional groups included Optimists, Sertoma, Jaycees, and Odd Fellows.

Research

Sources and Findings

Rotary research

Rotary web site

2 Focus Groups

2 In-depth Interviews

1 LinkedIn Discussion

Surveys

Qualitative Research

Chapter 13’s membership is aging and is dominated by Caucasian males. The average age of

current members is 58.5 years as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Breakdown by Gender, Race and Age of Current Members

www.rotary.com

http://www.lionsclubs.org/

www.kiwanis.org


5

CityData.com

More than 120 zip codes are part of Jackson and Clay Counties in Missouri, and Johnson and

Wyandotte counties in Kansas. Within these zip codes, Club 13 will find the vast majority of its

members. A closer look at the zip codes around Club 13 provides more precise data. According

to a 2009 estimate from CityData.com, 404,526 people live in the 23 zip codes surrounding Club

13, primarily within Johnson County in Kansas and Jackson County in Missouri, and 338 of these

people make up the membership of Club 13.

Prizm Research

Part of our demographic research came to us through Claritas’ PRIZM New Evolution

geodemographic segmentation system, which uses household and geographic data meshed with

demographic and lifestyle information to place customers into descriptive segments. We used

PRIZM segmentation to identify which segments are most frequently found in current Rotary

Club membership. We also used PRIZM to identify key segments largely missing from current

membership which would increase diversity in the club.

Demographic information provided by Club 13 shows that 85% of current members are over the

age of 45, with an average age of 58.5. Certainly, a large portion of these members fit into

PRIZM’s Mature Years Lifestage Groups in which membership to fraternal orders and

community leadership organizations is a common characteristic.

Analysis of zip codes surrounding Club 13 shows that several key segments of the Mature Years

Lifestage Group are repeatedly represented in the population, including Urban Elders, Old

Glories, and Domestic Duos. Further analysis of individual zip shows where more members of

this segment are likely to be found, such as 66207 in Johnson County, Kansas, which contains

significant numbers of the Gray Power, New Empty Nests and Upper Crust groups. Using this

data, Club 13 can more accurately target any marketing initiatives in those areas.

PRIZM date also shows which areas can be targeted for improving Club 13 diversity. Prime

segment targets for club membership include Boomtown Singles, City Start-Ups¸Close-in

Couples, Urban Achievers and Multi-Culti Mosaic. For example, 64123 in Jackson County,

Missouri, contains several of those segments according to PRIZM data.

Quantitative Research

Rotary Chapter 13 Research

In November, 2010, Chapter 13 of the Rotary International started a campaign to attract a

younger and more diverse group of members to the organization. This survey was sent to the 345

members in Chapter 13. The following charts show the key findings from the 83 people who

responded to this survey.

The first slide looks at how long people have been members of Rotary. Those who have been

members 1-5 years and those who have been members 11-20 years comprise the largest amount

of members with 24 and 20, respectively, and 51% of the respondents.

The rest of the respondents make up memberships of 6-10 year s(15), 21-30 years (15) and those

over 30 years (7).


6

Figure 3: Years as Rotary Member

Men have historically been the prominent members in Rotary and in Chapter 13. In, 1989, the

group voted to add women. Even in as recent as 2010, women lag behind in the membership

numbers.

Figure 4: Membership by Gender

24

15

20

15

7

1-5

6-10

11-20

21-30

30+

Number of years that you have been a Rotarian:

66

14

Male

Female

Please indicate your gender:


7

Age is another area of concern. Of the respondents who answered this question, the majority of

members are over 66 years of age.

Figure 5: Membership by Age

Chapter 13 has recognized that they have four weaknesses: diversity, age, gender and ethnicity:

Figure 6: Perceived Weaknesses of Chapter 13

4

9

13

24

32

25-35

36-45

46-55

56-65

66+

Please indicate your age:

7, 9%

32, 40%

22, 27%

19, 24%

What are the perceived weaknesses of Club 13:

Diversity of members - age, race, gender, ethnicity

Definitely, could be deadly

Weighs us down

Yes but no big deal

Not really


8

Secondary weaknesses that were identified included:

meeting at noon (72.88%)

fellowship opportunities (66.81%)

singing at meetings (61.74%)

business networking/development with/or through members (45.55%)

frequent financial requests made to members (39.48%)

minimal time availability of members (35.43%)

Yet,, Rotary 13 is doing some things right. A healthy 43% think that members exemplify the core

values of Rotary:

Figure 7: Core Values of Chapter 13

Additional attributes at Chapter 13 include:

just over 37% think that the current diversity (age, race, gender and ethnicity) among

members is good.

67% are happy that Chapter 13 is 100 years old

A combined 73% think that time availability of member is definitely important or

important

38% enjoyed partnering with local organizations such as Literacy

Kansas City

71% say that being involved with the camp for children with

physical, mental or emotional needs was very satisfying

Figure 8: Rotary Youth Camp

43, 54%34, 42%

3, 4% 0, 0%

What are the perceived strengths of Club 13:

Members exemplify the core values of Rotary International

Definitely, rock solid

Important, yes

Maybe

Not really


9

The perceived threats to Rotary Chapter 13 are:

Work demands on prospective members are unprecedented creating a smaller potential

member pool

Tough economic environment constrains member generosity pushing Club 13 to need to

raise more money

Lunches are not created with member health in mind

Social networking among under 45 demographics minimizes the need to join and attend

meetings

Rotary’s motto is “Service above self.” Rotary members have a reputation of being very

generous:

Figure 9: Financial Generosity of Members

And 61% of members feel that providing financial support for operating the Rotary Youth Camp,

financial and/or volunteer support for district programs and initiatives and other volunteer

activities strategies is important.

Rotary offers members the chance to go on Volunteer Vacations to locations around the globe.

The most famous of these is Ten Thousand Villages, a fair trade partnership with underprivileged

nations:

Rotary has several international initiatives including

Clean water

Polio Plus (a partnership with the Gates Foundation to end polio)

Shoes for Orphan Soles

Over the next 3-5 years, Chapter 13 has identified several items as part of their strategic plan:

Expand Club 13's International Service and promote it as volunteer vacations partnering

more with Rotary International

44, 55%30, 37%

6, 8% 0, 0%

What are the perceived strengths of Club 13:

Financial generosity of members

Definitely, rock solid

Important, yes

Maybe

Not really


10

"I really love my hometown and it's

nice to have an organization so

committed to it."

Strengthen our swat team (5-15 people) approach to offering short-term (hours not days)

service to benefit organizations and publicize Club 13's service in the community

Become a member of the Downtown Council and actively participate in meetings

Identify and commit to one education focused organization to provide volunteers (not

money) for 5 years

Continue to publicize the Rotary Youth Camp and the benefits of the camper's experience

Partner with organizations buying and selling products created by artists and crafts -

people in underdeveloped countries, e.g., Ten Thousand Villages

Continue to support the Youth Camp through dues, fundraising, work days and grow the

Foundation to the $5 million goal

Promote luncheon speakers in the Kansas City Star event, Pitch and KC Business Journal

- charge non-member s $25 with reservation required

Continue fellowships through YORO, bowling and other groups

Expand the KC Rotary Golf Classic to promote camaraderie and publicize Rotary in the

Community

Focus Groups

Two focus groups were conducted on April 21 and April 28. The following questions were

asked:

1. How did you first hear about Rotary?

2. What type of Rotary activities do you like best?

3. What was a reason that turned you from considering Rotary to beginning the application

process?

4. Why did you choose to join Rotary versus other service organizations?

5. Have you ever thought of recruiting your friends into your Rotary club? What do you

think might stop them from joining?

6. are you still as committed to Rotary as you were when you first joined?

a) If so, what are some reasons that has helped you sustain that level of

commitment?

b) If not, what could be done to get that level of commitment back?

c) Do you feel you have an effective mentor in Rotary?

7. Would increased diversity (age, race, gender) among the Rotary membership help its

mission to serve the community?

a) How?

The following questions were prepared and asked as time permitted:

1. Why does Rotary continue to exist? If it ceased to exist, who would lose?

2. What have you seen Rotary currently doing to attract new membership or retain current

membership?

3. Do you have any suggestions to improve Rotary meetings?

The first focus group included two participants, XXXX. The participants agreed that more

information must be given to prospective members about the time and financial commitments

required once they become members. Additionally, the membership of Rotary should look like

the communities in which they live and serve by attracting diverse members. Both participants

felt that the time had come to become a more diverse

organization.


11

"Facilitating ideas about how to move the

city forward. That's probably the most

valuable impact Club 13 has is being a

forum for ideas that might start off in

these walls and continue out of them."

An informal mentorship program seems to be a method that

would be embraced by a large number of the current

members. The target audience for this type of program

would be high school and college students.

As far as the actual meetings, the participants felt that the

meetings provided time to connect with others for a purpose

of serving their community and not just a social meeting.

One suggestion was a database of members information and

interests such as family activities, occupation of the member

and member interests outside of Rotary.

Both participants felt that Chapter 13 had a significant

legacy because of the longevity of the chapter and its

location. One participant said that he wanted to pass that

legacy down to his son. He felt that connecting on a

regular basis with prominent business leaders was

extremely important. The other participant took that point a step further by saying that by

interacting with prominent business leaders could help that member voice opinions that

facilitate“…ideas that could move the city forward.”

As far as retention of members, one participant felt that it was important to know why people

were leaving and suggested that some members that left didn’t feel that they were getting what

they expected. The other participant suggested other ways to keep members engaged if they can’t

make it to the current noon meetings would be to offer evening meetings.

The second focus group consisted of XXXX


12

…there’s an opportunity, we think, for

anybody with any particular interest to

find a way to get involved.

In-depth Interviews

The following questions were used for the in-depth interview:

1. Favorite things about Rotary?

2. Do Rotary members have great experiences and sense of fulfillment?

3. First involvement in Rotary?

4. Main challenge in future for Rotary retaining and recruiting

5. Overall direction Rotary is headed

6. To what do you attribute the atrition rate? Is it necessarily a bad thing?

7. More about Youth Camp

8. Networking? Important things to highlight

9. Mentorship programs?

10. Official structure for assigning mentors to new members?

11. Member Minute

12. Tyro points, description

13. Attract new members?

14. Did you have good ideas but couldn't get them supported well enough?

15. Outreach to churches, other organizations?

16. Benefits from diversity?

17. Service aspect helps retain/attract members

18. Confidence in Rotary projects for younger folks?

One of Rotary Chapter 13’s elected officers, Ford Nelson, a Senior Partner with Armstrong Teasdale

LLP law firm agreed to an in-depth interview. He listed the service theme as one of his favorite

things about being a Rotary member. He has been involved in the local summer camp, including

the dedication of a hall at the camp, and an international experience of putting in a well and other

water projects in Africa. He says that getting volunteers involved is not always easy, once they

are involved, the like being part of an organization that “does good.”

Another aspect of Rotary that he likes is the fact that there are 40 committees, so that people have

a variety of options to get involved in what interests

them.

He concedes that retention of members at Chapter 13 has

always been a problem. The average attrition rate has been around 10 percent with recruitment

being around 7 percent which accounts for some of the retention problems. New members wear a

red ribbon on their button and must accumulate 100 tyro points, a way to get introduced to

members and explore committees they are interested in.

Members don’t always come to meetings. Some of the reasons given for not coming to the

meetings including:

the drive to downtown

the need to dress up for the meeting

He feels, going forward, that Chapter 13 needs to do a better job of communicating with members

and prospective members under the age of 45. The chapter is looking at holding classes on how

that group communicates. Changes have come slowly, but he says that they do have podcasts

available for each meeting.


13

"It's a different style of

communication, and we've gotta

basically adapt to it."

"One of the beautiful things about Rotary is that in an era where everyone wants to be specialized, here we have an organization that accomplishes a huge breadth of things, both locally and internationally, and there aren't a lot of organizations that have that wide of an approach to service."

He suggested an “interact” group for high school student

that would prepare them for membership in Rotary. He

envisions having scholarships available for this group.

He also feels that diversity is important to pursue because it can bring in “new people with fresh

ideas.” And he admits that the chapter’s public relations efforts are a weak element.

The second in-depth interview is with the Rotary Chapter 13’s President-elect, Marc Horner.

Horner is also District Manager at Crescent Electric Supply. He was first introduced to Rotary when

he was a Cub Scout and later

joined at the request of a co-

worker. He has been a

member since 1994.

He really likes the service

aspect of Rotary. He had a

list of projects that he named

off quickly including international projects such as drinking water, sanitation, Polio and Haiti and

local projects such as


14

LinkedIn Discussion


15

Survey

The information below is from a survey we conducted using Survey Monkey. This email was

sent to the Chapter 13 membership of 345 members. The information below shows the

percentages followed by the number of respondents.

1. What type of Rotary activities do you like best?

Meetings

77.5% 55

Community service activities

18.3% 13

Mentorship activities within Rotary

2.8% 2

Club improvement campaigns

1.4% 1

2. How many Rotary activities (meetings, events, etc.) do you

usually attend each month?

Count

0-1

12.7% 9

2

16.9% 12

3

16.9% 12

4

29.6% 21

5 or more

23.9% 17

3. Rate on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is low opinion and 5 is a

high opinion.

1 2 3 4 5 Response

How well do you feel the club follows through in its mission to

help the community?

0.0% (0) 1.4% (1) 7.0% (5) 40.8% (29)

50.7% (36) 71

How committed are you to Rotary and its mission?

0.0% (0) 7.0% (5) 19.7% (14) 42.3% (30)

31.0% (22) 71


16

How committed do you feel the average Rotarian is toward Rotary

and its mission? 0.0% (0) 7.0% (5)

39.4% (28) 46.5% (33) 7.0% (5) 71

4. On a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is strongly disagree and 5 is

strongly agree:

1 2 3 4 5 Response

I want to see increased diversity (age, ethnicity, etc.) among

Rotary membership.

2.8% (2) 8.5% (6) 19.7% (14) 25.4% (18)

43.7% (31) 71

I would be willing to take part in a program that emphasized

increasing diversity (age, ethnicity, etc.) in Rotary.

12.9% (9) 11.4% (8) 31.4% (22) 24.3% (17)

20.0% (14) 70

I would be willing to take part in a mentorship program for

younger Rotarians.

8.7% (6) 21.7% (15) 23.2% (16) 36.2% (25)

10.1% (7) 69

The current dues structure is fair and acceptable.

2.9% (2) 14.5% (10) 27.5% (19) 33.3% (23)

21.7% (15) 69

I am satisfied with the direction in which the club is headed.

2.8% (2) 9.9% (7) 22.5% (16) 39.4% (28)

25.4% (18) 71


17

5. What were primary reasons you joined Rotary? (Select all that

apply)

Community Service

70.4% 50

Career Networking

47.9% 34

Making new friends/connections

69.0% 49

Joining friends already in Rotary

28.2% 20

You wanted something new to do with your time

9.9% 7

It has a more convenient location than other organizations

1.4% 1

Other (please specify)

6. Where do you think your Rotary club could make the biggest

improvement?

More convenient meeting times/places

12.7% 9

More diversity in membership (age, ethnicity, etc.)

62.0% 44

Activities that do more to improve the community

35.2% 25

Listen closer to members

9.9% 7

Other (please specify)

7. How many nonmembers have you brought to Rotary events in the

past?

0

7.1% 5

1-3

40.0% 28

4-6

34.3% 24

7-9

7.1% 5

10 or above

11.4% 8

8. What is the most effective way for Rotary leadership to

contact you?

E-mail

77.5% 55

Phone call

5.6% 4


18

Social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

4.2% 3

Newsletter or other direct mailing

0.0% 0

A combination of the above media.

11.3% 8

I don’t want to be contacted. If I want information, I will

contact them.

1.4% 1

9. How often do you access the Rotary Club website?

Never

1.4% 1

Rarely

31.4% 22

Occasionally

48.6% 34

Regularly

18.6% 13

10. How far do you usually travel to attend Rotary club meetings?

0-5 miles

40.8% 29

6-10 miles

31.0% 22

11-20 miles

28.2% 20

More than 20 miles

0.0% 0

11. Do you use any of these social media platforms to keep up

with Rotary activities? (Select all that apply)

Rotary Club on Facebook

25.0% 15

Rotary Club on Twitter

1.7% 1

Both Facebook and Twitter

5.0% 3

I don’t use social media

71.7% 43


19


20

12. Describe your experiences with Rotary in your own words:


21

Slide Show

This slide show is the one used in the final class presentation:

ERIC B U SELT ▫ A ARO N FRANC IS ▫M ARC IA K ELLEY ▫ STEP HE N NIC HO L S

J O U R N A L I S M 8 2 9 ▫ M A R K E T I N G R E S E A R C H

B O B B A S O W , P R O F E S S O R

Rotary Club 13:Why is your membership declining?

- L I N K E D I N D I S C U S S I O N

“Rotary is losing members.”

The Problem


22

Rotary International: Quick Facts

First club: Chicago (1905)

2011: 1.2 million members, 33,000 clubs worldwide

An organization dedicated to the practice of "Service above Self.”

The object of Rotary is to encourage and foster service as the basis of worthy enterprise.

Rotary Club 13: Quick Facts

Founded in 1910

Kansas City’s only downtown Rotary club

Meets Thursday afternoons in the Kansas City Marriott Muelbach Hotel

345 members, 40 committees


23

Club 13 Membership in Decline

0

100

200

300

400

500

1995 2000 2005 2010

Total Membership New Members

- Data provided by Rotary Club 13.

• ONLINE SURVEY TO CLUB 13 MEMBERS

• FOCUS GROUP S

• IN-DEPTH INTERVIE WS

• SECONDA RY RESEARCH

Methods of Research


24

Why are your numbers declining?

Aging membership

Declining number of new younger members

Retention problems with dissatisfied members

Lack of marketing efforts to boost awareness

Club 13: The New Members Are Older, Too

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

1995 2000 2005 2010

Average

New

- Data provided by Rotary Club 13.


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Rotary Survey Key Findings: Diversity

More than 90% of Rotarians strongly agreed that they wanted to see increased diversity in Club 13.

In Rotarians’ words:

“Diversity is incredibly important. It is absolutely critical to keep Rotary going.”

- Focus Group, 4/20/11

Survey Key Findings: Lack of Awareness

Rotary isn’t getting the word out about its services.


“I don’t remember seeing any Rotary marketing since I’ve been a member.”



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Survey Key Findings: Direction

Only 55% of Rotarians strongly agree that they are satisfied with the direction Rotary is headed.

In Rotarians’words:

“We are very dependent on the strength and the passion of our committee chairs.”

- LinkedIn Discussion

Survey Key Findings: Commitment

More than 95% of Rotarians are still strongly committed to the service mission of Club 13.


“Quote about commitment to Rotary.”



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Rotary Survey Key Findings: Mentorship

More than 95% of Rotarians strongly agreed that they would be willing to take part in a mentorship program for younger members.


“We need to offer a mentor program for new members.”

- LinkedIn Discussion

Other Survey Findings

Finding 1.

Finding 2.

Finding 3.

Finding 4.


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• C U R R E N T M E M B E R S A R E C OM M ITTE D

• D IV E R S IT Y IS N E E D E D T O S T A Y S T R ON G

• Y OU N G A U D IE N C E IS N ’ T B E IN G R E A C HE D

• OP P OR T U N I T IE S A R E OU T T HE R E

Conclusions

• C O N S I D E R M A R K E T I N G T O C U R R E N T M E M B E R S T O B O O S T R E T E N T I O N

• C L A R I F Y C R I T E R I A F O R S E L E C T I N G N E W M E M B E R S A M O N G C U R R E N T M E M B E R S H I P

• I N I T I A T E M E N T O R S H I P P R O G R A M S

• C R E A T E M E M B E R S H I P D A T A B A S E O F I N T E R E S T S , T A L E N T S A N D F A M I L Y I N F O R M A T I O N

• M O V E F O R W A R D W I T H P L A N S F O R U N I V E R S I T Y- B A S E D R O T A R Y C L U B S A S S O C I A T E D W I T H C L U B 1 3

• C O M M U N I T Y A W A R E N E S S M A R K E T I N G

• P R O M O T I O N O F S P E A K E R S E R I E S

Recommendations


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Recommendations

• Consider marketing to current members to boost retention

• Clarify criteria for selecting new members among current membership

• Initiate mentorship programs

• Create membership database of interests, talents and family information

• Move forward with plans for high school and university-based rotary clubs associated

with Club 13

• Review the meeting format including the food served to members

• Community awareness marketing

• Marketing Speaker Series to community


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Conclusion

Marketing Campaigns

Rotary Chapter 13 needs to develop multiple marketing campaigns. The first campaign would be

aimed at helping members recruit new members. This plan would be in the form of an internal

communication such as a flyer that would spell out the need for younger members and those with

a diverse background such as race, religion, and other attributes.

New members need to come from the following groups:

High school and college honors students

Womens’ groups

Connections with ethnic groups such as churches, community groups and chambers of

commerce

New members could go through an informal mentorship program prior to actually becoming a

member to make sure that the time and financial commitments to Rotary are fully explained.

Examples need to be shown to prospective members so there is no misunderstanding and to cut

down on the dissatisfaction some members feel after joining. The rich history and downtown

location information should be included to show how Chapter 13 sets itself apart from other

chapters.

The second campaign would focus on Clay and Jackson counties in Missouri and Johnson and

Wyandotte in Kansas. These are counties where the prospective members live. Many of these

prospective members also likely work in areas close to Chapter 13’s location. Since one of the

chapter’s members works for the Kansas City Star newspaper, perhaps that member would be

willing to work on this campaign with other media members to create more community

awareness. This member said he would like to be involved more, but family obligations have

prevented him from doing so. This would give him a way be involved.

The third campaign would promote the Speaker Series. This campaign would invite business

leaders to a series of meetings at breakfast or lunch where nationally recognized speakers would

share business acumen. A fee of $25 would be assessed. The Kansas City Business Journal,

radio and TV would be the ideal outlets to get the word out to the community. As a result of the

marketing campaigns, interest in Chapter 13 should increase.

Review of Meetings

Member Opportunities for Service

Database of Interests


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Student Initiatives


1 1

Appendix

References

Rotary Club 13: Why is your membership declining? · Within these zip codes, Club 13 will find the...

Documents

Transcript of Rotary Club 13: Why is your membership declining? · Within these zip codes, Club 13 will find the...