The Rotary board brought an innovation proposal to the members for discussion at last week's meeting. The proposal is to pilot a membership option for members who would meet in the evening, instead of at noon, and pay $300/year in membership dues and fees, instead of the $640 annual dues and fees currently required by the bylaws. The proposal is to implement this new membership differentiation for two years, after which, if the pilot is successful, the membership would be asked to amend the bylaws to recognize this structure formally. Such a vote requires a "supermajority" of 2/3 approving the amendment.
The proposal generated considerable discussion, both during and after the meeting. This newsletter will present the pros and cons articulated thus far for your reflection.
Arguments in Favor of Piloting a New Option
1.To be financially sound as a club, we need new members. Our budget is extremely tight. In order to stay at the current dues rate, we’ve had to cut many things we used to fund. Even so, expenses keep rising. Lately, we’ve been hard-pressed to pay the meal charges for the upcoming weeks. We are left with two options: raising dues or increasing membership to spread the costs across a broader population of dues-paying members. This proposal offers an exciting action plan for the second option.
2.Membership locally and internationally is lagging. A few years ago, Rotary Club of Great Falls had 115 members. Today, excluding the spousal memberships also in an experimental phase, our club has 92 members. Beyond the financial issues, if we are to remain robust over time, we must continually recruit and retain new members. Declining membership is a local problem and an international one that has caused Rotary International to loosen its membership and meeting requirements and to encourage innovation.
3. Cost is an impediment to membership recruitment and retention. Feedback from potential Rotarians who decline our recruitment offers, as well as from members who discontinue their memberships, indicates that our dues are a major factor in the decision to join/stay with Rotary. By eliminating the meals fee included in our membership assessment, the pilot would allow evening members to cut their expenses to $25/month, rather than the $53.33/month all members currently pay.
4. The noon meeting time is an impediment as well. The noon meeting time excludes potential members who just find it hard to get away mid-day once a week. Teachers, for example, are a group of young professionals who simply cannot become Rotarians because of the meeting time. They're not the only ones. The evening meeting option would open up the club to a whole new population of members. The membership committee reports that we can add as many as 50 new members to the club immediately by offering the lower-dues/evening meeting option.
5. The current approach to meetings is somewhat rigid. Rotary International is now much more open to innovation in meeting format and has loosened its attendance requirements, yet our meeting format and time haven’t changed materially for decades. A new generation of community leaders prefer meetings focused on volunteer activity or more informal socializing; they don’t find the formal, static structure of the weekly meetings engaging.
6. It’s just a pilot. Let’s try something new! Until we try a new structure for recruitment, engagement, and retention, we won’t know if these impediments can be overcome and make us a stronger, more viable club. If we ultimately conclude that, on balance, the different meeting time and dues structure does not meet the 4-way test, the decision to discontinue is in the hands of the membership. However, we must face the fact that to thrive, organizations must be able to evolve. This innovation is an attempt to evolve in ways that capitalize on our strengths, add the assets that new members bring, and keep dues down by spreading the revenue required among a broader membership. Yes, it’s a big change. But at one time, taking on something like Harvest Howl seemed too much to handle. Look where that innovation has brought us!
Arguments Against Piloting a New Option
1. Membership recruitment should be about quality, not quantity. When we were at our high mark for membership – 115 members – at least 10% were not paying their dues or attending meetings with anything approaching regularity. Removing these members from our rolls has reduced the club in quantity, but elevated the standard for quality. At 92 members, we are now a highly engaged group keenly dedicated to the Rotary mission. Attendance at our weekly meetings averages 53%; other clubs would kill to achieve that! And quality isn’t just measured by attendance. At last week's meeting, without any prior promotion, Rob Rezek passed the hat for donations to the military care packages service project. He left with $761 dollars to put in the bank! Of course, the success of Harvest Howl is probably the best testament to the engagement of our membership. All hands are on deck and the results distinguish us as a club.
It may well be that there is a membership number beyond which the personal relationships and sense of community that characterize our club today just don’t happen. We can’t say for sure, but we do know this: right now we have a highly dedicated, highly functioning club with over $1,000,000 in assets. When we recruit new members, it should be with the goal of adding and cultivating quality.
2. Separate meetings invite divisiveness and splintering. In recent years our club has coalesced into a model of unity, harmony, and proactive community service. We have increased our membership demographics among women and young professionals while maintaining the active interest of members who have been with us for decades. It is through meeting together once a week that we have formed the relationships and the understandings that make our service projects such successes. Dividing the club in meeting times and dues could well result in dividing the club in more fundamental – and long-lasting – ways, creating two different identities and cultures, risking conflict, blurring our focus, and jeopardizing what is now a strong, unified club with considerable assets and a proud tradition of service.
3. Historically, the core function of Rotary has centered on a concerted effort of community leaders to gather together as one, explore issues together, and identify service projects to take on as a team. The original impetus for Rotary was for business leaders from all walks of life to come together once a week in the spirit of community and service. That “coming together” has worked wonders in the 102-year history of this club. What will happen to our sense of cross-demographic unity if one group of members seldom interacts with the other group? Isn’t that in essence a separate club?
4. The differentiated dues rate needs work. In an attempt to provide a more affordable membership option, the pilot proposal leaves the existing membership with a dues structure that appears to be more than twice the pilot’s rate. In reality, of course, the existing rate simply incorporates the price of lunch, which, at $28.33/month for four lunches is a good deal. Still, the attractiveness of the much lower rate in the evening may drive membership in that direction. Although board leadership is willing to implement a pay-as-you-go option at the noon meeting as well, so far that has not been formally approved by the board and the conversations with the country club have yet to occur.
5. Innovation in meeting structure – and in other matters - is welcome, as long as a cohesive club culture is the goal. Our meetings are designed to encourage members to get to know one another, learn about issues, and organize around service projects. Like all groups with a history of service, some of the traditions are deeply cherished by long-standing members. However, ideas for innovating our meeting times and structure are always open for discussion. Having only 2 noon meetings a month and adding an evening meeting without meals, centered on volunteerism, could alleviate our budget concerns and introduce perspective new members to the service mission of the club as a more long-term recruitment strategy. We currently have only one class of membership, but maybe a “pledge” rate during the first three years would attract new members without dividing the club into two distinct sectors. Have we explored all the innovation options available?
6. Sometimes pilots crash. Yes, with a two-year pilot, if we don’t like the result, we can return to the membership and dues structures that we have now. But if the division causes divisiveness, conflict, and separation, will we be able to repair the damage? How will we protect our current assets, the result of decades of cumulative efforts by current Rotarians who are unlikely to pursue the evening/reduced dues option? Aren’t there less drastic, less risky alternatives?
Next Steps
As your bulletin editor, I have tried to capture the flavor of last week’s discussion and to present both sides of the issue as I understand them in an even-handed way. Any failure to achieve that result is mine alone.
We should all feel good that what could have been a contentious issue was discussed at last week’s meeting with such an atmosphere of goodwill and friendship. The board will be considering this feedback, and any further feedback you may have, in the month to come. Please feel free to contact any of them with your questions, concerns, and suggestions.
Ultimately, Article 12 of our bylaws allows the membership to vote on this proposal before the pilot, so the proposal at this point is still in the fine-turning stage and will return to the membership when the board deems it is ready. It is an important issue for the club and one that calls upon all of us as Rotarians to be guided by our 4-Way Test in all we think, say, and do on the matter.
Mary Moe
Rotary's 4-Way Test
Back to the Basics ... Don't Forget:
Next week's meeting could not be more timely. With ballots in the mail, we'll be hearing from Superintendent of Schools Tammy Lacey and Parks Director Steve Herrig about the levies for school operations and park maintenance.
Enbar will host our end-of-the-month social, donating $1 for every drink to the Rotary Foundation. Join us at Enbar on Wednesday, April 25, from 5 - 8 p.m.!
The District 5390 Conference will be next weekend. Thank you, club leadership, for making this effort (and so many more) on our behalf!
.jpg)
