Feedback on RepMo Rotary and Advice from a Defunct Club

 

Asking questions and getting feedback is especially important for successfully launching a RepMo Rotary Club. As of 12-6-24, I have had 47 residents of the Republic take the informational survey. Some trends are sharing up. 

MEETING FREQUENCY: For example, when we asked about meeting frequency (and participants could select more than one option), 35% chose monthly meetings, 45% said monthly meetings with service projects, and 55% selected monthly meetings with occasional service or social events. The current plan is to meet once a month (the 2nd Monday of the month) at the Republic Library starting at 5:45. The goal is to also have one social or one service project each month at various times and places. Social meetings could move around town to some of the suggested locations.

COST: Membership dues vary widely based on how clubs are organized. Some charge for meeting lunches in advance, for example. Other clubs have members pay for their meals on their own. Some include fees to cover club socials. Other clubs have members pay on their own for socials. But still, a chapter does have some costs for checking and materials. Members can subscribe to the Rotary International Magazine on their own. But here are the basic costs that would determine the final fee for Republic:

International Rotary fee per member -           $110

Rotary Southwest Missouri district fee -       $30

Local rotary club fee (TBD) -                        $20

Charter fee to Rotary per member -                $15 (paid by our sponsoring club)

Annual Membership for RepMo Rotary    $170 (proposed)

LOCATION: There has yet to be a clear consensus, although survey takers gave many ideas. However, the number gets manageable if I eliminate the ideas that do not have a separate meeting area. The possibilities are minimal if I eliminate the remaining options that require a fee or a minimum purchase to use the room. To keep our membership cost low, the club must meet at a location hosted at a member's business or the Republic Library. The library could be a solid option, especially if we make the club a "brown bag" club with a 5:30 pr 5:45 p.m. start once a month.

REASON TO JOIN: According to survey takers, service and networking are the top reasons for joining Rotary. Meetings are important for networking, and service events stand independently in the community, especially if we can focus on a different area of service. In fact, 10 survey takers have said that for service, they are interested in neighborhood engagement or projects that impact neighbors and neighborhoods.

NEW MEMBERS: So far, we have 32 survey takers interested in being charter members and 14 who are maybe. Again, annual membership can be kept under $100, with members purchasing their own meals for meetings and events.

ADVICE FROM A DEFUNCT CLUB

The Rotary Club of Nixa is now defunct. Despite the town's size, it had under 20 members. The last president was also the president of a club in Washington State before moving to Nixa. He has been to different types of clubs and offered his input on the differences. 

"The most significant difference between the two clubs was the chemistry of club membership.  If you build a club with members who have a passion for community service (including International service) AND love to have fun, then you have a winning combination.  The weekly meetings can be a drag if the programs are not fun or exciting, but the main thing is creating something people won't want to miss."

The Nixa club had low attendance typically, and a few members say it lacked camaraderie among members. "The previous club I was in felt like family."

This club has offered to give us their Rotary bell and banners as a gift.

Once a club is up and running, some members need to get "Rotary Experience," which means there is something your club is doing that anchors to the Rotary District and International. Otherwise, you're just "Rotary Local," and that seems to fade.