August is Rotary International's Membership and New Club Development Month - what better time for each of us to imagine how we can make our clubs stronger, tell our stories better, and introduce new people to our world of fellowship and community service.

One of RI President Jennifer Jones requests is for districts to grow membership by increasing the number of club members and by creating two new club models - like the satellite clubs we have in place in Stone Mountain and Roswell, for example. She also would like to see women represent 30% of our total membership by Rotary year end; here in District 6900 we are already at 29.1%!

There are several avenues for assistance on finding new members. Rotary sends leads to the district that come in through RI's website, and the district passes them along to the clubs. The Rotary Learning Center which has courses and suggestions to improve your club membership, including:

• A questionnaire to help your club develop strategies to increase membership participation as well as membership.
• An Online Membership Leads course that shows how a prospect experiences the membership leads process, and how club and district leaders can create a consistent, positive experience for prospective members.
• A Club Health Check to identify a club’s problem areas and make changes to stay relevant for the membership and the community.
• Many other courses which can assist in increasing membership.

The Zone 33-34 website (rizones33-34.org) offers another avenue for getting information on membership. This year, RI Director Jeremy Hurst is working with the Regional Coordinators to present MAP – Membership Action Plan. Visit the Zone website page on membership and watch the MAP introductory video, then sign up to attend sessions September 12 at 5:00 pm - “Connect with Prospects” and October 10 at 6:00 pm - ”Meaningful Onboarding.” 

The third way is to work with District Membership Chair David Schwickerath. His team created the Facebook ad that's shown here - from a photo taken at RI Convention in Houston. David is planning a Membership Summit on August 20 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton. The summit will begin at 10:00 am. He will talk about the latest ideas and resources to help you with your membership plans. David is also available to assist you throughout the year as you look for new ways to increase membership.