August 2024
If we are to truly change the world with The Magic of Rotary, it’s up to all of us to foster a sense of belonging in our clubs. But every club should take its own path to get there, and the Action Plan can help you find your way. What does that look like?
Take for instance the Rotary Club of Beveren-Waas in Belgium. It was chartered in 1974 but has evolved with the times, developing both a strategic plan and a membership plan. To find new members, the club analyzes the city’s professions to help focus its search, and all new members are quickly assigned tasks and roles.
The club also mixes up meeting times, alternating between evening and afternoon sessions, making them accessible for all members.
Sometimes, circumstances force clubs to make changes. But as people of action, we know that behind every obstacle is an opportunity.
The Rotary Club of Holyoke in Massachusetts was forced from its meeting place because of rising costs after the COVID-19 pandemic, but members took this setback and turned it into a strength. The club started meeting in a library community room that was available for no charge and catering lunch from a nearby deli. Lunch costs $10 per person but it’s optional, so no one has to spend money to attend a meeting. What a great way to work toward being “fair to all concerned.”
Since making this change, the Holyoke club has gained 13 members. I suspect part of its membership growth is due to the club’s sense of inclusivity — the first step toward belonging.
If you ask members what they expect from the club experience, you might find that your club doesn’t meet expectations. Think of this as an opportunity to reshape your club in exciting ways, as alternative club models are making a positive impact.
For example, a Rotary Fellowship called Beers Rotarians Enjoy Worldwide, or BREW, has worked closely with the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Rotary Action Group for the past eight years to assist with clean water projects. In that time, BREW has funneled 25 percent of its dues to those initiatives.
BREW is one of many examples of members pursuing belonging to improve the world.
I can’t stress enough the importance of belonging. Clubs become simply irresistible when all members feel that they are exactly where they need to be. To me, belonging is the spark that ignites The Magic of Rotary .
As you receive feedback from club members and the community you serve, I urge you to pursue that spark. The Action Plan can help you find the path to success, and if you light your way with the spirit of belonging, that path will lead to a bright future for your club, your community, and the world.
July 2024
Rotary is at its best when we foster a sense of inclusion and belonging in our clubs. In fact, I would go so far as to say that belonging is The Magic of Rotary itself.
With a focus on inclusivity and belonging, it is easier to be united in a common purpose. When we are committed to one another and focused on our goals, we are most effective.
Rotary’s Action Plan can help. The Action Plan comes with tools you can use to collect feedback, assess your club’s strengths and weaknesses, and address challenges.
The world is changing, and our clubs can’t afford to stand still. But the changes we make need to be consistent and strategic — building on one another toward a greater vision. The Action Plan can help you work toward that vision and create effective change within your club. Following the Action Plan and addressing suggestions from the community will go a long way to fostering the sense of belonging we want all Rotary members to feel in their clubs.
That’s why expanding our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is so important. Committing ourselves to each other’s well-being is the first step to expanding our reach, allowing us to spread Positive Peace in these troubled times.
Peacebuilding is one of our top priorities, and one of the most effective ways we can build peace is with our Rotary Peace Fellowships, through which peace and development professionals learn how to prevent and end conflict.
We offer the fellowships through our Rotary Peace Centers at leading universities around the globe, where more than 1,800 Rotary Peace Fellows have graduated. And thanks to a $15.5 million gift from the Otto and Fran Walter Foundation, we can continue supporting peacebuilders in more regions with the next peace center at Bahçeşehir University in Istanbul.
Opening another peace center is a monumental achievement, and it is my great honor to invite you to celebrate at next year’s Rotary Presidential Peace Conference at the Istanbul center. The three-day conference 20-22 February will highlight the many ways our family of Rotary advances peacebuilding. Registration for the conference is officially open. I hope to see you there.
The 2025 Rotary Presidential Peace Conference has great potential for our peacebuilding efforts — but only if we have your support.
The truth is, we’re not going to bring peace to the world, end polio, or grow membership by waving a wand and saying some funny words. It’s up to you. You create the magic with every project completed, every dollar donated, and every new member inducted.
I love my Rotary family and I know you do too. That’s why I know that together, we can make every club and district simply irresistible. This year, let us change the world by embracing The Magic of Rotary.
