Every member can make an impact by inviting just one person to join
When to do it: May – Kiwanis Membership Month
- Make service projects, socials and meetings fun. Who says meetings can’t serve a dual purpose? Combine a regular meeting with a service project to show potential members what your club is doing to make a difference in your community. This doesn’t have to be a large scale service
project, it can be as simple as making care packages for a local children’s hospital or collecting school supplies for underprivileged children.
A “paper meeting” is another option for incorporating your meeting and a service project. Your club members and guests will meet at the regular meeting place and time, but instead of conducting a formal meeting, all the important communications are typed out and distributed. The members and guests would then have the time and opportunity to perform service in place of having a meeting.
- Capture recruits’ passion to make their experience meaningful. Use the complete volunteer interest form to let your members tell you where their passion and talents lie. Then use that information to cater your meeting programs and service projects to members’ interests. Playing to the strengths and talents of your members will go a long way in the success of a project and the overall happiness of members. If people are doing what interests them, they are more likely to complete the tasks and stay involved.
- Create a contest. Get members’ competitive juices flowing while working toward a common goal—bringing new members to your club. Divide into teams or compete as individuals, but get everyone involved and make it a contest worth winning. Here are some creative contest ideas.
- Engage all members. Especially when prospective members attend your meetings, invite everyone in your club to participate, especially new and prospective members. Here are ways to create a welcoming meeting environment, one that encourages both members and guests to take part.
- Plan, plan, plan. Failing to plan is planning to fail. To successfully launch a membership campaign, devote a month to planning activities and preparing a list of prospective members. Use site survey/community analysis information to give you ideas of about who to invite. And give your campaign a deadline—30 days from start to finish.