March 18, 2024 – Membership Update

Creating Your Club’s Membership Plan – A New Membership Resource
By Matt Wise, District Membership Chair

Every so often, our leadership staff at Kiwanis International develop new resources for clubs to
utilize. The last few years have seen minimal adjustments to the Achieving Club Excellence
Guides, but in the last few years we’ve seen the Two for Two guide. Now, I’d like to introduce to
you the Membership Planning Worksheet.

The purpose of this item is to help your club create a plan – a plan that will work to both acquire
and retain members. For years, our District leaders have been working with clubs to develop
various plans that work for them. In this case, we now have a worksheet that will guide you
through the process.

I could talk you through the process, but I’ll let the guide speak for itself. It is straightforward and
simple, asking questions like “When was the last time your club had net-positive growth?” and
“Which year did you increase your membership/what was the reason or recruiting effort for this
increase?”

You will have all in one place the information needed to develop a strong and meaningful
strategy that works for you and your club. I would encourage you to take the time to work
through this guide. My recommendation would be to do that with your executive team,
membership committee, or (depending on your club size) as a club planning program.
The most important part is to start. In the wise words of Alan Cohen, “Do not wait until the
conditions are perfect to begin, BEGINNING makes the conditions perfect.” Now is the time to
start planning our membership.

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