Did you know that one excellent way to recruit new Rotarians is to hold an Open House or Membership Mixer?

Here are some tips and a link to an invitation letter that you can customize for your club.

DG Zoë and Membership Chair Matt are enthusiastically promoting Open Houses in the District, and would like to help your club hold one. Contact us to get yours scheduled today!

Eight Tips for Successful Open Houses

1. Try to choose a time and day of the week when there aren’t any school or sport activities and make sure anyone you want to come from the District is available that day

2. Do a local classification survey to identify potential members

3. One month out: send invitation letters to everyone you identified

4. Three weeks out: update club communication information – brochures, membership info, application forms, etc. (Did you know that you can now make custom brochures from Brand Center on MyRotary.org ?)

5. Two weeks out: make follow-up phone calls to people who have yet to respond (split up the list among members to make work easier)

6. One week out: assign tasks to club members so they can prepare

   1. Make sure someone is in charge of the flow, so you can keep the Open House to max. 90 minutes

7. At the Open House:

   1. Mingle in a relaxed atmosphere so people get a chance to talk and get to know each other

   2. Hand out brochures and membership info

   3. Ask club members to speak from the heart about why they are Rotarians

   4. Discuss what Rotary does in your community. If you have youth exchange or sponsor RYLA students, invite and recognize them

   5. Touch on what Rotary does globally – Polio eradication and international projects your club has undertaken

   6. Give prospective members an idea about how your club works – meetings and membership expectations

8. After the Open House:

   1. Follow-up to invite prospective members to meetings – it takes time, so be persistent but patient

   2. Let them know you want them to join your club