Article by Barbara Mifsud, Regional Membership Officer, Membership Development, South Pacific and Philippines Office, barbara.mifsud@rotary.org, 
https://www.facebook.com/barbara.mifsud.
https://www.facebook.com/barbara.mifsud.Membership Experience Feedback Survey Results
Why do people join Rotary? What makes them stay in their club and what makes them leave? Rotary conducts the Membership Experience Feedback survey every year to better understand the needs, interests and engagement of our members. However, this survey goes well beyond just asking members if they like their clubs and how satisfied they are. In the last iteration, we also asked about club flexibility, areas of focus and other causes, local vs. global service, hands-on vs. financial contributions and leadership growth. The most recent survey also offers insight on prospective, current and former members that can differ by region.
Why do people join Rotary?
What makes them stay in their club and what makes them leave? Rotary conducts the Membership Experience Feedback survey every year to better understand the needs, interests and engagement of our members. However, this survey goes well beyond just asking members if they like their clubs and how satisfied they are. In the last iteration, we also asked about club flexibility, areas of focus and other causes, local vs. global service, hands-on vs. financial contributions and leadership growth. The most recent survey also offers insight on prospective, current and former members that can differ by region. For example:
Why do members stay in Rotary?
In Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands: ·
to positively impact their community (14%) ·
for friendship/fellowship (13%) ·
to have a positive impact globally (9%)
In the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean: ·
to positively impact their community (18%) ·
for friendship and fellowship (9%) ·
to connect with other people in my new community (10%)
In Latin America: ·
to positively impact their community (15%) ·
to have a positive impact globally (14%) ·
for personal growth and learning opportunities (9%)
Why do members leave Rotary?
In Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands: ·
Club environment and organizational culture (44%) ·
Cost and time constraints (33%) ·
Unmet expectations (10%)
In the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean: ·
Cost and time constraints (40%) ·
Club environment and organizational culture (29%) ·
Unmet expectations (16%)
In Latin America: ·
Cost and time constraints (32%) ·
Club environment and organizational culture (27%) ·
Unmet expectations (22%)
As we begin the New Year, it’s a good time to encourage clubs to ask their members if they’re having a positive Rotary experience. View the executive summary from the Membership Experience Feedback Survey here.
The Value of Rotary Volunteering
Have you ever wondered about Rotary’s collective effort and global impact? A special report prepared by the Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies found that Rotary members had volunteered a total of 5.8 million hours within a four-week survey period. Extrapolating those results over an entire year, the report gave a conservative estimate of nearly 47 million hours of volunteer effort generated by Rotarians in a typical year. General Secretary John Hewko said, “This is just the beginning of using the most innovative tools of measurement to capture and enhance our impact.” Download the full report The Impact of Rotary Volunteering --- 47 Million Hours a Year and Counting to learn more about the top ten findings and view visual data and infographics on Rotary's global impact. Don’t forget to share this new report with clubs as they connect with prospective members and talk to them about the benefits of joining Rotary’s network of volunteers.
Membership statistics as at 31 December 2019
Unfortunately, the healthy gain we saw in November for the Zone was not enough to counterbalance the terminations that traditionally occur in the lead up to the January invoice (-115). 10 districts were able to hang onto the positive net growth with one district up by 79 (D9640). D9910 currently has the highest reported percentage of members who are alumni (4.7%), thanks to a committed alumni team. The good news is that we still have 6 months to go until the end of the Rotary, where we hope to better our position from last year’s 1 July figure.