The Club Service Projects
Committee Manual was developed to help you establish
goals and understand your responsibilities related to
increasing club effectiveness. An effective Rotary club is able to:
• Sustain or increase its membership
base
• Implement successful projects that
address the needs of their community and communities in
other countries
• Support The Rotary Foundation
through both program participation and fi nancial
contributions
• Develop leaders capable of serving
in Rotary beyond the club level Under the Club
Leadership Plan, the recommended administrative
structure of Rotary Clubs has the following fi ve
standing committees:
• Club administration
• Membership
• Public relations
• Service projects
• Rotary Foundation
Each committee has a manual which
provides an overview of the committee and its
responsibilities as well as available resources, specifi
c committee duties, and other relevant materials to
support you and your committee members. Copy related
sections of the
Attendance is a key measure of any
successful club. Because falling attendance rates often indicate a larger problem, an adverse
trend should be identifi ed and addressed as quickly as possible.
Encouraging Attendance
Promote regular attendance with the
following methods:
• Work with the club president to
ensure that weekly meetings are relevant to club
members.
• Encourage members to make up missed
meetings.
• Stress the importance of attendance
to new members and their mentors.
• Devise a questionnaire to determine
why members fail to attend weekly meetings.
• Recognize members with exemplary
attendance records.
It is critical to call or contact
members with three absences in a row to remind them that
a
fourth absence may lead to
termination.
Attendance Guidelines
The club secretary has primary
responsibilities for tracking and reporting attendance.
The club administration committee can
help by ensuring all club members know the following attendance guidelines for all Rotary
clubs:
• Every member should attend regular
club meetings.
• A member is considered present if
in attendance for at least 60 percent of the meeting.
• A member can make up absences 14
days before or after the usual meeting time by doing one of the following:
– Attending at least 60 percent of a
regular meeting at another Rotary club
– At the direction of the club,
attending a regular meeting of a Rotaract club, Interact club, or Rotary Community Corps
– Attending the RI Convention,
Council on Legislation, International Assembly, or any other Rotary meeting of past, present,
or future offi cers of RI
– Being present at the usual meeting
time and place of another club, even if the club is not present
– Attending and participating in a
club service project or a club-sponsored community event or meeting authorized by the
club’s board
– Attending a meeting of the club’s
board, or, if authorized by the board, a meeting of a service committee to which the member
is assigned
– Participating in an interactive
activity requiring an average of 30 minutes of
participation on a club Web site
• An absence is also considered made
up if the member is
– Traveling to or from an offi cial
Rotary meeting of past, present, or future offi cers of
RI
– On offi cial Rotary business
serving as an offi cer or member of a committee of RI or
a trustee of The Rotary Foundation
– Engaged in a service project
sponsored by a district, RI, or the Foundation in a
remote area
– Engaged in Rotary business
authorized by the club board that precludes attendance
at the club meeting
• A member’s absence can be excused
for the following reasons:
– Absence complies with the
conditions and circumstances approved by the club’s
board.
– The member’s combined age and years
of club membership (in one or more clubs) equals at least 85, and the member
has notifi ed the club’s secretary in writing of the desire to be excused from attendance
and has received approval from the board.
– The member is a current RI offi cer.
Attendance Reports
Work with your club secretary to
forward monthly attendance reports to your governor within 15 days of the last meeting of
each month. Nondistricted clubs must forward attendance reports to Rotary International.
Any member whose absences are excused
should not be included in the membership fi gures to compute the club’s attendance. Any
member whose absences are excused due to their age and years in Rotary totaling 85 years
or more should not be included in the membership fi gures used to compute the club’s
attendance.
Rotarians who are informed are more
likely to take an active role in club activities and
projects.
In addition to announcing weekly club
meetings, use the club bulletin to
• Provide a schedule of upcoming club
activities
• Discuss club goals, plans, and
projects
• Report highlights of club and district
meetings
• Foster fellowship by highlighting
special events in members’ lives
• Address critical issues facing the
club and Rotary International
Club bulletin editors should communicate
regularly with other club committees and club leaders to ensure all club issues and
activities are adequately discussed and publicized.
Sources of information for the club
bulletin include:
• Club board members and committee
chairs
• Governor’s monthly letter
• Assistant governor and district
committees
• Club, district, and RI and Foundation
meetings
Fellowship keeps members active and
fosters cooperation in club activities and projects.
Fellowship should be more than an event
once or twice a year, but a regular part of every club meeting, project, and activity.
Fellowship can be enhanced in the following ways:
• Wear name badges at meetings to make
introductions easier.
• Rotate seating arrangements to ensure
that members get to know each other.
• Use the club bulletin to publish news
about members and social events.
• Appoint a different member each week
to greet and introduce new members, visitors, and speakers.
• Commemorate important dates during
weekly programs and in the club bulletin, such as birthdays and anniversaries.
• Foster relationships with other Rotary
clubs in the district, region, and around the world.
• Include spouses and families in club
fellowship and service activities.
Family of Rotary
The family of Rotary includes Rotaract,
Interact, Inner Wheel, Rotary Foundation program alumni, Youth Exchange students, and
family members of Rotarians. To care for Rotarians and members of Rotary’s extended family:
• Remember birthdays and anniversaries.
• Assist when they are sick, lonely, or
having diffi culties.
• Share their grief after a death in the
family.
• Celebrate births, weddings, and
graduations.
Develop weekly club programs that
provide club members with the information and motivation necessary to increase their
participation in activities that serve the club, the
community, and the world. To ensure that weekly
meetings are effective and well planned:
• Develop an agenda for each regular
weekly meeting (see Weekly Meeting Sample Agenda).
• Schedule programs in advance.
• Relate programs to current club
projects, activities, and concerns.
• Rotate the responsibility of arranging
programs among club committees.
• Arrange special observance dates,
weeks, and months.
• Prepare contingency plans in case
scheduled programs are canceled.
Club members are busy individuals whose
time is valuable, so ensure meetings begin and end on time. Organized meetings that
feature interesting, relevant programs will enhance members’ personal Rotary knowledge,
reinforce the value of continued membership, and make members aware of their local and
world community.
Rotary Calendar
The Rotary calendar provides a natural
framework for planning weekly meetings. At the beginning of the year, introduce the new RI theme.
Discuss events such as the district assembly, district conference, and the RI
Convention as they occur. You can also plan programs to occur at the same time as these special
Rotary year observances:
July No Rotary designation
August Membership and Extension Month
September New Generations Month
October Vocational Service Month
November Rotary Foundation Month
Week including 5 November: World
Interact Week
December Family Month
January Rotary Awareness Month
February World Understanding Month
23 February: World Understanding and
Peace Day/Rotary’s anniversary
March Literacy Month
Week including 13 March: World Rotaract
Week
April Magazine Month
June Rotary Fellowships Month
Club Assembly
A club assembly is a meeting of all club
members, including offi cers, directors, and committee chairs. Club assemblies are an
opportunity to discuss your club’s programs and
activities and educate members. New members
particularly should be encouraged to attend club assemblies to learn about the workings
of your club. Work with the club president to organize club assemblies.
Club assemblies allow club members to
• Set goals and develop action plans
• Coordinate committee activities
• Understand how the club’s action plans
are implemented
• Participate in informal discussions
that stimulate creative solutions
• Learn more about Rotary and its
programs
• Review your club’s strengths and
weaknesses
Relevant topics for discussion include:
• Annual and long-range goals
• Service projects and club activities
• Membership growth and retention
strategies
• District conference or other district
and RI meetings
• Rotary programs
• Any topic raised in an open forum
Four to six club assemblies during the
year may be the most effective number. Many clubs hold monthly assemblies.