Izaak Walton League of America

This article originally appeared in the November 2004 issue of Membership Matters, written by Chris Offer. Source: Membership Matters, Vol. 4 No. 5 November 2004, via ClubRunner Newsletter. 

Clubs are always looking for ways to grow and recruit new members. There are many things club members can do in order to attract new members. Here, you’ll find a hundred viable approaches that one could use in order to recruit more members.

1. Ask someone
2. Bring a guest to meetings
3. Advertise in newspapers & cable TV
4. Have a clear club goal & a strategic plan
5. Letters or personal contact with local businesses
6. Contact with Chamber of Commerce
7. Place customized bookmarks in library books
8. Have public meetings at malls, outdoors, etc.
9. Have a booth at malls, fairs, festivals, etc.
10. Place pamphlets in doctors’ offices, hospitals, cafeterias, libraries, etc.
11. Host an Open House
12. Hold a club assembly only on membership
13. If you have a Rotary Club, ask Rotary Foundation alumni to join
14. Give the membership chair one minute at every club meeting
15. Make the membership chair a club director
16. Put together guest information packets
17. Service projects that serve a need in the community
18. Invite family members to join
19. Send letters to people in the news with an invitation to visit the club
20. Print club business cards with club meeting location and time
21. Distribute extra copies of magazines that relate to your club in waiting rooms, etc. (e.g. Rotarian)
22. Hold high-profile meetings
23. Hold wine and cheese receptions for prospective members
24. Ask for help from RIMC/RIMZC
25. Have a special guest day
26. Send club members to district membership seminar
27. Make prospective members feel important
28. Honor outstanding community members with awards
29. Don’t take age into consideration
30. Make some meetings social events
31. Build a club website
32. Use group email to promote your club
33. Put posters in public areas
34. Ask corporations and employers to sponsor or subsidize membership
35. Have a reward program for those who bring in new members
36. Create more fun
37. Give a money back guarantee—if after three months a new member does not want to be a club member, return their fees
38. Invite the media to cover well-known speakers
39. Use word of mouth
40. Network with coworkers, friends, and family
41. Follow up with guests
42. Place a colored dot on the watch of every member to remind them to bring a guest
43. Lead by example—how many members have you recruited?
44. Have members give talks at other organizations
45. Provide guests with free meals
46. Update your club's classification survey
47. Look for members in ethnic groups not represented in your club
48. Provide brochures for new employee packets in members' companies
49. Advertise at sports events
50. Ask the district for help
51. Hold joint meetings with other groups
52. Share your club experience with others
53. Participate in community events
54. Write letters to the newspaper about the campaigns your club is working on 
55. If a prospect can’t attend your meeting due to time, suggest another club
56. Publicize club successes, elections, events in local newspapers
57. Circulate the club newsletter widely
58. Design a club brochure
59. Hold recruiting events with two or more clubs
60. Form/join a speakers’ bureau
61. Wear your club's pin
62. Mention your club at meetings of other organizations during announcements
63. Send newsletter to guests
64. When asked about your leadership skills & career success, tell them about your club 
65. Ask the AG to attend a board meeting to talk about membership
66. Ask every member to submit three prospects to the membership chair
67. Make it FUN
68. Give every member a club decal or bumper stickers for their car
69. Give testimonials about your club while guests are at the meeting
70. Repeatedly invite prospective members
71. Practice selling your club at Club meetings—have a one-minute elevator speech ready 
72. Conduct a Membership Satisfaction Survey (RI Publication #417)
73. The club president asks three club members, as a personal favor, to each recruit one new member
74. Bring your boss to a club meeting
75. Make direct contact with women’s business associations
76. Bring your co-workers to a club meeting
77. Bring your subordinates to a club meeting
78. Have new member kits
79. Use books, brochures, videos and posters from RI
80. Hand out invitation cards for a “Free” lunch (breakfast, dinner)
81. Have members constantly promote and rave about your club 
82. Meet at a good location
83. Assign every member to a five-person recruitment team—each team brings in a new member every six months
84. Develop a strategic plan: membership is a year-round priority and needs to be planned
85. Have incentives for recruitment
86. Have a large poster that lists all the members who have sponsored a new member in the past year
87. Select a missing classification and work on filling it
88. Display a thermometer showing progress towards club goal
89. Feature a member’s “benefit of the month” in the club newsletter
90. Induct new members with pizzas & invite spouses/partners
91. Develop a welcome letter from the president for all new members
92. Contact all members who have resigned in the past three years
93. Use billboards at bus stops and road sides
94. Ask club members to put club ads on their commercial trucks
95. Recognize new members in newsletters
96. Regularly check the RI website for ideas
97. Subscribe to the Rotary Membership Minute on the RI website
98. Invite spouses to social functions
99. Ask recipients of Rotary service or donations to speak for Rotary
100. Pass out M&M candy to remind members that “Membership Matters” and that we need “More Members”