Page 9 - September 2018 Gears & Ears

Gears and Ears

Journal of The Rotary Club of Lake Buena Vista
September 2018
What Value Does Your Club Have for Young Professionals?

(continued)

Mentorship: Many of our young professionals are also interested in working with current
community leaders and in being mentored. How many of your club members could provide
this value?

Time & money: Clubs have increasing flexibility to address the time and money issue
in ways they see fit, ways that are adapted to their unique communities and challenges.
Some examples include corporate memberships, and “Rule of 35” memberships which

allow members under the age of 35 to pay a reduced rate that just covers dues to RI and
the meals they attend.

Family Commitments: Family is important, and there may be no better place for a young
professional to spend quality time with their family, while teaching kids valuable life lessons

in service. We say, families welcome!

Once we have identified the value our clubs have, the key is to get that message out.

Again, like any business, we need to develop a coordinated marketing plan to “sell” our
club to young professionals in the community.

A Young Professionals Committee is a good start, but I’ll save more on that topic for a
future blog post.

by Michael Walstrom, president of the Rotary Club of Downtown Boca Raton, Florida

Check out Rotary International’s Engaging Younger Professionals, a new online toolkit that helps clubs better
understand younger professionals. From ideas for outreach and engagement to long-term benefits of becoming a

Rotarian, this toolkit helps clubs rethink their membership, from a broad perspective down to a tactical level.

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