What Happened to 2,200,000 Rotarians?
Year | Year-End Membership | # of Clubs |
2003 | 1,227,337 | 31,511 |
2010 | 1,227,563 | 34,103 |
2017 | 1,202,937 | 36,656 |
Rotary International’s membership has hovered around 1,200,000 for the last fifteen years. During this time, according to RI’s own records, Rotary clubs have inducted - and lost - approximately 2,200,000 members. Why? Nobody seems to have reasonably definitive answers, only conjectures.
Rotary International (RI) has acknowledged that it is a business, and that it should be led and managed accordingly. Because of a 2011 international study, RI has rebranded itself as an organization created by and for People of Action. To assure that the rebranding initiative is, or will be, effective, RI must maintain and continually study membership information. By doing so, it can have an educated answer to why it lost over 2 million members and a more dependable base to launch its future.
If your appetite has been whetted for more, this is the link to the whole article. Read it and tell club members to read it.