Here are a few proven ways to help your club retain its existing members and attract new ones. We've even included some tools from other districts in our zone to keep your club from having to recreate the wheel. Our district membership team is here to help, so be sure to reach out if you want some assistance implementing any of these in your club.

1. Club Membership Event: Start with a social gathering where prospects can connect in a relaxed, fun environment—whether at a member’s home or a Business After Hours event. Keep the focus on building relationships, not recruitment.cThen, within two weeks, invite attendees to a Discover Rotary or Rotary Information Hour, blending social time with an engaging introduction to Rotary. Here are a few sample guides for a discovery meeting (Guide 1, Guide 2, Guide 3). 
2. Create Social Engagement Opportunities: Keeping members engaged is essential to reducing attrition. When members feel connected, they stay involved—so creating opportunities for relationship-building is crucial. One simple way to foster connections is by hosting regular coffee gatherings—weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly—where members can casually meet, chat, and build friendships outside the usual meeting setting. A relaxed environment encourages deeper connections, making members more likely to stay engaged and even take on greater roles. Strong relationships strengthen our clubs—let’s be intentional about creating them!
3. Consider Corporate Memberships: Think about businesses that would benefit from a strong connection to your Rotary club through community service. Corporate memberships offer flexibility, often allowing a principal member and associate members to share participation. If the principal member can’t attend, an associate can step in, making engagement easier for busy professionals. Check out these different approaches to corporate membership that clubs implementing.
4. Prioritize Increasing Our Impact & Expanding Our Reach: Rotary International’s top strategic priorities are clear: #1 Increase Our Impact. #2 Expand Our Reach. Do these priorities define your Rotary club? As club leaders, every decision we make—from the projects we take on to how we attract and engage members—shapes our impact. Prioritizing community impact means ensuring that our meetings, service opportunities, and club culture inspire meaningful action. Are we making decisions that truly enhance our ability to serve and grow? By leading with purpose, we strengthen our club’s reputation as a powerful force for good. And when we are seen as a powerful force for good, attracting new members becomes a whole different conversation.
5. Rotary International Membership Leads: Rotary will soon launch a new online platform for managing new member leads, set to go live within the next few months and no later than the end of this Rotary year. This system prioritizes direct club-level interaction, making it essential for all clubs to ensure the following: 1. Do all club officers have a My.Rotary.org account? 2. Is your club information like website Url, meeting details, and location updated on My.Rotary.org? 3. Does your club have a clear follow-up plan for connecting with membership leads? With this new system, membership leads will no longer go through the district membership committee first. Instead, clubs will be responsible for monitoring, following up, and updating the status of each lead. Preparing now will help ensure a smooth transition and maximize our impact!