District 7910 launched its survey last week and we are starting to collect responses. Invitations to participate in the survey were sent by email to all active and honorary Rotarians in District 7910 for whom we had valid email addresses. Unfortunately, several of the email addresses do not work or will not accept emails from ClubRunner.
If you would like to participate in the survey, and did not get an invitation by email, please use this link to access the survey CLICK HERE!
August is Rotary’s Membership and New Club Development Month. Attracting new members is most likely a goal for you in the year ahead. Remember that first impressions matter. Join an exciting panel of guest speakers for a webinar called “First Impressions Matter: The Membership Experience.” The participants will discuss best practices and resources for clubs looking to improve their first impressions on potential and new members.
The webinar will be recorded and available on our Vimeo page in the first week of September. Stay tuned for other exciting, informative events and resources for August.
Visioning is a process that helps clubs by providing a vision for the future of the club and beginnings of a written plan that promotes consensus, consistency and continuity. It allows club members the opportunity to dream about what their club could become; and helps to renew everyone’s commitment to focus on what they can do to make the club even better than it already is. The overall goals of Visioning are as follows: sustain and increase membership, implement successful service projects, support the Rotary Foundation, and develop leaders in the club and beyond.
The process begins by having a Visioning Presentation done at a regular club meeting to ensure that everyone understands what it is and agrees to have it. Then there needs to be a vote by the Club Board of Directors who sign a contract and commit to the process. The contract and a check for $100 (to cover supplies) is sent to the Visioning Chair.
At its recent meeting in Atlanta, the RI Board of Directors adopted a new vision statement: Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change— across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves. The Board also adopted the 2018–19 annual goals for Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation:
Goals for Priority 1—SUPPORT AND STRENGTHEN CLUBS 1. Retain current members. 2. Increase current club membership. 3. Start new clubs. 4. Increase the number of female members, members under 40, and Rotaractors joining Rotary.
Goals for Priority 2—FOCUS AND INCREASE HUMANITARIAN SERVICE 5. Increase cash and District DDF contributions to End Polio Now. 6. Increase local and international, District and Global Grants funded with DDF. 7. Encourage Interact and Rotaract clubs to engage in service projects —including projects for the environment — with their local Rotary club and community. 8. Increase contributions to the Annual Fund and build the Endowment Fund to US$2.025 billion by 2025.
Goals for Priority 3—ENHANCE PUBLIC IMAGE AND AWARENESS 9. Publicize the role of Rotary and Rotarians in polio eradication. 10. Build awareness of Rotary, and promote the People of Action campaign. 11. Increase awareness of Rotary club projects by using Showcase, Ideas and creating a club history.
Does your club have donors who would like to make a tax deductible charitable contribution to a specific project your club is sponsoring? Are you unsure how to accept charitable donations? The RotaryDistrict 7910 Charity Fund, Inc. (“Charity Fund”), is a 501(c)(3) charitable, non-profit that can be used by the Rotary clubs in District 7910 to accept charitable donations for specific approved charitable purposes. Read on to learn how the Charity Fund can be used by your club.
The purpose of the Charity Fund is to provide a resource to clubs that do not have a separate 501(c)(3) established and need to provide donors with a charitable deduction for their contribution their club’s project. Over the years, many clubs have availed themselves of the opportunity to provide charitable deductions to their donors. There are just a few requirements to use the Charity Fund for a club’s donors.
First, before the Charity Fund can accept donations, it must be established that the purpose of the donated funds by your Rotary club is appropriate for a 501(c)(3) charity and the Charity Fund’s purpose. The intended use of the funds must be for an approved religious, charitable, scientific, literary or educational purpose. Some examples of appropriate use of funds are scholarships; purchasing medical equipment to be donated; purchasing food for a food pantry; etc. Once the purpose is stated, the Trustees of the Charity Fund need to take a vote that the funds are for and appropriate purpose.
The Speakers Bureau can be found on the Rotary District 7910 website. It is not always easy to come up with ideas for speakers for weekly meetings. On the website, we list names of speakers who have recently addressed Clubs in our District. We also include a brief biography and contact information so you can invite any of these potential speakers to one of your meetings.
We also suggest that if your club has enjoyed a presentation, please consider submitting the name of that speaker, a list of the topics that speaker can present and contact information so that other clubs can consider inviting that speaker to address other clubs.
To access the Speakers Bureau, go to the District 7910 web site home page, scroll down to District Resources, to District 7910 Speakers Bureau.
If it’s summer in Stow, it must be Wings &Wheels season! In cooperation with EAA #196, Friends of Minute Man Air Field, and Nancy’s at the Airfield café, the Rotary Clubs of Nashoba Valley, Acton-Boxborough, and Maynard are holding their fifth annual Wings & Wheels program, a summer-long cruise-in/fly-in event at the Minute Man Air Field (302 Boxboro Road) in Stow, MA. The event runs on Thursday nights from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM, ending August 31.
INVITE CAROL TOOMEY, Council on Legislation Representative, as a speaker and learn about how Rotary International decides on its “rules.” Using the MOP (Manual of Procedure), Carol will talk about how the council on legislation works to modernize Rotary International by changing the "rules" in a very structured process. Carol will explain the full process for how your club can get a new rule before the entire council for a vote and she will provide examples of some of the newly instituted rules voted on at the last council on legislation. Every Rotarian has a say in changing the way Rotary operates through its democratic process of receiving suggested changes from clubs. Carol’s presentation is very interesting and informative and will help your club’s members understand how to be part of the process of deciding the future of Rotary.
Annual DDF Availability for District and Global Grants in D7910 over the next three years
In 2016-17, the clubs in D7910 contributed $205,530 to Annual Fund-SHARE (AF-SHARE) which is the source of the district designated fund (DDF) amount that will be available for district and global grants in 2019-20, when Pam Anastasi will be the District Governor.
DGND Pamela Anastasi worked hard to increase the club contributions to the Annual Fund – SHARE during the April-June quarter as a result of which D7910 is able to maintain the initial allocation for club district grants at $45,000 and have the ability to support five (5) global grants each year at the level of $10,000 DDF per global grant.
Boston Red Sox vs Oakland Thursday, September 14 at Fenway Park Register here!
How would you like to join 200 Rotarians and friends from around New England to root for our hometown heroes – The Boston Red Sox vs. the Oakland A’s at the beloved Fenway Park?