Ideas for Increasing Exchange Club Membership

If your Exchange Club is like most, membership growth is a constant challenge. One month, you pick up one or two new members and the next month you may lose three or four. Even if your club is active and successful, some members will leave due to job transfers, career changes or for a variety of other reasons. That is why every club must be continually on the lookout for prospective new members.

Not only does increased membership add to your club’s ability to conduct effective service projects, but additional dues dollars add financial stability to your club. And new members bring with them new ideas and different perspectives and can expand everyone’s opportunity for greater personal growth and business development.

It is not always easy to attract new members but the benefits they can provide are worth the effort. Following is a roundup of simple, proven methods for bolstering your club’s membership.

1. Take Turns Inviting Guests
Members should take turns inviting prospective members to club meetings. At least one member should be expected to bring a guest every week. This effort could be conducted in an alphabetical order, based on members’ fist or last names. After the member in the order brings a guest, go back to the member who started the order and do it again. It’s a sure bet that some of those guests will want to come back and join. In addition, this consistent approach to growth helps get members in the habit of identifying prospects and asking them to join.

2. Consider a Contest
Hold a membership contest for a limited period of time, with the member who brings in the most new members receiving a special prize.

3. Go public
Ask one or more members to work on a pubic relations campaign, sending news releases about your club to local newspapers, radio, and TV stations. Make sure to include the name and phone number of someone to contact so the public can call for more information. When they do call, put their names and addresses on a master prospect list so they may be invited to a meeting in the near future.

4. Feature Great Programs
Once you succeed in getting guest to a meeting, make sure they like what they see. Organize interesting club meeting programs that will make those guests want to come back for more.

5. Educate Members
The more your members know about Exchange, the better they will be able to sell Exchange to prospective members. Make sure your club meetings feature regular Exchange education segments.

6. Start a Speaker’s Bureau
Just as outside speakers promote their causes to your clubs, your members can visit other organizations and talk about how they are helping the community. While they’re speaking, they can hand out club information packets or membership applications.

7. Look Up Old Friends
Pull out some of your club’s old membership rosters and circle the names of those who have left the club. Give those members a call – their situations may have changed since they left the club. If for some reason they are unable to rejoin, ask them for the name of some people they think would make good members.

8. Make the Most of Your Service Projects
Every time your club conducts a service project (which is hopefully often) promote Exchange to those you’re serving. If your club invites the parents of Youth of the Month/Year winners to club meetings, give them information on Exchange and encourage them to join. If your club passes out flags to kids at a parade, give their parents fliers promoting your club. If your club makes a contribution to a local charity, ask the staff members to visit your club.

9. Knock On Doors
Round up a few of your members on a week day morning and visit stores and businesses in your community, especially those near your meeting place. Drop off a club brochure or newsletter and invite the owners or managers of those businesses to an upcoming meeting.

10. Set Up Shop
Does your city or town have community fairs or trade shows? If so, consider renting a booth and handing out information on Exchange. Set up a television and VCR and play the identity video tape available for the National Exchange Club. A good video is worth several thousand words.

11. Learn From Others
Scan your district bulletin and other publications for news of clubs that have recently grown. Pay those cubs a visit and find out how they increased their membership. Observe how they handle their meetings and welcome guests to the group. Also, attend district educational conferences and other meetings: many have seminars focusing on membership growth.

12. Sing Your Praises
Don’t be bashful about your involvement in Exchange. Whether at work or at play, talk up Exchange to those around you… You never know when you might strike a responsive cord with someone just waiting to get involved.

13. Increase Your Recognition
Does your club send a bulletin to members before every club meeting? Why not increase its circulation? Send copies to prospective members, to media professionals, to former members, and so on. Add a personal note on each, inviting the recipient to attend the next meeting.

14. Recognize Recruiters
When a member successfully recruits a new member, publicly thank and recognize them for a job well done. Do something special to show that member (and everyone else) just how important it is to bring in new members. You could ask both the recruiter and new member to sit at the head table, offer them a special dessert, ect.

15. Roll Out the Welcome Mat
Whenever guests come to a meeting make them feel right at home. Encourage your members to introduce themselves and talk up the club. Many clubs assign one or two longtime members to accompany the prospect and make sure he or she gets a good introduction to your Exchange Club. First impressions are important.

16. Customize Your Business Cards
How many times a week do you hand out business cards? How about adding an emblem and the name of your Exchange Club? Every time you hand out a card you’ll be introducing another person to Exchange. Or you can create a specialized card for all members to use when you’re working on a membership campaign.

17. Put Prospects to Wor
If your club is planning an upcoming service project, ask several prospective members to get involved. Why wait until they join the club. Perhaps hands-on involvement in a service project may be just the thing to prod some good prospects into making a commitment to the Exchange Club.

18. Plan a Fun Event
Not sure you want to put prospects to work before they join? Then how about organizing a party or other fun event, invite prospective members and their spouses or significant others. While having a good time is the main objective of the get-together, you can work in some Exchange education and even a soft-sell invitation to join.

19. Just the Fax
Ask your member to round up as many business cards from area firms as possible. (Most members probably have quite a collection in their desk drawers.) Come up with a nice letter inviting the managers of these businesses to a free lunch at your next club meeting. Then, using the fax numbers from the cards, fax the letter to them and follow up the next day with a phone call.

20. Put Your Club on Display
Are there any vacant storefronts on a nearby street or in a nearby shopping mall? If so, contact the owner and ask if your Exchange Club can use a front window to display a poster and other information on your Exchange Club. Make sure to provide the names and phone numbers of some club members who can be contacted for more information.

But Wait… There’s More
These are just a few ideas that could pay big dividends for your Exchange Club in membership. If your club would like additional information or further assistance on a membership-building project, call the Club and District Services Department at the National Exchange Club 1-800-XCHANGE (1-800-924-2693).