Membership Building

Members are the life-blood of our Toastmasters clubs. 20 is the magic number: to charter a new club, to be distinguished for exisiting clubs, to maintain the energy and people needed to fill the club positions each week at the meeting.

Virtually all Toastmasters clubs need a constant influx of new members to stay healthy. People move, get that promotion because of their improved self-confidence and speaking skills, take a break for family, health issues - among many reasons. The bottom line is most members join Toastmasters with specific objectives in mind and leave when they have achieved them. More than 95% of the people who leave Toastmasters leave happy and say they might join again in the future.

There are many things your club can do to attract new members and/or keep the ones they already have. If your club is struggling with membership, are you and your fellow members doing three simple things: 1) Getting Guests; 2) Converting Guests to Members; and 3) Retaining Members? If not, below are some ideas on membership building.

Membership 101:
You need at least 20 members to maintain charter strength or a net growth of 5 members if under 20, to be eligible for the DCP, and put on dynamic meetings. Set a goal of one to two new members a month. Accomplish this by:

Getting Guests

Word-of-mouth, bring a friend, co-worker, anyone who will listen

Hold an Open House

Participate in TI membership contests during the year:

Annual Membership Program - recognizes individuals who sponsor 5, 10, 15 or more new members during the year
Talk up Toastmasters - Clubs adding 5 new members during Feb-March
Smedley Award - Clubs adding 5 new members during Aug-Sept
Beat the Clock - Clubs adding 5, new, dual, or reinstated members during May-June
District 5 Sponsored Contests - watch for announcements during ther year

Hand out flyers to business around your meeting location

Create a Club Website - www.freetoasthost.org (then link your club's site to TI & District 5)

Publicity (FYI or Calendar section in local newspaper, submit an article)

Hold a Speechcraft

Have club business cards to hand out

Wear your Toastmaster pin to work

Recycle Toastmaster magazines to promote TM

Post a sign showing TM meeting times at your meeting place

Talk-Line - sign up to be added to District Yahoo email list for leads & announcements. See signup on the left or send an email to: d5toastmasters-subscribe@egroups.com

Converting Guests to Members

Make guests feel welcome

Rate your meeting quality, the club climate makes the difference - see checklist

Have name tags for members and guests

Have a guest register

As Toastmaster of the Day call on a person sitting next to the guest introduce them

Have a Guest Packet to give every potential member

Follow up with guests by e-mail, a note or telephone

Ask them to join (many clubs simply forget this step)

Submit new member applications to Toastmasters Headquarters right away - Mail application, or on-line at www.toastmasters.org

Retaining Members

Assign a mentor for new members

Conduct a new member orientation

Members give manual speeches

Members receive effective evaluations

Start meetings on time, every meeting - end on time.

Prepare an agenda for the meeting

Toastmaster contacts people on the schedule

Fulfill your assignments or find a replacement

Create a professional feel to the meeting

Be willing to fill in for missing members

Hold special meetings

Have a theme for your meetings

Include educational training presentations

Follow up on members who have missed meetings

Recognition on completing awards (half-CC, CC, AC, CL, AL etc.)

Attend Club Officer Training, Conferences, Workshops, Educational programs during term.

Want more ideas? 100s of Membership Building Ideas.

Need more help? Contact your Area Governor, Division Governor, or Lt. Gov. of Education & Training.

District 5 Mission
The Mission of the District is to enhance the performance and extend the network of Clubs, thereby offering greater numbers of people the opportunity to benefit from the Toastmasters educational program, by:

• Focusing on the critical success factors as specified by the District educational and membership goals.
• Ensuring that each Club effectively fulfills its responsibilities to its individual members.
• Providing effective training and leadership development opportunities for Club and District Officers.