Rotary Meeting July 25, 2023

Plans to "welcome back" MCAT teachers and staff for the start of the school finalized in the club's end-of-month business meeting.

 

 

 

The Zoom-only meeting, primarily focusing on club business, began with the Pledge of Allegiance at 7:05AM.  Cathy would like to cover:

Harold reported that the current club bank balance is $13,199.11 with two invoices pending payment; NWFD $157.50 and Rotary International $925.38; leaving an accrued balance of $12,116.23. Harold noted that he has not been able to get into the QuickBooks files, probably because we let the QB subscription lapse effective July 1^st in anticipation of switching accounting software to better fit the club’s needs. Laura asked about an additional RI bill, including District dues, to which Don responded that this will be arriving shortly. Cindy asked about the $1,150 Youth Exchange pending invoice, to which Harold responded that he would look into this to determine if it has been received.  John pointed out that this cost should be covered by the Club Foundation as it is an educational expense. 

 

The club discussed measures to be considered given the robust financial condition of our available funds. Ideas offered included lowering membership dues and contributing more to our Foundation. It was concluded that we first establish our new accounting system, Money Minder (approved previously), so that we are working from current accounting details before considering budget modifications. Mary suggested that the club’s 2023/24 budget be circulated again to members and that Cathy set aside time at a future meeting for members to become familiar with the budget before considering modifications and reallocation of funds.

 

Lastly, Harold mentioned that club dues notices will be sent out once the Money Minder system has been established, likely in early August.

 

Several ideas were offered regarding possible projects for consideration:

Bob suggested that we take the very positive results from the Human Trafficking Forum a step further, such as supporting the Tucson Dream Center. Ideas included seeking a Rotary grant (Randy pointed out that this could be difficult as RI major grants will not cover salaries which comprise a large portion of the Dream Center’s needs). Bob suggested that we might collaborate with partners such as Motel 6 and/or local and state/federal governments. It was decided that Mary and Randy will approach Doug, director of the Dream Center, to explore support possibilities. Bob and Mary will ask Doug to present at a future club meeting to spark ideas for ways in which we might support them.

 

August service project- MCAT- We need to determine Star Students dates for the coming Fall.  Additionally, several ideas were discussed for strengthening our connection with MCAT. Ideas for discussion with Denise Green were:

It was decided that we would participate in all three ideas. Don suggested that we make our club’s efforts known by having banners or stickers present at these gatherings/offerings. Other ideas to strengthen our ties to MCAT were to encourage Denise (and other MHSD teachers) to become members of the Marana Rotary Club. Randy and Harold noted that Beckie was a previous member until the School District reduced their financial support to cover only one- half of the membership cost. Several ideas were offered to address this, including creating a special membership category for MHSD teachers with lower costs. Do we extend this to include a special corporate rate?  Beckie raised the point that, if this were to be considered, we should include the Marana Chamber in this category.  Will this encourage broader membership growth from sources such as the Chamber? See Laura’s presentation below.

 

 

Laura shared her knowledge gained from a recent conference on membership growth focusing on metrics and strategies. Hopefully, Laura can share the PowerPoint with members as time forced Laura to move rather quickly through the presentation. The main takeaways were that clubs need to anticipate and plan for growth while also accounting for attrition. Attrition seems to hover around 10%, while the desired growth target is 5% annually; therefore, creating a need for each Rotary Club to aspire towards achieving 15% new membership annually. 

The Marana Rotary Club annual goal is two new members with a “stretch-goal” being five. Laura mentioned that Joan’s application is going to the Board for approval to join our club; a start and welcome Joan!!

 

Cathy regretted that time today did not permit the HB ritual. We will catch up next time.

 

The meeting adjourned at 8:05AM with the Four-Way Test.

Yours,

Andy Swarthout (any errors are mine and mine alone!)