1. Rebrand your Club
· In this new century of service, we must show the community that we are first and foremost a service organization.
· There are two general statements in marketing that companies go by:
i. What are you known for?
ii. What do you want to be known for?
· We need to be known as our community’s leader in helping provide service to our citizens and helping when there is a need.
· Use the media to show what you are doing in your community and have an open house of sorts to show your community leaders as well as your fellow citizens in the service you are providing.
2. Embrace and adapt to new technology.
· This step is an absolute must in today’s society. When younger generations what to research something, they do not go out of the library or look in the newspaper. They simply google it. If they are looking to make a difference in the community, then how will they know you even exist if you don’t even have a webpage?
· As they say, “times change, and we must change too.” The best part about technology is that is a cheaper way of promotion than traditional print sources.
3. Let new and younger members lead and embrace their ideas
· This is the hardest thing to do in our Lions Clubs. There are always two phrases I hate hearing.
o We have always done it this way!
o We tried that and it didn’t work!
o We are the most educated generation in Sri Lankan History. We have been taught since elementary school to be critical thinkers, team players, and to also think outside the box.
· The Millennial Generation is such a generation of outside the box thinkers that look at what we have created in the last 10 years that Boomers like Facebook, Google, YouTube, just to name a few. Can you imagine if you let us lead a club? The opportunities are limitless! Let us rethink you in a good way, but also it helps if you mentor us along the way and be then when we need you and put your arm across outback and help us lead since you have the experience and have been in our shoes before.
4. Adapt to the needs of your members.
· Are you wondering when we have these five new projects that international has come out with? Well, back in 2015 they sent out a survey to see what its members we passionate about and what causes its members cared about. Well, you can do the same thing in your club. Just as a business has to keep its employees happy, you must do the same thing to keep your members happy. This means adaptation.
· Paying dues electronically is one way. Also, ask your members what they want to do in the club and how they want to contribute to the cause. You always must stay ahead of the curve when it comes to meeting the needs of your members.
5. Actively serve your community.
· This is the most important step out of the five. If you don’t actively serve your community, your club will fold by not getting new members.
· Fundraising and check writing are a good source of income and giving to worthy causes is just not what my generation is looking for.
· When I say actively serve the community, I mean going out into your community and getting your hands dirty. And it can mean simple things like cleaning a city park or working at the local food bank, and the best one of all is screening children’s eyes. Low cost, high impact, high visibility service projects. To me, it all comes down to this final step, if you don’t do this then any of the above steps matters. Its simple Active service leads to new members, new members lead to new ideas, and new ideas lead to new leaders, which in turn leads to the retention of our members. If you do this then everything else will work.
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