In its centennial year, the Kiwanis Club of Glens Falls grew from 60 members to over 100.
By Destiny Cherry
Jerrod Ogden felt the need for something to boost his Kiwanis club’s growth — and to inspire more excitement and commitment among established members. In the years since COVID-19, membership additions for the Kiwanis Club of Glens Falls, New York, U.S., had slowed to five to seven new members per year.
So Ogden, the club’s president, issued a challenge: Can we get to 100 members in our 100th year? That challenge required a game plan and some new approaches.
The game plan
The structure was simple. For the club’s membership drive, which took place in March and April, three randomly selected teams would be assigned a former club leader as their captain.
The team that brought in the most new members would take home the first-place prize: a US$500 donation to a charity of the team’s choice. A $200 donation would be awarded for second place and $100 for third.
Members reacted to the challenge with a readiness to support the club and their charity — and a healthy eagerness to compete.
New approaches
The club used a few different methods to draw in new members:
- They asked better questions. For example: “Why haven’t you joined yet?” instead of “Do you want to join?”
- They simplified the orientation process. Prospective members were allowed to come to meetings, learn more about the club and ask questions, which resulted in a 98% conversion rate from attendance to joining.
- They emphasized fitting the initial level of involvement to what interested or inspired the new member. The message: “Don’t worry about doing everything. Find out where your commitment makes the most sense. Then make that commitment, honor the commitment and give it your all.”
The result
The membership drive was a resounding success, pushing the club’s roster from 67 to 103. And the battle to win Odgen’s challenge was close: The first-place team brought in 11 members, and two other teams tied for second with 10.
All together, the Kiwanis Club of Glens Falls donated $900 to local organizations:
- $500 to a local sneaker foundation that buys shoes for children starting school.
- $200 to a local youth center’s after-school programming.
- $200 to the local Cub Scouts.
For Ogden, the drive’s success wasn’t measured solely in recruiting numbers — it was also the newfound excitement among established members. He noted an increase in engagement and pride in service projects, while club members who had not been very active showed up with fresh enthusiasm.
“We looked within,” Oden says. “We pride ourselves on the personal connections we form with members, so getting to share the strength of those relationships with the public reinvigorated our own commitment to each other.”
Unexpected highlights
Some other remarkable things happened because of the drive:
- A club member’s significant other joined the club and has since become a Kiwanis advisor for a local Key Club.
- Two families that have multiple members in the club welcomed third-generation members.
- A woman who had not been affiliated with the Kiwanis family since her time in Key Club became a member.
- A Cornell University graduate who was a previous recipient of the club’s $10,000 scholarship joined.
Ideas and inspiration
The key, Ogden says, is to “find out what makes your club infectious.”
In addition to ideas that the Glens Falls club might inspire, Kiwanis International also has a webpage of recruiting resources that your club can use at any time. Check it out!