October 2026 – IPDG Donna’s District Membership Article

Hello Friends!

First, a special thanks to everyone who attended our September 23 Membership Educational Zoom on the new RI Prospective Member Management (PMM) database.

We covered a lot! You can find the recording and accompanying slide deck on the District website (rotary7870.org). Scroll down to Site Pages, and click on Updating the RI Member Database.

You can also access the recording directly:

Watch the September 23 Membership Zoom Recording

Passcode: XC=ui1bR

My presentation lasted about a half hour, followed by a lively hour-long “popcorn discussion,” as AG Josh Traeger called it! Don’t worry, it’s a recording, so you can pause or stop whenever you like.

Several questions came up, and I have answers from RI to share:

Which notifications will Assistant Governors receive?

AGs will receive the same notifications as other district leaders. When a prospective member selects a club through Rotary’s website, the club officers are notified. If the club reassigns the inquiry to the district for assistance or fails to report an activity, district leaders, including AGs, receive a notification.

While the new system cannot limit notifications to an AG’s assigned clubs, including AGs helps them support their clubs in following up with prospective members and keeping the process moving.

How does the system determine which club receives a prospective member inquiry? Does it use towns, ZIP codes, or something else? What happens when multiple clubs serve the same area?

Prospective members visit rotary.org/join, answer a few questions about themselves and their interest in Rotary, and then select a club themselves based on meeting location, day, time, and format. Their information enters the PMM system, and the selected club receives an email notification.

We encourage all clubs to review and update their information in My Rotary so prospective members see accurate details when exploring their options.

Below is a screenshot of what prospective members see in the “Select a Club” section.

For more information, please log into the District website. We continue working closely with RI to make the most of the new PMM system.

Second, we ran out of time to discuss Connecting with Prospective Members. RI has a helpful Zoom recording on this topic.

If there is interest, we can also hold our own District Zoom discussion. Please let me know!

Third, we’ve received questions about Corporate Memberships. As with many things Rotary, clubs have the autonomy to develop programs that work for them, so there is no cookie-cutter answer.

We’re considering another Member Roundtable Zoom on this topic and would love to hear from clubs with successful programs, as well as those that tried Corporate Membership but discontinued it—and why.

Our goal would be to bring those experiences together in a panel discussion to help clubs considering Corporate Membership or looking to zhuzh their existing programs.

And what does zhuzh mean? A small improvement, adjustment, or addition that makes something even better!

Finally, your District Membership Committee is here to help and support you. We welcome your questions, ideas, suggestions, and participation in whatever way works for you.

Everyone has something to offer, and no question is too small or silly. Please reach out!

All my best,

IPDG Donna deossome@yahoo.com