Hello Civitan Leaders!
Welcome to month three of Civitan Champions of Service: Believers! I am truly amazed and excited about all the great work going on in our communities by our fabulous Civitan Clubs and members. Every day I am overwhelmed about what our members are doing from bell ringing, feeding the less fortunate, adopting families, coat drives, caroling at elder care facilities, participating in parades and so much more. We are approaching the two-year anniversary of the start of this pandemic and Civitan is needed more now than ever.
Today, I want to share with you some things I learned at the Service Club Leadership Conference that was held in November. This is an annual meeting of the leaders of service clubs all over the world to discuss how we can better serve our communities. Here are some of the things I learned:
- All service clubs are more alike than they are different. We may have a different focus, but we are all trying to make our communities a better place to live and work.
- All service clubs are facing the same or similar problems. During a brainstorming session, service clubs were asked what the major problems they faced. Here are the top responses:
- Aging membership
- Trying to attract younger members
- Trying to increase non-dues revenue
- Developing new leaders.
Do any of these items sound familiar?
- Everyone thinks their organization is the “best kept secret”.
- No one has developed an effective online or technology-based concept to attract younger members. This is exciting because our plan for the “Civitan Club of the Future” will be that platform. The organization(s) that effectively develop this concept will thrive while the others will continue to die off.
- Our Civitan International Research Center is truly a gem and a big plus for Civitan. No other organization can claim to have their own research and treatment center. We have always known that the CIRC is special, we need to make sure everyone knows that!
- We need to figure out a way that we can work more closely with the other service clubs to serve our communities more effectively. One leader spoke about a monthly meeting of all the service club presidents in their town. They discuss upcoming events and how they can all participate in making it even more successful. I really like that idea and I hope some of you will try it in your communities.
I came away from the meeting more enthused than ever. We have talked a lot about reinventing Civitan, and I think we are on the right path. We need to have the courage to make the changes necessary for us to thrive and grow. I BELIEVE we can do it!
My wife Kim and I would like to wish each of you, your families, and friends a most joyous holiday season. Get ready for 2022, I BELIEVE it is going to be a great year for all of us!
Thank you all for all you do. Our communities are better off because of leaders like you.
Best regards,
Dan Brown
Civitan International President, 2021-2022
Thanks for forwarding the info from your meeting with other club leaders. I think you had some great ideas. It’s so hard to get people to commit, no matter what age.
I wish you and Kim best wishes for a Happy Believers New Year.
Top responses! That list could have come from our club as well. We often discuss this challenge. We are planning to work more closely with our new members. Each has a mentor and we will do some training with both parties as soon as COVID allows. We will help them plan a new fundraising event and specify it as Newcomers Event! With help and support from more experienced members it is hoped the leadership challenge can be addressed. Too often the same folks do the same projects. While their contribution is “golden” it’s time to engage others as well right from their introduction into the club. It’s good to try to make changes.