By Arly Troelsen, president of the Rotary Club of Nørre Alslev, Denmark
In the fall of 2022, our club took a hard look at our membership trends and decided we needed to do something about it. We had steadily declined from more than 30 members to just 18. We wanted to get back to at least 25 in a three-year period.
We learned that our district, Rotary District 1480 (Denmark), was participating in a pilot program that involved Club Visioning, and that we were welcome to join. During an initial virtual meeting, the district’s membership committee chair and another member of the committee met with our then president-elect, me, and two other representatives of our district to begin mapping out a plan for our Club Visioning.
We were told that we would be the first club to try it, and that if we acted upon what we learned, it would change our club forever. All eyes were upon us.
We prepared a Master Plan and an Activity Plan, which set out goals for the next three years. We conducted a satisfaction survey and looked at every part of our club to determine strengths and weaknesses. This showed us where we needed to commit our energies. We also prepared a detailed club profile, which we could keep using even beyond the three years to recruit and orient new members.
It was exciting to see how the process engaged all our members. Even members who typically sat in the back row and didn’t participate were now active and joining in the discussions.
At a club meeting facilitated by the two representatives from the district membership committee, our members came up with 56 actions or activities they wanted to see the club do. These were divided into four main groups, and from that we voted on eight goals that would become part of our three-year plan.
While we weren’t able to achieve all of our goals, we had many successes. Among them:
- We began cooperating with local associations on shared initiatives. We are beginning our third year of Christmas aid, where we work with community groups to help needy families around the holidays.
- We welcomed in four new women members, only one short of our goal of five.
- We created a Facebook page and post several times a week.
- We have placed ads in local media and sent the word around local schools seeking exchange student candidates.
But the most exciting news is that we exceeded our membership growth goal by three, reaching 28 members at the end of the three years. We also increased our visibility in the local community. And our members are excited and engaged in the process of improving our club experience.
While our club has so far been the only one in our district to participate in Club Visioning, we are hoping our success will be a strong draw for others. We have become convinced of its value and of the importance of actively creating interest in Rotary. If your club is in a place like we were, steadily declining in membership, I invite you to give it a try.
Arly Troelsen is a past district governor and 2026-28 Council on Legislation representative.
The Member Satisfaction Survey can help you gather feedback so you can use it to ensure that members are enjoying their club experience.
https://blog.rotary.org/2025/12/02/club-visioning-succeeds-in-growing-denmark-rotary-club/