A clearly defined administrative organization is essential for efficiancy and helps establich practical lines of authority and responsibility. THe model organization chart is based upon the experience of thousands of Optimist Clubs. Most Clubs can use the chart as it is. The President should complete it and distribute it to every Club member.

A clearly defined administrative organization is essential for efficiency and helps establish

practical lines of authority and responsibility.

The model organization chart (see Optimist Club Model Organization) is based upon the

experience of thousands of Optimist Clubs. Most Clubs can use the chart as is. The

President should complete it and distribute it to every Club member.

This assessment can be done as often as the Club wishes to see how healthy the Club is and should be done by every member and reviewed by the Club as a whole.

It is recommended that the Club do this once a year.

Hopefully your Club has mentors for your new members. Here is the Checklist for the member acting as the mentor.

This is a checklist to help the new member get involved in the Club and get to know the Club.

Find out what your members are interested in doing both for the Club and the District. You can also tweek this document for more personalized use with your Club.

Have trouble getting members involved in events? This might work for your Club, so give it a try!

This is something that you can use to get to know your members better, both newer ones and more seasoned ones. This can be tweaked to fit what you want to ask your members.

Did you know that there are at least 15 benefits to Clubs being an Optimist Club? Here are the ones that Optimist International highlights.

There are many benefits for building a New Optimist Club as well. Here are a few highlighted from Optimist International

4 Steps to starting a New Optimist Club.

Welcome Optimists Worldwide is a membership recruitment program that any Club can use.

Recruiting new members is not a once a year event but is an ongoing process. Every event, activity and fundraiser is an opportunity to bring in new members and should be treated as such. Volunteering and membership has changed and expanded through the years.

NOW stands for New Optimists Welcome and is a program designed to capture the interest of prospective Optimist Members. The program is for Optimist Clubs committed to achieving a net gain of 10 Members during the administrative year.

The NOW event is generally a dinner or series of dinners to which potential members are extended invitations. During the event, the Optimist Club takes advantage of its captive audience and shows the service it provides to the local community. While the NOW event generally includes a meal, some speeches or presentations and an invitation to join the organization, many Clubs modify the idea to fit their needs. Most importantly, the event should create an atmosphere in which new Optimists feel “welcome.”

Clubs interested in replicating a Zone-wide NOW event can follow this suggested timeline.

Filling this form out is a great way to measure how well the event went and can help with any future events you wish to hold.

The Membership Recruitment Kit is a method of recruiting potential Charter Members for a new Club, or to add Members to an existing Club. It involves setting up a table in a public place and handing out items to kids as a “soft-sell” approach to Member recruitment. The materials needed can easily be assembled by any Club, and are also available for purchase from Optimist International.

Coffee recruitment is a program for Optimist leaders to recruit for long term goals by building new relationships. The program is easy to implement, but, like all good relationships, it takes time and dedication. It can be effective in getting new and current Members more involved in the growth efforts of the Club. By encouraging new people to contribute their talents, ideas and connections in their social network, you’ll empower them to engage as leaders in the future.

9 things to consider in both retaining members and getting new ones.