Service organizations seek to rebuild membership after declines

CEDAR RAPIDS — With membership declines accelerated by the pandemic, local service organizations are focusing on how they can attract new members.

Like just about every other type of organization, service organizations have not been exempt from pandemic-prompted reconciliations as many took stock of how and where they spent their time. As meetings and missions continue, organizations have been forced to rethink what they require of members and why members — particularly younger ones — choose to be part of their organization.

“Active membership has declined pretty significantly over the last two years. In the last two years, so many people (have been) reevaluating priorities outside of the home,” said Katie Curtis, president of the Junior League of Cedar Rapids.

Now with 55 active members and the average member being in her 30s, the women’s organization has committed to more flexibility for members, using meeting time more efficiently and emphasizing the personal connections that make membership worthwhile. Though the decline in membership did start slowly before the pandemic, Curtis said the trend has accelerated over the last couple years.

“One of the biggest values of an organization like Junior League are personal connections made,” she said. “I like going to Junior League because there are a group of women I feel fully supported by.”

Initially, virtual meetings month after month and fewer volunteer opportunities meant a weaker feeling of connection than in-person meetings. When volunteer opportunities came back, they were done in small groups or alone for social distancing.

Virtual meetings continue as an option for those who feel unsafe or at higher risk for COVID-19 complications. But by the time in-person meetings came back, habits had changed.

“People adapted to being home more. Once we had an opportunity to get back in person, people reevaluated where they want to spend time,” Curtis said. “On the other side, some people were cooped up and wanted to build connections. We can fill that gap for people wanting to find opportunities and get involved.”

The group now offers two membership entry points per year, instead of the previous once-annual event, with a goal toward rolling membership onboarding to encourage more immediate entry into the organization for those interested.

“We’re a great opportunity for people who are new to the community,” the president said. “Telling (recruits) they have to wait until August doesn’t help them.”

The Downtown Rotary Club — one of seven Rotary chapters in the area, the largest in Iowa and one of the 50 largest Rotary Clubs worldwide — also has seen a decline in membership that started before 2020.

At its height seven years ago, Downtown Rotary had about 330 total members, according to President Jim Koch; just under 300 were active. A few years ago, Koch estimated 270-280 active members. Now, active membership stands at 237 — a decrease of over 20 percent from the club’s height.

Koch said Downtown Rotary has fared better than many others, thanks in part to the hybrid model it adopted early on for meetings, allowing for both in-person and virtual attendance of meetings. Meeting attendance requirements were nixed a few years ago.

The average age of a Downtown Rotarian is 51 years old, 10 years younger than the worldwide average of 61. The group also has more female members than average, which bears significance given the group did not admit women until 1987.

“The female to male ratio is close to 50/50, whereas five years ago it was mostly men,” said Brooke Fitzgerald, co-chair of the club’s membership committee and member for six years.

As Downtown Rotary hones their mission of alignment to service above self — one of the biggest ways it hopes to stand out to potential new members — it asks why others would or would not want to join. In addition to older members aging or moving south in the winter, disinterest sparked by pandemic reassessments is a growing factor. Though those 50-59 years old represent the largest age group, the biggest membership gains are in younger folks.

“Younger leaders have more options than just Downtown Rotary, whereas years ago, if you were a leader and weren’t a member of Downtown Rotary, it was like ‘what’s wrong with you?’” Fitzgerald said. “But that’s shifted.”

As the group embraces more social media use and works to market itself toward younger members, Fitzgerald said the group is working to modernize and shed its old image. They also lean on their mantra, “Each one, bring one,” to encourage growth from within, Koch said.

“Younger generational leaders still think of Downtown Rotary as this older, male-dominated club where you just write a check,” Fitzgerald said. “Over the past two to three years, we’ve really shifted into what we truly are today.”

Now, it’s a matter of getting the message across.

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