Lessons Learned

Lesson 1: Honor Quota's Diversity
With members in 14 countries worldwide, the diversity that defines Quota International's members, clubs, districts, areas, and leaders is extensive. Quota is learning how to customize programs and services for special large membership constituencies in a cost-effective manner. A "one size fits all" approach cannot and will not work in Quota.

Lesson 2: What Members Value Most
We learned that members value Quota's current international structure, but they want it to operate more efficiently and effectively. Specifically: (1) retain Quota's current international structure (clubs, districts, and areas); (2) reduce or remove prescriptive administrative bylaws; (3) increase flexibility in clubs, districts, and areas; (4) update and streamline international operations and services; (5) spend Quota dollars where they count most to members.

Lesson 3: How Members Want to Operate
In 1995, we learned that a majority of members did not reflect the "business executive and professional" membership requirements stated and intended in bylaws then in force. At Convention '96, delegates amended Quota's bylaws increasing flexibility for clubs (1) in choosing whom to invite for membership and (2) in planning club recruitment methods. Delegates also reduced the number of membership classes from four to two. The Quota Objects now state: "The business and objects of Quota International shall be to seek individuals of diverse occupations committed to sharing their time, talent, and resources to meet Quota International's service goals…."

Lesson 4: How Members Participate in Quota INTERNATIONAL
In Quota International, members who participate in area and international meetings and/or who choose to travel through Quota's district and international leadership track, global connectors, develop an increased appreciation for the international portion of their Quota membership. Local connectors appreciate their club experience above all else. Leaders and staff are learning to meet the diverse and important needs of both groups.

Lesson 5: How Members Participate in Clubs
Quota is a personal experience and every member experiences it in a different way. Members join and remain club members for very different reasons:

• Personal Connectors genuinely enjoy each other's company.
  
  
• Service Advocates share the club's service goals, and they enjoy serving their community with fellow members.
  
  
• Lifelong Learners value the personal and professional growth opportunities membership offers.

Members also differ in the way in which they want to participate in their club, the type of "service" they enjoy, their personal interests and skills, how much time they have available, and their leadership development desires. Quota has developed tools to help club leaders understand the different ways their members want to participate locally. Click here to learn how you can obtain Quota International's Club Success Guide.

Lesson 6: Club Recruitment Success Secrets
Recruitment is the long-term investment every club makes to strengthen its future. Through our Leaders as Listeners program we have learned that recruiting members you like who seek the unique membership affiliation your club offers—and then nurturing their participation on a continuing basis—is the best tactic to growing your club.

Should you recruit one member at a time or in groups? Some clubs have success recruiting new members in groups or classes (usually larger, strong clubs). The benefit of this approach is that recruits can bond with the club, and they can bond with their fellow recruits. Other clubs, especially small clubs, have better success with recruiting new members one-at-a-time using a steady, selective recruitment campaign. You want to be sure you invite a member you like who seeks the specific type of Quota experience your club offers. No matter what method you use to recruit, the key to encouraging lifelong affiliation is a plan that offers new members continuing support, encouragement, and connection from the start.

Lesson 7: Attributes of Successful Clubs
Club size or personality type does NOT determine a club's success. In fact, 54% of our clubs worldwide have 20 or fewer members. We are unlocking the secrets of a club's success, those common attributes observed in Quota's flourishing clubs: a positive attitude shared by all members, club leaders who "listen" to and encourage members, and good service projects.

Lesson 8: Encourage Lifelong Membership
On average, well over half of all new members that clubs recruit leave their clubs within the first five years of their membership (for reasons other than death or relocation). The largest losses occur during the first three years of a new recruit's affiliation. On average, it costs membership organizations seven times as much to acquire a new member as it does to keep the one you already have.

Through the Leaders as Listeners program we have learned that the best approach to encouraging lifelong membership is connecting your new member to your club from the start. Simply assigning new members to a committee, a traditional approach, doesn't work. Quota offers a tool to help your club improve retention, the Club Success Guide. Click here to learn more.

Lesson 9: Understand Your Club's Personality
For years, leaders tried to find the perfect model to guide the behavior and operation of all clubs. They were not successful. Why? Every club defines its fellowship, service, and operations in a unique way. "Personality" information helps clubs recruit and retain individuals who share the club's fellowship and service vision. For international leaders and staff, understanding the uniqueness among clubs helps us customize services, programs, and meetings. Clubs can determine their personality by considering two factors: (1) how they like to operate and (2) how they like to conduct service.

Club Operations:
Most clubs fit one—or a combination—of these three types:

• Service Clubs define their culture and operations through their service work. Members are dedicated to Quota's service goals, and they are united in their desire to make a local and global difference. They enjoy carrying out club service projects together.
  
  
• Personal Connection Clubs define their culture and operations through their social activities and personal relationships. Members value their friendships with their fellow members—and they do have fun!
  
  
• Professional Development Clubs define their culture and operations through the use or development of their professional skills, contacts, and interests. Members value Quota's time-honored traditions, operations, and standards.

Club Service:
Most clubs enjoy conducting service in one—or a combination—of three meaningful ways:

• Hands-on Service, where club members volunteer their time and talents to assist those in need.
  
  
• Partnership Service, where club members volunteer their time and talents to assist charitable, nonprofit, or community organizations in need.
  
  
• Grants and Gifts Service, where club members donate funds or gifts to assist individuals, charitable organizations, or community agencies in need.

Lesson 10: Create Encouraging Leadership
In the past, district governors served as administrators and enforcers of Quota's bylaws and policies. Now, district leaders are trained in the Leaders as Listeners encouragement philosophy to listen to, celebrate, support, and encourage their respective membership constituencies. In addition, they help international leaders identify future strategic issues, and they mentor future local and district leaders within their respective districts.

Lesson 11: Connect through Service
We learned that Quota members want a more direct and personal connection to Quota International and to fellow members worldwide on the subject of service. That is why Quota International launched the We Share Foundation in 2000 and added its award-winning Volunteers in Action program. To learn more about how service can help Quota clubs, click here.

Lesson 12: How to Organize a Successful New Club
Through the Leaders as Listeners program, we have uncovered a strategy that really does work in Quota's major membership countries: chartering a new club in the same or a nearby community where another club already exists. "How can that work?" you may ask. "Won't that leave my club in the lurch for new members?" Not if you organize a club that offers different membership benefits than your own or targets a different type of member. Not only does it save time and money, but local contacts are already in place and do not have to be cultivated. And the increased Quota presence benefits both clubs. Some examples:

• A "Silver Q" seniors club that conducts hands-on service was chartered in the same community as a longtime club (with members representing a variety of ages) that enjoys fund-raising activities.
  
  
• A professional lunch club with younger members was chartered in a city with a longtime club that had difficulty recruiting new members who were employed downtown.
  
  
• A club that kept hearing that rush-hour traffic on the bridge through town was discouraging potential members from joining their club organized another club across the bridge! Forty new members (no transfers!) joined.

Also important to the success of any new club is the continued mentoring and involvement of the primary organizer for several years after the club charters. To learn more about new club organization, click here.