Rotary E-Club Basics and How to Join !
What kind of an e-Club are we? Hybrid e-Club
What is a Hybrid e-Club?
A hybrid e-Club allows members to join who live within the geographic region of a District. In our case District 7090 includes Southern Ontario and Western New York. For further definition by county in both the US and Canada, please refer to our District 7090 map posted to the website www.rotaryeclub7090.org .
What are the Meeting Requirements?
As a Rotarian, our obligation is to attend a meeting once a week. A hybrid e-Club meets 3 weeks out of the month ON-LINE and 1 week out of the month FACE-TO-FACE as a local Rotary club of your choice. On-line meetings are scheduled for Thursday evenings from 19:00- 20:30 GST. The basic format of our monthly schedule looks like this:
Week 1 = Club Assembly
· Board members provide their reports
· Fund Raising Projects and Service Projects are discussed
· Club Business is reviewed
· Members talk about their Vocations – we get to know each other!
Week 2 & 3 = We meet online! Scheduled Webinar Programs Posted to Website
· Guest Speakers are invited to provide stimulating programs on various subjects
· Subjects may be Rotary oriented or topics of general interest
· Programs are posted to our Library of Programs (Power Point, Videos, Word documents, etc.) so if a Rotarian misses a presentation, he/she can view it later from our Library of Programs. Other Rotarians outside of E-Club can access them as well.
· Our aim is to provide stimulating programs for our members and also for all Rotarians interested in doing their make-ups with us.
· Webinar programs are listed on the Homepage of our website www.rotaryeclub7090.org
· Suggestions from the membership for guest speakers are both welcomed and encouraged
Week 4 & 5 = Visit any Rotary Club in District 7090
· Visit other Rotarians face-to-face (in your community or anywhere)
· Enjoy the fellowship of other Rotarians in the District – become a standing visitor of clubs in your community
· See the District Map 7090 for locations in clubs
· Visit this link for When and Where Clubs Meet and who to contact
http://www.clubrunner.ca/portal/Organization/Meetings.aspx?accountid=50043
Rotary E-Club will periodically be sponsoring face-to-face meetings and special events in lieu of on-line webinars or possibly on the 4th or 5th week of the month.
Committees will also have the option to meet online or in-person as they deem necessary or practical. The webinar tool is pre-paid for the full Rotary year (July 1 – June 30) and it is available for committees to organize GoToMeetings as required.
What is the structure of our E-Club?
We have a Board of Directors and standard Committees found in any traditional Rotary Club. Board Meetings will occur once per month ON-LINE prior to scheduled Club Assembly meetings where all members come on line and talk about club business.
What about Fund Raising and Special Events?
Fund raising events are scheduled throughout the year. They will be posted to our Events Calendar. We will also host special events for fun and fellowship and to bring our e-Club members together to meet face-to-face. Rotary E-Club encourages special family events and participation in Rotary events to make the club more vibrant and balanced.
Why would I want to join an e-Club?
You may have time limitations that make a traditional Rotary Club meeting difficult for your schedule; e-Club meetings are shorter and you can plug-in from the comfort of your home, office, vacation location, business travel location or winter residence down south! You may have budgetary limitations; E-Clubs are generally less expensive as there is no layout of money for meals, drinks, raffle tickets, happy dollars, etc. You may be the type of person that prefers technology and enjoys the idea of on-line meetings and website programs. Rotary E-Club is perfect for Seniors or retirees who can’t physically travel easily to a traditional weekly Rotary Club meeting. It is also a perfect model for snow-birds who live away for a good portion of the year. Rotary E-Club is also a great way for members to travel to other clubs in the District , since it is a requirement once per month. We visit many clubs in our District and meet other Rotarians , a perfect way to exchange ideas and share our enthusiasm for service above self.
How does a NON- E-Club Member obtain a credit for a qualified make-up ?
Make-ups can be made by Rotarian outside of our E-Club by attending our on-line webinars or my going to our Library and Programs and spending 30 minutes minimum listening, reading or viewing documents that are posted to our website.
Visiting webinar attendees will automatically receive an email confirming their qualified make-up which they then pass along to their Club Secretary for credit.
Visitors to our Library of Programs complete an email request form to our Club Secretary stating what programs they viewed and request that a Make-up Slip be emailed to them for credit. These requests by visiting Rotarians will be based on the ‘Four Way Test’ assuming that if a Rotarian states that he/she spent 30 minutes minimum in our Learning Library, then it is true.
A minimum donation of $10.00 to the Rotary E-Club of SOWNY will be requested for each make-up and Rotarians may simply click on the Donate tab on the website homepage and complete the eCommerce transaction using a credit card (Master Card, Visa, Discover or American Express).
How does E-Club verify that a Rotarian actually spent 30 minutes on the website in the Library of Programs?
It’s called the Four Way Test ! Every Rotarian knows the Four Way Test!
In all we think, say or do …
#1. Is it the TRUTH?
#2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
#3. Does it bring GOOD WILL and DEVELOP BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
#4. Is it BENEFICIAL TO ALL?
For more information about the Guiding Principles of Rotary , go to the RI website at www.rotary.org (click on About US; then RI Guiding Principles).
How does a Rotary E-Club of SOWNY Member obtain a credit for a qualified make-up ?
An E-Club Member can either view the program he/she missed by studying the materials from the webinar that are posted to the Library of Programs, or by attending an in-person meeting at any Rotary Club of his/her choice. Communicate the make-up to the Club Secretary via email and the member will receive credit for the make-up. The Secretary will update the members attendance record.
When will the club be fully Chartered and how does that work?
Our club is in its Provisional Phase until we reach a total of 25 members. We will then apply for our Charter with Rotary International.
Any members that join the club during this Provisional Phase will be considered founding members or anotherwords, Charter Members. Charter Membership is revered with honor within Rotary and most clubs provide this designation on club badges for the life of the Rotarian.
The goal is to become fully chartered by the end of this Rotary Year which is June 30, 2012.
What is the cost to join Rotary e-Club 1 of District 7090?
Becoming a Chartered Member costs $50.00 for a single person or couple. The dues for Charter Membership will be invoiced and collected before the club files for its Charter with Rotary International. The club pays a charter membership fee to Rotary International for each member when the application is submitted plus the prorated amount of regular Membership Dues. Our Charter Membership fee of $50 covers this cost plus basic start-up costs of the E-Club such as establishing a bank account , website development, website domain , accounting software, the GoToWebinar tool for on-line meetings, and other miscellaneous expenses.
Membership Dues in Rotary E-Club of SOWNY
When any Membership Application is submitted to Rotary International for a new member, it must be accompanied by pre-paid membership dues covering the balance of the Rotary year. The fiscal Rotary year ends on June 30th. This prorated membership fee for E-Club averages to $30.00 per month. There is special discount extended for married couples.
Annual Membership Per Person per Rotary Year(Example: July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013) / $360.00 per year per person
$600.00 per year per married couple ($300/person)
Semi-Annual Membership Per Person
(Example: July 1, 2012- Dec. 30, 2012 or
January 1, 2013 – June 30, 2013) / $180.00 per 6 months per person
$300.00 per 6 months per married couple ($150/person)
Pro-rated per month depending upon when a New Member Joins / $30.00 per month per person
$50.00 per month per married couple ($25/person)
Charter Membership Dues In addition to above
(Charter Membership is only offered to the initial 25+ members that form the E-Club) / $50.00 per person or married couple
Yearly membership dues to the Rotary E-Club of SOWNY include the following:
· Membership Dues to Rotary International
· Membership contribution to Rotary District 7090
· New Membership Kit, Rotary badge and pin
· Additional costs to cover basic operating expenses
Costs for special events, meals at in-person Rotary Club meetings, training seminars, District events and RI’s International Convention are additional expenses paid separately by the Rotary E-Club member.
The cost of joining e-Club will average about one-third the cost of a traditional Rotary Club.
Dues Payable via Website:
All payments for dues, donations and special events may be made through the website. The club will generate an invoice to each member twice a year for membership dues. This invoice will be emailed to the member. The member goes online with their secure Member LOG-IN and follows the process to make the payment on-line through our SAGE eCommerce account. Payments go directly into the club’s checking account. Debit Card, MasterCard, Visa, Discover and American Express are the accepted forms of payment.
Who may I contact regarding Membership?
Elizabeth Kovacs
The APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP is posted to the website www.rotaryeclub7090.org