Rotarians know that there is a significant, positive return on investment for the time and money they give to Rotary.  We believe in being transparent about your membership obligations, because we know that you, too, will come to find that the rewards are far greater than the costs.

Conduct

All members of the Rotary Club of Spruce Grove must
  • demonstrate good character, integrity, and leadership.
  • have a good reputation in their business, profession, and community.
  • agree to uphold the principles of Rotary International.
  • be willing to make a positive difference in their community and around the world.
  • commit to engaging in the activities of the club in ways explained below.
  • pay the admission fee, annual membership fee, and meet other applicable financial obligations described below.

Engagement

Each member of the Rotary Club of Spruce Grove should strive to be an active, engaged one.  We recognize that everyone has a different capacity to contribute and that your capacity may change as circumstances change in your personal and professional life.  Our club bylaws spell out the specifics of how we expect individual and corporate members to engage in the club's activities.  If you find yourself in circumstances that don't permit you to meet these obligations for a finite period (from a few weeks up to two years), you may make application to the club's board to have your engagement requirements excused.
 
We expect individual members to "engage" in Rotary 30 times every year.  A corporate member comprising multiple individuals is expected to have an aggregate number of engagements equal to 10 times the number of members participating under the corporate membership agreement.  For example, Acme Corporation is a corporate member who has the general manager and three additional employees identified under their membership agreement.  The club expects Acme Corporation to "engage" 40 times every year, but this could include any number of engagements from each of the four individuals from the company.
 
Here are ways you can and should engage in Rotary activities:
 
  • Attend our Weekly Meetings
    Every time you attend a regular weekly meeting of our club counts as an engagement.  Since July 2018, our club no longer specifies that a member must attend a minimum number of its weekly meetings every year.  There are many factors in members' lives that make attending a 90-minute meeting at noon on Thursday a difficult thing to do regularly.  With that in mind, we still encourage each member to attend as often as possible.  There is no better way to create and maintain relationships with your fellow Rotarians than by seeing them regularly to share a meal, socialize, plan our good works, and be inspired or challenged by our guest speakers.  If you can't come to a meeting in person on a particular week, as of 2019 we are in the process of establishing ways for you to join and participate electronically.
     
  • Perform a Duty at our Meetings
    It takes the work of many individuals to make our meetings run smoothly every week.  Working as a greeter at the door, volunteering to lead O' Canada, delivering the invocation before the meal, acting as Sergeant-at-Arms, and helping set up or take down the meeting all count as engagements.  This engagement is in addition to the one you earn for attending the meeting!  Maybe you can't attend often, but if you help out with the meeting while you're there, you can earn two-for-one credit.
     
  • Volunteer for Service Projects
    Our club has a variety of hand-on service projects that require volunteer time.  Every volunteer shift you put in counts as an engagement.  Learn more about our service projects here (TODO: link) and talk to the Service Project Director about how you can get involved.  Opportunities to volunteer are presented at club meetings, emailed out, and can be found on the club's online calendar. (TODO: link)
     
  • Participate in Club Fundraisers
    Sometimes we don't directly deliver the services that are doing good in our community.  We provide funding to trusted partners who are delivering services, and we raise those funds through a variety of activities like raffles, casinos, corporate support, and grants.  Working on any club fundraiser counts as an engagement.
     
  • Attend Club Social Events
    It couldn't be easier!  Having fun with your fellow Rotarians builds relationships and strengthens our capacity to serve the world.  For attendance at a club social event to be counted as an engagement, the event must be open to all members and advertised to all members well in advance.
     
  • Serve on a Club Committee
    Our club organizes its service and fellowship activities through a number of committees (TODO: link).  Join one of these committees, and each meeting the committee has counts as an engagement.
     
  • Visit Another Club
    One of the benefits of membership in Rotary is the privilege of attending the meeting of any other Rotary Club or Rotaract Club in the world!  When you travel, or just for fun in the local area, attend another club's meeting to earn an engagement.  You can find a list of clubs and where they meet using the Club Finder on Rotary International's website or the Rotary Club Locator mobile app.  When you attend another club's meeting, you need to email a record of your attendance including the name of the club and the date to our club secretary.
     
  • Attend a District Conference, International Convention, Training Event, Rotarian Action Group Event, or Rotary Fellowship Event
    Attendance at any meeting, seminar, or event organized by Rotary entities besides our own club counts as an engagement.  Please email our club secretary record of your engagement.  For multi-day events, each day's attendance counts as a separate engagement.
     
  • Promote the Club on Social Media
    Earn engagements while you're scrolling through your social media feeds!  When more people learn about what Rotary does, our potential to do good work grows.  Each time you post a message, photo, or video to the club's website or social media pages, share messages, photos, and videos posted by the club, or include the club's website address (www.sprucegroverotary.org), handles, or approved hashtags in promotional messages you post to your own social media pages, you earn an engagement.  Note that simply marking a post as "liked" or a "favorite" doesn't count as an engagement.
     
  • Participate in Another Rotary Club's Activities
    If you vacation or work away from Spruce Grove for long periods of time, participating in the service projects, social events, fundraisers, and meetings of another Rotary Club counts as an engagement just like it would if you were participating in our club's activities.  Please email our club secretary record of your engagement.

The 85 Factor

Members whose aggregate years of age and years of membership in one or more Rotary clubs totals 85 or more may apply to the club's board for a permanent engagement exemption.  We appreciate the value of long service and the desire for senior members to adjust their lifestyles while still contributing to Rotary in ways that give them fulfillment.  Note that the 85 Factor does not relieve a member of any financial obligations, including annual membership dues, which must still be paid to maintain membership in Rotary.

Financial

There are costs associated with running our club, our district, and Rotary International.  Each member is expected to pay:
  • An admission fee of $75 to cover on-boarding expenses.
  • Annual dues of $360, billed in July every year.  If you join Rotary part-way through the year, your dues for the first year are pro-rated for the number of months remaining in the Rotary year, which runs from July 1 to June 30.  Club members may make arrangements to pay their dues in installments throughout the year.  To do so, please e-mail our club treasurer.  A large portion of these dues goes to Rotary International for worldwide administration and to our Rotary District for administration and a blanket liability insurance policy that covers Rotarians in everything they do on behalf of the club.  There is also an option to pay dues monthly with a $1.50/month service charge and a commitment to pay the dues for the balance of the Rotary year should you terminate your membership early.
  • Weekly meeting "fees" that are variable and optional.  These fees are voluntary, and if you can't afford them, you need not participate.  The funds raised by these fees help offset the expenses of operating the club, as we do not use money fundraised from the community for our operations.  At every regular meeting:
    • we have a 50/50 raffle with tickets costing $1 each. 
    • the Sergeant-at-Arms levies fines against members in a lighthearted way, to a maximum of $3 per member per week.
    • you may share a "Happy Buck" accompanies by a donation.  This could be a personal achievement, good news, or promotion of your business or profession.  When it comes to promotion, this shouldn't be an infomercial or a sales pitch.  It would be appropriate to use a "Happy Buck" to tell us when you landed a new client or your business won an award.
If you attend every regular meeting throughout the year as a member, your budget to belong to the club could reasonably be:
  • $360 for dues
  • $150 for fines (maximum - 50 meetings x $3)
  • $50 for 50/50 raffle tickets (50 meetings x $1 for a single ticket)
  • $50 for Happy Bucks (50 meetings x $1)
  • Total: $610
  • Note: we meet at a restaurant, and members pay the restaurant directly for the meals they choose to order.  You are free to not order anything if that's your preference.  Meal costs are not included in the costs described above.

Voluntary Contributions to the Rotary Foundation

The Rotary Foundation is a charity registered in Canada and hundreds of other countries worldwide that supports the good work of Rotary Clubs through grants, programs, scholarships, and the eradication of polio.  Members are encouraged to consider the Rotary Foundation as their charity of choice and make donations as their desires and circumstances permit.  Not only is your donation to The Rotary Foundation tax-deductible, but you actually get to direct how the money is spent as you help our club engage in the Foundation's programs.  Your contribution to The Rotary Foundation is completely voluntary, and we respect your decision to contribute or not.