Welcoming you as a visitor

Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland (RIBI) has over 55,000 members and we are always keen to welcome new Rotarians. You will have been invited to come along to one of our meetings by a friend or colleague who already enjoys the social and community aspects of an organisation that has quietly gone about improving the quality of life of less fortunate people in their locale and worldwide for over 100 years.

Joining a local Rotary Club

Membership of Rotary International is by invitation only. A prospective new club member will attend five meetings as a guest before their sponsor submits an application form to the club. Those five meetings will include one business meeting (held monthly) and one social event. After the form is submitted the guest will not attend meetings while the members discuss the application.

Once your application has been approved, your inauguration will take place at a usual club meeting. Each club has a number of committees that carry out its business and every Rotarian sits on a committee. Medway Rotary has five committees and new Rotarians would usually join the committee upon which their sponsor sits:

  • Club Service
  • Community, Vocational and Youth Opportunities
  • Fundraising
  • International and Foundation
  • PR, Marketing and Communications

Commitments

Becoming a Rotarian is purely voluntary, but there are minimum expectations.

  • Time:
    • Weekly club meetings (minimum 50% attendance annually*)
    • Committee meetings (once a month as determined by the chair)
    • Participation in all other club, District and RIBI events is voluntary
  • Financial:
    • Annual subscriptions paid to the club (currently £133 for Medway)
    • Weekly meal (currently £13)
    • Weekly charity box circulation (voluntary contributions)

*Rotarians may count visits to other clubs (i.e. when on holiday or away on business) or other recognised Rotary events towards this attendance quota