The club coaching program is designed to support clubs with 12 or fewer members to rebuild their membership strength and restore the rich member experience.

Clubs that lose members can fall into a state where they are unable to put on a quality meeting which compounds the issue because guests who attend for whatever reason do not come back because the product they see does not appeal to them.

Coaches are assigned to work with the club officers and members over a period of two years to facilitate the development of a rebuilding plan and provide guidance in the implementation of the plan.

The following are useful resources to support the club coach program

Video Library	Documents and other references
Rena Weikle – Moments of Truth	Coaching a Club Overview
Patricia Cunningham – Coaching Strategies	How to rebuild a Toastmasters Club
Richard Mattis – Club Coaching Information Session

Club and membership building is a never-ending cycle in Toastmasters. New members join and old members leave for various reasons.

Throughout the year, Toastmasters International offers various membership- building programs. Three of these are for club participation:

• Smedley Award (August 1 to September 30)
• Talk Up, Toastmasters! (February 1 to March 31)
• Beat the Clock! (May 1 to June 30)

It’s simple—add five new, dual or reinstated members to your roster within the contest dates above to win.

The District support all clubs to achieve this excellence by providing them with the resources and materials required to attract new members and retain existing.

The following are resources available for membership building and retention.

Video Library	Documents and other resources
Mona Cooley – Using Mentoring to build a strong club	Club and Membership Building Tips and Ideas
Marg Faryna – Hosting an Open House	Members Interest Survey
Lorraine Wheatley – Using Meetup for attracting guests	Toastmasters Feature, Benefits and Value
Marc Haine – Marketing Best Practices	WHQ – Guest Package Content
International Leaders – Club Marketing Masterclass	WHQ – From prospect to guest to member
Roman Smolak – The CLIC Model for recruiting new members	WHQ – From prospect to guest to member

Toastmasters clubs provide a proven educational program in a supportive, self-paced environment that improves communication and leadership skills. These soft skills are in high demand and the opportunity to start a club (aka sponsor a club) exists in the corporate world and in our communities.

A sponsor typically provides one or more of the following:

• Meeting location
• Charter fee
• New member fee
• Membership dues
• Logistical support to complete the paperwork and have the club fully chartered.

The District provides sponsors with the training and resources to help with enabling this club growth process.

What is in it for you?

When you get involved in starting a new club, you are building a Toastmaster legacy for yourself. One other benefit of this is that your successful completion of this assignment is a credit towards earning the Distinguished Toastmasters (DTM) educational award.

How do you get started?

Use the new club checklist as a guide for developing and implementing a plan for starting a new club.

Step One

To be involved in starting a new Club, contact Richard Mattis – Club Growth Director for more detailed information. Opportunities are almost always available.

Step Two

If you have a particular company or organization in mind where you think a club can be started, fill out a New Club Lead Sheet. This will involve researching the organization and providing a contact name. Send the lead sheet to the Club Growth Director.

Step Three

The Club Growth Director will follow up on the lead and will contact you. If you wish to be involved in informational or demo meetings, please discuss it with the Club Growth Director. These meetings will be arranged by the Club Growth Director.

Step Four

The District’s Club Extension Chair will set up a demonstration meeting that will illustrate how a Toastmasters meeting works. Members of the Club Demo Team will lead the meeting and maybe assisted by the potential club sponsors and mentors. The organization itself may also provide participants.

Step Five

The District will identify the club sponsors and mentors as early as possible. The sponsor(s) will work with the club contacts to support the chartering and initial start-up. The mentor(s) will work with the club for 12 months to ensure the club has a strong foundation and to guide the club through the various aspects of the program.  The mentor(s) will see that the club’s officers are trained.

For more information about club sponsorship, please contact the Club Growth Director – Richard Mattis

Here are useful resources available for reference and download.

Video Library	Documents and other references
	How to sponsor a new club
	New Club Checklist

The success of a club and its members depend on how well club officers execute their responsibilities. By providing leadership training and support, club officers can foster a positive environment that’s conducive to members’ personal and professional growth, allowing them to achieve their Toastmasters education program goals.

There are two rounds of training sessions conducted in the program year, between June 1 and August 31 and between November 1 and February 28, with facilitators from the educational development team delivering a quality training experience.

A minimum of four club officers, preferably all seven, are required to attend each round of training which earns the club a credit in the DCP.

The following are reference materials available for download.

Video Library	Documents and other resources
Prospective sponsor – mentor – coach	WHQ – New Club Mentoring Manual
	TI Resources for Club Officers
	D99 resource page for Club Officers
	Club Quality Checklist

Club Growth Recognition Program

Each year our members, clubs, and district strive for excellence. We work to achieve the service quality goals we identify in our Club, Area, Division, and District Success plans. In addition, District 99 offers incentives, including recognition awards for the individual and club performance to be presented at the area and divisional contests and the annual conference.

Contact and for more info on Club Growth incentives and recognition programs.

Incentive and Recognition	Description
New Club Charter	District leadership presents a new banner at the charter party celebration
Smedley Award	Receive a Smedley award ribbon and 10% off next club order for adding 5 new, dual or reinstated members between August 1 and September 30
Talk-up, Toastmasters! Award	Receive an award ribbon and 10% off next club order for adding 5 new, dual or reinstated members between February 1 and March 31
Beat the Clock Award	Receive an award ribbon and 10% off next club order for adding 5 new, dual or reinstated members between May 1 and June 30

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