The Pace of Change

While I think change is necessary, I am not sure that I agree with the new logos being used for the SLP's.  It seems as though the Kiwanis connection is being pushed to the background and the SLP identificaiton is the most important thing being seen.  Yes, the SLP ID is very important but so is the Kiwanis connection.  It almost gives the appearance that the Family is being broken up, divorced if you want to use that word.  I understand the use of color to make the logos stand out but we need the Kiwanis connection with each of those logos to make that connection understood.

Luida:

Thanks for your feedback and your attention to the Kiwanis brand. Here's a little background on the Service Leadership Program branding, which might put the new look in perspective. Before we updated the logos, we conducted research among our membership as well as potential members. We asked people what would appeal to them and inspire them to join the Kiwanis family. (As you know, growth is essential if Kiwanis is to continue to serve children in need.) We discovered through our research that the new look appeals to the demographic of Service Leadership Program members, many of whom are high school and college age. We took care to ensure that the new SLP branding also retained Kiwanis branding by, for example, keeping the word "Kiwanis" at the top of printed pieces, using deep "Kiwanis" blue somewhere in the logo, and always using the same Kiwanis-branded fonts. Our hope is that the new look combines the best of both the Kiwanis and SLP brands. However, we do appreciate your perspective, and we'll take your view into consideration as we continue to refine and build the Kiwanis and SLP brands. Thanks again for your feedback.

Carolyn

I like the new SLP logos.  Our club sponsors an aKtion Club and the members are excited about getting their new t-shirts with the new red logo to wear to our Division's Service Leadership Appreciation Night.  It is easier and quicker to identify the SLP club with the word spelled out.  It's the same with the word Kiwanis first and spelled out.  People unfamiliar with Kiwanis don't need to search for the name.

All that you said about The Pace Of Change above, I have learned first hand in the last few weeks! Self employed for many years, Captain of Me, Myself and I, I shift quickly with the winds. Now as the next Captain of our club, suddenly I'm sitting on top of an aircraft carrier! Do you know what it takes to make one of those babies turn?!! I turned left and the rest of the club kept going straight ahead!! :) Fortunately for me, some of the longer term members reminded me that while they supported my ideas to change how the club operates, they preferred a slower pace.

Another lesson I learned. Pay attention to the politics of the club. Whoever said that there aren't any politics in a Service Club, unfortunately they may be a bit idealistic, especially if the change is dramatic and faster than a turkey on Thanksgiving day!!  :)

I will keep you posted as to how I get 30 people, or should I say "got" 30 people to adjust to focused spending (I'm talkin' Slash 'n Burn!), less meetings and forming partnerships with some of the organizations that we fund in our community of Oakville in Canada. I'm hoping that those three concepts will make our club grow beyond our wildest expectations!

Hans,

Your positive attitude and your belief in the success you are going to experience as a club is very encouraging.  Your desire to focus on strategic partnerships and to meet less (I assume so you can do more) is right on track.  Please let me know if there is anything you need from KI to support your efforts.  Local club leaders like you are the ones that are in a position to truly make a difference.

Rob

Reluctance to change is something that we will have to live with. Those who cannot stand change will move aside and be replaced. The main problem I see now is "information overload". While there is a of good stuff out there, after a while I think we need to ask, how much can we absorb. Clubs need to select Secretary's and Treasurers carefully, someone who has the time to peruse the information supplied by both Kiwanis International and District offices. There are times when I want to throw up my hands and yell "stop too much already".

As far as changes within the Club itself, before any change is made in the direction or procedures, isn't it a good idea to discuss those with the membership first. We had a problem with an incoming President who before his first meeting "directed" that there would be a change in Club Meetings. He had not discussed this with anyone prior to his direction. At the next Board of Directors Meeting he was asked to explain himself, rather than do that he resigned because as he stated "he did not have the support of the Club".  

Change is great and will help to attract younger members, which is critical to the ongoing growth and success of KI.  We continue to see shrinking membership at the local and district level so a more responsive and supportive international office is greatly appreciated.  Having said that, we have a hard time getting sufficient quantities of membership recruitment materials.  It seems items are always on back order and free quantities are not sufficient to support our recruitment efforts.  With the store site down we are back in the dark ages.  There is no reason for the delay in getting the technology back up and running using another vendor.  If I ran my business this way I would be out of business.  Adding Scott to head IT development efforts is the best move yet.  Give him more staff and let's get this club into the modern ages quickly.  

The club secretary position is unrealistic.  Change the setup of the officer structure to include a secretary and a recording secretary.  This will ensure that all reporting activities are kept up in a timely manner.  We are going to implement this in our club this year so we can start getting credit for the work that we are doing, but never seems to get reported up the chain.  Create some updated fact sheets (currently ineffective and outdated on the web-site) that we can use in recruitment and when presenting at other clubs and organizations.  Everyone seems to know Rotary and Lions but no one ever seems to have heard of Kiwanis.  We need quick information tools that we can share with our community that are accurate and up to date and that help us to highlight our success as an international organization, not just a local club.  By the way, the new business card size handout is great for use in parades and outreach events.  It fits nicely in a pocket so folks are more likely to hold onto it until they have time to read it later.

Revisit the motto "one can make a difference".  That is so old school thinking.  In reality we are a team of dedicated professionals so let's focus on the fact that "Together WE can make a difference".  I use this in our recruitment efforts rather than the concept of "one".  It helps people to know that they are part of a team rather than thinking that they alone will be responsible for the success of our club or a project that our club undertakes.  I think Peter Morrow's comments demonstrate what happens when a person thinks he or she holds the key to a club's success.  When the former president realized he was not leading but rather dictating, he realized that his style was not compatible with the needs and expectations of the membership and he quit.  His departure was likely the best thing for the health of the club given that he was not an effective communicator or team leader/player.  Changing our culture to be team focused and including team based training at our district and international conventions will be critical to the continued success of KI and our local clubs.  

Re the new logos - they look great and help to demonstrate that the family has grown and our children are now developing identities of their own.  I think the branding approach using similar colors and fonts is an effective way to identify these clubs with our broader family while allowing them to develop their own identities and personalities.  If we are concerned about keeping these folks in our family then we need more member involvement in the sponsored clubs.  We graduate thousands of Circle and Key Club members annually but only a small percent join their local Kiwanis club.  This is not a problem with branding but rather an indication of poor communication and retention efforts on behalf of the sponsoring club.  We need to do a better job inviting our youth members to join our clubs upon reaching the age of 18 and more importantly giving them opportunities within our clubs once they join (what club does not need someone to run their website or submit reports electronically or manage finances using an accounting software or maintain a database for membership drives and fundraising support - let the youth get involved in these activities given their comfort with technology).  We gave scholarships to five local teens this year.  I invited each to join upon turning 18.  In reality, they will be leaving for college in the fall so I included an invite to join their Circle K and reminded them to contact the Kiwanis Club in their new town in the event that a Circle K does not exist on their college campus.  Planting a seed that may germinate and benefit another club is perhaps the best that we can do when we know our youth are leaving for greener pastures in other communities.

Good luck with the ongoing changes.  We are looking forward to more progressive thinking and actions at KI.

Hi Eugene...I'd like to comment on the store opening. Barring any unforseen issues it will be going live some time this coming week (May 5-9). Building a new store from scratch (even outsourcing much of it) takes more time than we anticipated.

The growth materials will be available in the new store, but we are also focusing on a new club growth section in KiwanisOne that will address every stage of growth, from first identifying the areas in a club that need improvement before recruiting new members, to providing a solid new member orientation.

Scott Smith

Eugene:

Thanks for your comments.  Your suggestion to revisit the KI motto, "One Can Make A Difference" is something that has been suggested by others as well.  As a matter of fact, over the years, we have adopted and continued to used many mottos and taglines that have diluted the brand identity of the organization.  Our board recently asked the Marketing department to review and make a recommendation on how we move forward with our messaging to ensure that it aligns to the brand promise.  You can expect to hear more about it in the next couple of months.

We appreciate your feedback on the new logos and welcome and encourage such feedback as we continue work to ensure that we appeal to the audiences we are trying to reach.  

Carolyn

Greetings Eugene and Carolyn,

I think that you are missing the point of the statement "One Can Make a Difference" It is not about "you" or about "us" necessarily. It is more about the people that we can help and influence by the efforts of our teamwork and Kiwanis enthusiasm. Along the lines of "pay it forward" if we, as Kiwanians, can influence just "ONE" child to a more positive and productive future... then that "ONE CHILD" may indeed "MAKE A DIFFERENCE". Kiwanis International needs to stop changing course every 6 months and focus on getting the message out before it gets changed again and again. Here in Williamsburg Virginia, Kiwanis is a well known and respected service organization partnering with and leading all other service organizations. With consistancy and perserverence of the Kiwanis Brand it can and will be well known and respected worldwide! It is an attitude. "One CAN make a difference" Kiwanis.

Eugene, I really enjoyed reading what you had to say about recruiting Circle K members to Kiwanis.

As a member of Circle K, I agree that a marketing campaign is not going to make a difference in my decision to go on to Kiwanis (although I enjoy the new graphics). The personal impact that Kiwanians have made on me is going to be the deciding factor when I move on to Kiwanis. If Kiwanis wants to reach out to Key Club and Circle K members, then they have to connect on a personal level, on the club level. I use the same method when recruiting Key Club members to Circle K.

Further, it is almost financially unthinkable for a young adults to pay Kiwanis dues, although I realize many districts implement programs to elliminate dues for the first two years, and International does the same.

For Kiwanis to have the turnover rate of Circle K members, it needs not just ME to join, but also a group of my friends to join, so that I have a positive and relavent experience in Kiwanis. Although I will move on to pay Kiwanis dues, I cannot expect my young adult friends that have never had a Kiwanis family relation to join with me. Even getting Circle K members to join with me will be hard, unless they have had extensive relationships with home club Kiwanians, or have interacted on a district level.

Simply put... young people will not pay the average Kiwanis dues.

As KI continues to talk about "change" and the new Kiwanians, I would suggest that KI recognize the classification of a "Service" member.  These are individuals that are unable to make our regular luncheon meetings, but pay dues and work on service projects.   Please consider adding the "Service" classification along with "Regular" and "Senior".

Thanks for your consideration

Joyce - if there is a serious error in Kiwanians thinking, it's simply that when you are too old, feeble and generally not of any use any more, we throw you out with the dish water. I have been in two Clubs that had senior members, in most cases they want to remain within the Kiwanis organization - even if they can afford to pay the dues, they don't feel they are still a part of a group, whom they have helped over the years.

Kiwanis International needs, as you suggest, to have another designation for our senior members. The suggestion to grant them a "Life Membership", when in many cases these folks may only have a year or three (or maybe months) to live is ludicrous (and that suggestion has been made by someone in Member Services). Kiwanis gains the several hundred dollars, unless the Club also picks up the "Life Membership for the District) - the senior member is still saddled with an annual fee.

My two Clubs have simply picked up the yearly fees for our Senior members, that way they continue to be "Active Members". We then grant them "Senior" status and the Board of Directors approves their status and designates them as an "Indeterminate Leave of Absence". If they can make meetings we welcome them with open arms. We do not insist that they attend a specific number of meetings.

Many of our "Senior" members are in nursing homes or have moved to communities without Kiwanis Clubs, and are too far for them to commute.

Many District Secretaries may take exception to my comments, to which I say - "if you fixed the "senior Member" issue, we wouldn't have to skirt the rules".

It seemed to me the overwhelming idea from the Internat. Convention was that Kiwanis from the individuals to the clubs, division, district and Internat. must embrace the need to change or risk becoming irrelevant.

"If we pause for the passing moment, if we rest on our achievements, if we resist the pace of progress...Those who ook only to our past or the present are sure to miss the future"

-John F Kennedy