Why twenty?

Written By Joan Steelquist

Twenty is the magic number of new Rotary club members that we need to charter and become official. Once we are chartered, the entire world of Rotary community support and opportunities will be open to us. Why twenty?

The deep answers lie in Systems Science, and the social application of Living Systems Theory. It’s complex, literally.

Key points for our Rotary club

  • A Rotary club has many moving parts, working together. 20 members are needed to fill the necessary roles to be a real Rotary club. 

  • Rotarians are volunteers with busy lives. Many hands make light work.

  • We build in backup, so any of us can step away temporarily without the club bogging down.

  • We can expect that among our first 20 charter members, we’ll lose some for various reasons. Life does this to us. 

  • We’ve all be in groups that are run by a few over-functioning champions. When the champion burns out, everything bogs down again.

  • A club with vitality builds enthusiasm and resilience. It’s more fun. More fun lengthens the tenures of people we like to be around. 

Our club structure

  • Officers who form the executive committee of the board:

    • President (plus president-elect and immediate-past-president), Secretary, Treasurer.

  • Additional board members, each with a specific function:

    • Membership, Rotary International Foundation rep, Public Image, Club Service, Community Service, Youth Service, International Service, Fundraising. 

  • Committee chairs, some standing, others project-based.

  • Members, each of whom have various leadership, committee, and team roles within the club. 

  • At any moment, every Rotarian in the club has an active role and knows what that role is about.

The Big Picture

Rotary International is the global organization of Rotary, active in 200+ countries. RI is organized into: 

  • 34 Zones

  • 500+ Districts

  • 40,000-ish local Rotary clubs

  • 1.2+ million Rotarians.

  •  There are about 15,000 Interact clubs, with about 400,000 Interactors (for high school age youth)

  • There are about 10,000 Rotaract clubs, with about 200,000 members (for college and 20-something age young adults)

These numbers are a bit fuzzy. Evidence suggests even more local goings-on in Rotary than gets reported up to Rotary International. 

Joan Steelquist