Board roles and responsibilities

1. President

As president you lead your club, engage and inspire members, and promote Rotary in your community.

Responsibilities:

• Set goals for each committee. Encourage communication between club and district committees. Review activities, goals, and expenditures, and participate in decisions
• Supervise the preparation of a club budget and proper accounting practices, including an annual financial review
• Make sure your secretary and treasurer have an account on My Rotary to update membership and club data regularly
• Collaborate with the district governor and assistant governor on club and district matters
• Communicate important information from the governor and Rotary International to
• club members
• Prepare for the district governor’s required visit
• Follow Rotary’s youth protection policies and the Statement of Conduct for Working With Youth, and implement the requirements for the Youth Exchange program
• Plan and lead monthly board meetings
• Plan and lead interesting and relevant club meetings, and organise fun social events
• Ensure that comprehensive training is conducted for club members, as needed
• Involve members in carrying out your club’s goals, outlined in Rotary Club Central
• Track your club’s goals in Rotary Club Central
• Encourage members to attend district meetings, and promote the Rotary Convention
• Attend the district conference
• Submit an annual report to your club on the club’s status before leaving office
• Work with your successor before leaving office
• Arrange for a joint meeting of the incoming board of directors with the outgoing board

Adapted for Rotary International's Your Job as Club President 

Resources

Your Job as Club President

Learning Centre 

Go to the Rotary International Learning centre login using your My Rotary username and password (be patient as the site is a bit slow to load) and search for the following course:

• Club president basics (there are 11 courses in this group)

2. Treasurer

As club treasurer you play an important role in your club’s ability to carry out service projects, fundraise, and support The Rotary Foundation. As club treasurer you keep your club healthy through good financial management.

Responsibilities

• Attend the district training assembly and the District Conference
• Maintain accurate club financial records
• Collect dues and use them to pay fees
• Keep historical financial records in accordance with local document retention laws
• Manage club and project funds, including paying bills and other expenses and distributing grant and scholarship funds
• Work with The Rotary Foundation to make contributions and manage grants
• Make sure that the club follows its budget
• Develop a budget for next year
• Give monthly reports to your club’s board
• Provide regular financial updates during club and board meetings
• Plan next year’s budget and get it approved by the last quarter of the Rotary year
• Hand all records over to the incoming treasurer and help him or her transition into the role
• Write and present a detailed Annual Report at the end of the Rotary year
• Have your club’s financial activity reviewed at the end of the year by a qualified accountant who is not affiliated with your club 
• File your Club’s taxes, if required to do so by local or national tax code

Learn more about the role from Ian McKensey, Past District Treasurer

Please note: This recording was made previously and we are reusing it as it is still relevant.

Resources

Link to resources in My Rotary

Job Description Treasurer

Club treasurer manual

Foundation bank transfer instructions

Learning Centre

Go to the Rotary International Learning centre login using your My Rotary username and password (be patient the site is a bit slow to load) and search for the following courses:

• Get Ready: Club Treasurer
• Managing Club Finances: Club Treasurer

3. Secretary

As club secretary you help your club run smoothly and effectively. You also monitor club trends to help identify strengths and areas for improvement, and share this information with club and district leaders.

Responsibilities

• Attend the district training assembly and the district conference
• Meet with the outgoing secretary and receive club records
• Meet with the incoming club officers or board of directors to plan your year
• Create a My Rotary account on Rotary.org, if you don’t have one
• Update your club’s records and member list on My Rotary, or through your club management system
• Make sure the club treasurer has the club invoices, due in January and July
• Serve on the club board and club administration committee
• Take minutes at club and board meetings and club assemblies
• Update club and officer information for the Official Directory and Rotary’s records 
• Manage club correspondence, including responding to emails and sending official notices and invitations
• Keep promotional items, name badges, and other materials used at meetings and events
• Submit monthly attendance reports to your governor; if your club doesn’t track attendance, let your governor know
• Preserve your club’s historical records
• Write an annual report for the club at the end of the Rotary year
• Assist the club president, treasurer, and committees as needed
• Meet with your successor and hand over club records

Learn more about the role from Janice Hall, past District Secretary

Please note: This recording was made previously and we are reusing it as it is still relevant. The current District Secretary is Rae-Anne Medforth.

Resources

Link to resources in My Rotary

Job description:  Club secretary

Learning Centre

You need to first log into the Learning Centre using your My Rotary username and password. Then search for the following courses:

• Get Ready: Club Secretary
• Club Administration: Club Secretary

4. Club committees

Rotary clubs have different committee structures, however, in your constitution it lists that you should have the following committees:

• Club Administration
• Membership
• Public Image
• Rotary Foundation; and
• Service Projects

A club committee chair:

• Oversees committee functions
• Convenes regular committee meetings and activities
• Supervises and coordinates the committee’s work
• Reports activities to club board

Resources

Club committee structure

My Rotary resources on club committees

4.1. Club administration

As chair of the club administration committee, you:

• help the club secretary with meeting logistics and attendance
• help the club treasurer collect membership dues
• organise interesting and fun club meetings and social events
• produce club communications, including your club's newsletter

Possible sub committees

• club program
• member communications
• website
• social events

Resources

Job description

Administration committee chair manual

Learning centre 

Club administration: Committee basics

4.2. Membership

As the club membership committee chair, you create and follow an action plan to attract and engage members:

• Attend your district membership seminar.
• Use membership assessment tools to evaluate your club.
• Assemble a motivated and active committee of 5 to 15 members.
• Manage online membership leads on My Rotary.
• Offer new member orientation.
• Emphasise the importance of attracting and engaging members as part of your club's strategic plan.
• Use the diversity and classification assessments to analyse how well your club represents your community (including age, gender and ethnicity).
• Track your progress toward club membership goals in Rotary Club Central.
• Work with the club board if you sponsor new clubs in the community.

Possible subcommittees

• Attraction
• Engagement
• New member orientation
• Diversity

Resources

Job description 

Learning centre 

Club membership: Committee Basics

4.3. Public image

Your role as club public image committee chair is to create and implement a plan to tell Rotary’s story to the public, and to promote the club’s projects and activities:

• Attend your district public image seminar.
• Develop a public image plan, then set and achieve public image goals.
• Promote club activities and projects among club members, local media outlets and members of your community.
• Use the resources in the Brand Centre to enhance Rotary’s public image.
• Make sure club communications follow Rotary’s guidelines for voice and visual identity.
• Use the People of Action campaign materials to increase public understanding of Rotary and drive engagement in your community.
• Enhance projects and activities to make them more appealing to the media.

Possible subcommittees

• media relations
• advertising and marketing
• web and social media

Resources

Learning centre

4.4. Service projects

Your role as club service projects chair is to help your club identify and meet real needs in your community and around the world by developing and implementing service projects.

• Plan, implement, and evaluate projects.
• Identify opportunities for signature projects that will increase your club’s impact on the community.
• Work with other organisations, volunteers and committee members to maximise the impact of your projects.
• Lead efforts to fundraise for projects.
• Understand liability issues that could affect your club’s projects.
• Work with the public image committee to promote projects. 
• Collaborate with other clubs on projects.
• Highlight club projects in Rotary Showcase.

Possible subcommittees 

• International
• Community
• Vocational
• New generations and youth
• Fundraising (for club projects)

Resources

Job description

Service projects committee manual

Learning centre

Get ready: Club service projects

4.5. Foundation

The Rotary Foundation

The mission of The Rotary Foundation is to enable Rotary members to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty. The Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation supported solely by voluntary contributions from Rotary members and friends of the Foundation who share its vision of a better world. This support is essential to make possible projects, funded with Foundation grants, that bring sustainable improvement to communities in need.

Rotary Foundation committee

The role of the Rotary Foundation Committee is to support the activities of the Rotary Foundation by:

• ensuring the Club contributes to the Rotary Foundation and communicates to members can participate in Foundation programs
• Ensure at least one club members attends the Grant Management Seminar each year (you must do this to qualify for a Foundation Grant-either District or Global). See link to the course under Learning Centre Courses.
• ensure members who contribute to the Foundation are recognised at Club meetings
• access videos and images from the Rotary website to demonstrate the Foundation's work.

Resources

Rotary Foundation Reference Guide

Guide to Global Grants

Online Grant Management Seminar FAQ

Club qualification memorandum of understanding

Learning centre

Club Rotary Foundation Committee Basics

Grant management seminar