Greater Mankato Rotary has set a number of goals for 2021-2022 and while we are making progress on some mid-way through the Rotary year, we could be doing better in others. Our goals are concentrated in three areas: Membership & Engagement; Rotary Foundation Giving; and Public Image.

In the Membership & Engagement category, our club set a goal to increase the number of members to 50. While we have had a large number of new members join our club, due to attrition, we are currently at 46 members. About 15 people attend our traditional Wednesday meetings, five to six attending Thursday morning meetings, and a handful more regularly attending Eco Club meetings. That said, we have six members who have not attended a meeting this year at all. While it is great that we have new members, we also need to retain the members we have by engaging them to make Rotary a meaningful experience for all. One way is our service participation goal. Our club made the goal of 20 members participating in club service activities and we have already exceeded that with 25 members participating in events such as Eco Club clean-ups, hosting a Mankato Marathon water stop, and serving lunch at the Salvation Army. Service is a great way to keep members engaged and feeling fulfilled. We also had the goal of eight Rotarians sponsoring new members. While we have had eight members join us this year, only four Rotarians sponsored them (according to their applications). A sponsor is someone who agrees to vouch for and mentor the new member and any Rotarian in good standing can do this. Our club set goals to be active with the District too and, with one of our own as District Governor, we set ambitious goals. Our club would like four members to also be members of at least one Rotary Action Group. Groups like the Rotary Climate Action Team and Diversity Equity and Inclusion Team are examples of these groups. Right now we have one known member who is also a member of an Action Team on Human Trafficking. We also set a goal to have two members participate in leadership development programs or activities. We have exceeded this goal at five participants.

In the Rotary Foundation Giving category, we had two goals. The first was Rotarians will raise $6000 for the Rotary Foundation. While in years past we have given about $5000 on average as a club and individuals, this year we have only contributed $725. We have a ways to go to reach our goal, but if we focus, it is achievable. Our PolioPlus Fund contribution goal of raising $1000 for this fund was more than doubled, however. Club members have given $2095 so far.

Our public image goals are in the categories of social activities and social media. The first goal is our club will hold four social activities outside of regular meetings. We have had one so far, a picnic at Rapidan park in the fall. As the pandemic gets under control again and the weather gets nicer, we look forward to hosting some additional events to allow our fellow Rotarians to get to know one another. Our other goal was to update the club’s website or social media four times a month. While we might now be consistent, we have been doing a better job of putting things not only on our Facebook site but also regularly updating our Website.