Rotary and Toastmasters Team Up
Excitement and Strength
Providing members with more opportunities for personal and professional growth is at the core of the newly formed Rotary/Toastmasters strategic alliance. There is much excitement to leverage unique and similar strengths and meet the evolving needs of current and prospective members. Get behind the efforts to establish fellowship and connections, and potentially strengthen your clubs and diversify membership!
FAQ – Toastmasters & Rotary
Rotary International is a global network of volunteer leaders and problem-solvers dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges, including those involving literacy, peace, water, and health (such as eradicating polio worldwide). For more than 110 years, Rotary’s “people of action” have used their passion, energy, and intellect to act on sustainable projects that better our world and our communities. Like Toastmasters, everything in Rotary revolves around the club. Currently, there are more than 1.2 million members from more than 35,000 Rotary clubs in almost every country in the world.
Toastmasters and Rotary want to offer the best membership experience possible. There is much excitement about leveraging unique and similar strengths. A collaboration between our organizations can provide Toastmasters the opportunity to apply public-speaking and communication skills, make new connections, and possibly give back to your communities through a vast array of service projects.
In turn, Rotary members will have more opportunities for personal and professional growth to improve their leadership and communication skills.
From a member point of view, Toastmasters will have the opportunity to take their leadership skills and apply them outside of the club environment to make more of a community impact. As an organization, Toastmasters will be opened to potential new markets and members.
The goal of this collaboration is to leverage our organizations’ strengths. There are multiple opportunities to support this; you can:
- Welcoming a Rotarian to visit a Toastmasters club
- Inviting a Rotarian to be a guest speaker at a Toastmasters club
- Considering opportunities to hold a joint Toastmasters/Rotary club meeting
- Learning more about Rotary and visiting a local Rotary club.
Yes, Toastmasters will use its educational expertise to create co-branded structured leadership development courses for Rotary members, available on their website. This structured program will be based on current Pathways content, relying on self-assessment, independent study, applied projects, peer-to-peer feedback, and reflection. You may also have a Rotarian visit your club for an evaluation. The first two courses, Develop a Speech and Deliver a Speech, launched May 2020 for Rotary members.
No, not as a Toastmaster. You would have to be a member of Rotary to enroll. However, the content is based on Pathways, which is already available to Toastmasters members and is much more in-depth; the leadership development and communication courses would be more of a sample of the Pathways content. These courses will be optional for Rotary members.
Yes, you can absolutely be a member of both organizations. There are even some Toastmasters clubs that exist within Rotary clubs.
No, there are no discounts for dual membership currently.
Just like Toastmasters, Rotary International has communicated with its leaders that our two organizations are working together. However, there is the possibility that you may try to connect with a Rotary club that has not yet heard about the alliance. If that happens, you can share what you know (perhaps even sending them this FAQ), or direct them to www.toastmasters.org/Rotary for more information.
It’s important to note that much like Toastmasters clubs, Rotary clubs are autonomous, and determine their own activities/priorities that reflect their members’ interests and community’s needs. If a club doesn’t have the capacity or interest to collaborate at this time, there may be another one nearby with a better fit.
While the courses will be rolled out in English by the end of 2020 (in other languages in 2021), the strategic alliance will be an ongoing collaboration.
Toastmasters can check out www.toastmasters.org/Rotary, www.rotary.org/Toastmasters, or email rotaryalliance@toastmasters.org for any questions not answered here.
If an individual Toastmasters member chooses to participate in a Rotary event, it is their personal choice. However, it is against Toastmasters policy to co-sponsor fundraising events and therefore clubs and Districts cannot use their name in connection with non-educational events. Please keep this in mind if a Rotary club extends an invitation for fundraising.
“Rotary – Power In Our Connections”
Share this Rotary video with your club members.
Expand your Toastmasters/Rotary knowledge with ancillary materials. Check back often for updates.
Use Rotary Course Flash Sheet — Curious about the educational content being developed for Rotary by Toastmasters as part of the alliance? You’re not alone! Use this Toastmasters/Rotary Educational Course Flash Sheet to be more prepared with information for yourself, other Toastmasters members, and for Rotary members who might visit your club. It will help you quickly and easily familiarize yourself with the new Rotary curriculum. Remember, these courses are not available to Toastmasters members because the content is taken directly from the more comprehensive Pathways program, already available exclusively to Toastmasters.
New Rotary Alliance Presentation — Share more information with members about the Rotary Alliance by delivering the Rotary Alliance Presentation. This can be conducted in your club or as an elective during a training program. Be sure to check the notes on each slide for details.
Rotary Course Update — Two more Toastmasters-developed courses for Rotary and Rotaractors members are now available! The Inspirational Speech and Interpersonal Communication and Networking courses are live on Rotary International’s Learning Center that can be accessed by their members.