Starting a new Toastmasters club is a rewarding experience. For more information go to Toastmasters Headquarters, How To Start a New Club, and then contact our current District 26 Club Growth Director: KAngellcgd[at]d26leaders.org
You can help set up new clubs for success by serving as a Sponsor or Mentor for a new club. Contact our current Club Growth Director at KAngellcgd[at]d26leaders.org
Newly Forming Club Receives Support From District 26
- 2 Sponsors to help charter the club – appointed before the club charters. Sponsors are the club’s advisors who guide the club through the chartering process including help with the proper completion of chartering forms.
- Support for first 6 meetings:
- the initial kickoff meeting – we provide a demonstration team to help prospective members experience a typical club meeting
- the organizational meeting – we assist during this
meeting to help determine the name of the club, the time/day, and the frequency of future meetings, recruit club officers, and assist with member applications.
- 2 Mentors to help during the first 6 – 12 months – appointed after the club charters
- We provide a Club Banner – ordered after the club charters and appears on the Dashboard.
Tips for Starting a New Toastmasters Club
The following tips are adapted from a 2006 Toastmasters article posted by District 77 Toastmasters. If you have participated in the start of a new Toastmasters Club as a member of the Demonstration Meeting Team (Demo Team), or served as a New Club Sponsor or Mentor, most likely you have practiced some of the tips suggested.
1) Do Your Homework:
- Identify Your Target: Are you planning for a community, corporate, advanced or other club? You will need at least 20 paid members (20 new members or a mix of 18 new Toastmasters and no more than 2 dual/transfer members) before submitting the application to organize.
- Get a New Club Kit: Order a New Club Kit via the Toastmasters website OR download all forms and print them out from the New Club Submission Page.
- Get More Help: Inform District 26 Club Growth Director that you would like to start a new Toastmasters Club.
2) Make Your Game Plan:
- Build a Team: Identify key motivated people willing to serve as sponsors and mentors, as both of these roles are critical to a new club’s eventual success. For example, anyone who is working towards their Advanced Leader Silver has “Sponsor a New Club or Mentor One” on their list of things to do to get that award, so ask them to be on your team! In addition, a sponsor can charter a new club as a project, and then mentor the new club to make sure they get off on the right foot.
- Plan Your Demo Meeting: This is a specially-designed, abbreviated meeting that is presented before a group of prospective members, by one or more experienced Toastmasters. A Demo Meeting will include an overview of the organization, the benefits of membership, and how to start and operate a club (including information about fees).
- Develop and Implement a Promotion Strategy: If the club is going to be an open community club, get the word out – use flyers, newspaper ads, social media and phone calls to let the community know about the Demo Meeting. For closed clubs, email is effective as well as corporate newsletters.
3) At the Demo Meeting:
- Focus on What’s in it for Them: Don’t talk about features, talk about benefits! Features tell, but benefits sell. Emphasize why it is worthwhile to join Toastmasters. For example, the demo meeting speaker could tell a story about how Toastmasters gave them better communication and leadership skills that helped him/her in their career or in other areas of his/her life. Involve your demo team members, and get their testimonials about what Toastmasters has done for them. Keep it upbeat, positive, interactive and not too technical.
- Take a Social Break: Allow some time (if available) for socializing to get guests talking and interacting with one another.
- Plan the Next Steps: It’s a good idea to develop options for next steps in advance of the demo meeting. Make provisions for the full range of possible outcomes (i.e. from slight interest to enthusiastic, “when-can we-start” commitment). Once commitment is confirmed by the attendees, be ready to suggest a suitable course of action. If fewer than 20 people sign up at the demo meeting, then you need to decide together whether to keep holding weekly demo meetings and get the word out to get more members.
- Identify the Future Leaders: Gauge which of the attendees come across as likely leaders of the future club and enlist their involvement as soon as possible for positions of President, VP Education, VP Membership, etc.
- Get a Financial Commitment ASAP: Solidify the commitment of prospective members by having a “starting point” budget and collecting some level of dues at the first meeting.
- Respect their Time: Stay within the prescribed time limits of the meeting.
4) After The Demo Meeting
- Follow Up: Keep your new-found goodwill with the group intact by honoring your commitments.
- File the Paperwork ASAP: Make sure you have everything filled out properly, all the dues are in, that you have the correct number of members, and file that paperwork ASAP so the club can get their charter kit and the new club sponsors can get credit toward their Advanced Leader Silver.
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