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Happy New Year Optimist!
My Fellow Optimists,
For the past 29 years, I have been involved with Optimist International. It’s been a wonderful adventure and I can truly say it has made me a better person and a better leader. I love this organization! I love what it does for children, I love what it does for our communities, and I love what it has done for us as human beings. I see the results of our work and sacrifice every day – in my local community, other Optimist communities around the globe and in my fellow Optimist members I’m privileged to work alongside. I know many of you would agree that we belong to the greatest organization ever created with a mission second to none.
As I look forward to all that 2023 has to offer, I can’t help but reflect on our organization and recognize the decline in Members we have experienced. In the last 10 years, we’ve lost over 26,000 Members. The ripple effect on our organization, our communities, and the children we serve is undeniable. Now, magnify that by decades of decline and we must acknowledge we are just a fraction of the organization we once were, which also means our collective impact is also just a fraction of what it could be.
It's clear to me that as a community of Optimists, our organization is at a crossroads, and we must choose carefully and act wisely to continue our mission.
The first hurdle for us to overcome is active communication with our members. The most efficient and cost-effective communication tool we have is email, however, we are missing active and/or correct email addresses for nearly 40%of our members. For those Members we have email addresses for, only approximately 50% of our members open the emails sent to them from Optimist International (OI). The irony is, one of the most common complaints we hear from Members is they don’t receive any communication from OI. We want to improve our communications, but it can’t be achieved in a vacuum. We need the help of every Club and Member to improve these statistics. Club Presidents and Secretaries, it starts with you! *See below for directions for Club Presidents and Secretaries to check your Club roster and make updates.
Although there are several reasons that have led us to our current situation, I believe there are two factors that have the potential to significantly impact our future:
1. The average age of our current Membership is now closer to 70 years old. As our current Members get older, our numbers will continue to decline.
2. The number of Members required to continue to have a viable organization. If we continue at the current rate of decline, we will see a rapid descent in continued viability locally, regionally, and nationally.
But who really cares?
I do. And I think you do too.
Do we really care about bringing out the best in children if we are willing to let our Membership dwindle and die? Who loses the most when we see Clubs fold or fail to include new people in our mission? It’s not our members. It’s not even Optimist International, although it will be sad when we no longer exist. It’s the children of our communities we are abandoning, they are the ones that lose when we give up - when we decide it’s too much, it’s not “my job” or when we fail to share our mission, our Clubs, and our purpose with others.
There is absolutely no doubt that young people need us more today than ever, probably more so than at any other time in our 100+ year history. Young people are in crisis, and we have the programs, the opportunities, and the potential to help.
There are tremendous benefits to being an Optimist as outlined in our Membership benefit card, (link) and YES, there are millions of potential Members out there. In North America alone there are 86 million Baby Boomers (ages 58 to 76) and 70 million Gen Xers (ages 43 to 58). That’s over 150 million people in Canada and the U.S (United States). who either are or are about to become empty nesters –our perfect audience for potential members.
And yet, most of us seem reluctant to even invite someone to a Club event. Unless someone asks a guest to a project, a program or even a meeting, how will anyone even know about the great work we do? People want to make a difference; they want to be included and they want to be asked. We say we’re the “best kept secret” and we will remain a secret unless we ask people to be part of what we’re doing.
I was once told by a friend that if I believed we could grow this organization organically (without merging with another organization), then I was either extremely arrogant or very naive. Well, I guess I’m naïve because I truly believe that if we communicate with each of you, our members, and give you the necessary information, you will respond. Our decline is not pre-destined. It is within our collective capacity to change, but we must be willing to do the necessary work - together.
This year, we have introduced initiatives to help each and every Club.
- Just Invite a guest to the program you are most passionate about or have the most fun at. Your guest will be motivated to join an organization that inspires you and makes an impact on children.
- Partners in Optimism for small struggling Clubs that need help in rebuilding their Club. Sign-up ends March 30th.
- Partners in Education – reaching out to your local elementary school to partner with them to be the Club supporting a safe, comfortable, and productive learning environment, giving your Club focus and purpose.
Our potential is limitless, and this decline in membership isn’t insurmountable. If each Member just invites one person, that will completely change our trajectory.
As we enter 2023, I have one question for you: Do you care enough to do something about it? Will you work with me and our fellow Optimists to make sure there are Optimists to continue to serve the children today, tomorrow, and for decades to come?
“Optimism is a strategy for making a better future. Because unless you believe that the future can be better, you are unlikely to step up and take responsibility for make it so.” – Noam Chomsky
I believe optimism – our brand of optimism in particular – is key for the future. Not just for us as an organization but for the people we serve, our children and our communities. We can, and must, create our future right now!
In Optimism…
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