E-004 · A 90-day try-out

A club plan for New Member First Project Pathway

Use this as a starting point. Cross out what does not fit, add what is missing and make it your club's own.

Where this idea came from

Playbook entry: E-004 · New Member First Project Pathway
Theme: Theme 2: Engagement & Belonging · Subtheme 1: Onboarding & First 90 Days
Source material: Current playbook index title and category plus an internally authored detailed-guide draft

Initiative-specific development wave

How this draft was developed

The cited sources support general principles for engaging new members and planning, implementing and evaluating projects; they do not constitute Rotary International endorsement of the locally named New Member First Project Pathway initiative or its detailed design.

Primary references consulted

Project Lifecycle Resources (Rotary International)
Used for: A comprehensive project plan helps manage resources, anticipate problems and evaluate success.; Rotary's project lifecycle includes planning, implementation, communication, evaluation and learning, grounded in community needs.
Engaging Younger Professionals: Engage Emerging Leaders (Rotary International)
Used for: New members should be invited to participate in service projects and other club experiences so their interests can be understood.; Clubs should check in and offer support as new members take on projects or responsibilities.

Candidate District material consulted

These records remain draft evidence and still need a human source decision.

Club Playbook - Theme 2
A first project pathway beginning within the member's first 30 days,Support from a project lead or buddy,A bounded contribution followed by reflection

Theme 2 source-assurance wave

What has been checked

2 current primary pages used by this guide were reopened on 9 August 2026.
4 attributed source claim(s) were mapped to their bounded use in this initiative.
Candidate District material remains separate and does not establish this result.

See each source's scope and limit

Project Lifecycle Resources
Supports: The 3 attributed Theme 2 claims attached to this source, limited to the implementation elements and supporting documents named in each initiative-level claim mapping.
Does not establish: That the initiative is endorsed by Rotary International or District 9510, that it is permitted by the club's governing documents, that members want it, that it suits the local club, or that it will achieve the intended outcome.
Engage Emerging Leaders
Supports: Member-centred discovery, mentoring, feedback, emerging-leader support and club-health review principles during renewal.
Does not establish: That a person is ready for office, should be selected, has consented to a role or that a proposed renewal pathway will work locally.

What still needs a person to confirm

Confirm the member, prospective-member, past-member and community needs, preferences and consent that the local design assumes.
Confirm which privacy, safeguarding, incorporated-association, charity, work health and safety, food, liquor, copyright, licensing, screening and other duties apply to the club and the activity.
Test accessibility, cultural safety, belonging, language and alternative participation routes with affected people and recognise First Nations cultural authority rather than inferring suitability from the guide.
Confirm every local fact, starting point, cost, role, current service contact, measure, stopping condition and platform capability before the club decides to proceed.
Confirm the authority and current scope of each primary source, resolve login-gated or moved-page references and keep any candidate District material attributed and unapproved until its source decision is made.

The source-verification release gate remains closed.

Checks still on hold

Confirm local project authorisation, community consultation and partner agreement before listing any first role.
Complete applicable work health and safety, safeguarding, child-safety, insurance, transport, venue and incident requirements.
Confirm expenditure, fundraising, procurement, data, photography, media and brand permissions for each role.
Check that role matching does not expose sensitive information or discriminate on an irrelevant basis.
Name the officer who may stop a role or project when safety, capacity or community value is not adequate.

Still an internal draft: source interpretation, local suitability, accessibility, governance and editorial approval remain open checks.

1. Is this worth trying here?

What we hope will change: Each new member joins a suitable project early and has a clear support contact.

What is happening in our club or community now?What is the smallest useful version we could try? What will we leave out?

Board contactPerson leading the workPerson checking what happened

2. Our 90-day try-out

What our club will do for New Member First Project Pathway
Step	What we will do	Who could lead it	Our date	How we will know it is done
1	Ask project leads to nominate genuinely useful roles that can be completed in one shift or within 30 days, each with a backup person and no hidden ongoing duty.	Service projects lead	Before the next induction	Draft first-project role menu
2	Screen each project and role for community purpose, authorisation, safety, accessibility, realistic workload and the lead's capacity to support a newcomer.	Project governance contact	Before a role is offered	Approved role cards and any role-specific holds
3	Show the new member at least three suitable role cards, discuss their preferences and record a voluntary choice, a request for another option or a decision to wait.	Onboarding coordinator	Days 14-30	Member-chosen role or no-role decision
4	Give a task-level briefing covering why the work matters, what good completion looks like, who makes decisions, practical arrangements and how to stop or seek help.	Project lead	Before the member begins	Completed role briefing and confirmed support contact
5	Check in at the first meaningful milestone, resolve barriers and reduce, switch or stop the role if the work is not safe, useful or workable.	Project buddy	During the first shift or halfway through the role	Midpoint check and any agreed adjustment
6	Close the role with thanks, confirm the output, capture one lesson and let the member choose another contribution, a pause or a different pathway.	Project lead and onboarding coordinator	Within seven days of completion and no later than day 90	Role close-out note and member-chosen next step

3. Checks before we start

Things our club needs to check
Question	What it means for us	Who will check	Done?
Check the selected approach against the club's actual needs, capacity and responsibilities before putting it into use.
Protect member choice and privacy, make participation accessible, and do not infer belonging or satisfaction from attendance alone.
The pathway becomes a way to offload undesirable or overdue tasks onto new members. — Offer several screened choices, disclose the real workload and prohibit roles with hidden recurring duties.
A token task keeps the member busy but contributes no clear value to the project or community. — Require every role card to name its project output and community purpose, and close the role by confirming what changed.
The member begins work without the local safety, safeguarding, insurance or partner arrangements the role requires. — Use a role-specific governance screen and do not offer the role until the responsible local officer clears every applicable hold.
Early enthusiasm turns into scope creep, burnout or pressure to keep volunteering. — Set a finish point, conduct a midpoint check and require a fresh voluntary decision before any further role.
Confirm local project authorisation, community consultation and partner agreement before listing any first role.
Complete applicable work health and safety, safeguarding, child-safety, insurance, transport, venue and incident requirements.
Confirm expenditure, fundraising, procurement, data, photography, media and brand permissions for each role.
Check that role matching does not expose sensitive information or discriminate on an irrelevant basis.

4. What changed?

What we will keep an eye on
What matters	Where we are now	What we hope to see	How we will check	Who
After 90 days, review New Member First Project Pathway. Look for agreed early steps being completed, at least one useful club connection and every promised follow-up being delivered.
New members offered at least three screened first-role choices by day 30, including the option to wait.
Chosen roles beginning with a completed briefing and named support contact.
First roles completed, deliberately adjusted or safely stopped within the agreed scope and timeframe.
Member and project lead ratings of usefulness, workload accuracy, support and interest in a next contribution.

After 30 days

Is it reaching the right people? Is anything unsafe, unfair or harder than expected?

After 60 days

Make one useful change based on what people have told you.

After 90 days

Compare with where you started. Decide whether to change it, continue it or stop.

Made for this initiative

Tailored supporting documents

These working documents use the decisions, safeguards and evidence needs of this initiative. Complete them with the people affected and keep the agreed version with the club's project record.

First Project Menu

A dated list of currently available and screened project roles that a new member can compare.

Open supporting document

First Role Brief

A task-level agreement that gives the member enough information and support to begin safely.

Open supporting document

First Project Close-out Note

A brief record of completion, learning and the member's voluntary next choice.

Open supporting document

Before your club says yes

Does the idea fit?

Talk with the people it is meant to serve and check that the need is real.

We have checked this

Who can say yes?

Name the person or group that can approve the work, spending and any safety arrangements.

We have checked this

Are people protected?

Check privacy, consent and safety. Collect only the information you genuinely need.

We have checked this

Can everyone take part?

Check the language, format, place, technology and cost for barriers.

We have checked this

Are the facts and permissions right?

Check names, claims, images, quotations, partner references and Rotary branding.

We have checked this

How will we learn?

Note where things stand now, check in at 30, 60 and 90 days, and decide what to do next.

We have checked this

Worksheets for your club

Open them online, print them or change them to suit the way your club works.

Project plan

Use this worksheet to turn the idea into a short list of actions, dates, costs and responsibilities.

Open worksheet

People and opportunities matching sheet

Use this worksheet to help people choose roles or opportunities that suit them without asking for more personal information than the club needs.

Open worksheet

Are we ready to try this?

Use this worksheet to decide whether a small first try is realistic and what the club must settle before it starts.

Open worksheet