E-103 · A 90-day try-out

A club plan for Mentoring Across Generations

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-103 · Mentoring Across Generations
Theme: Theme 2: Engagement & Belonging · Subtheme 6: Intergenerational & Life Stage Support
Source material: Current playbook index title and category plus an internally authored detailed-guide draft

Initiative-specific development wave

How this draft was developed

These sources support general principles for meaningful leadership participation, supported volunteering and privacy-minimal matching; they are not an endorsement of the named Mentoring Across Generations initiative or this locally designed reciprocal model.

Primary references consulted

Engage Emerging Leaders (Rotary International)
Used for: Clubs can listen to members' ideas and provide meaningful opportunities to contribute and lead.
National Standards for Volunteer Involvement (Volunteering Australia)
Used for: Volunteer involvement should be inclusive, supported and designed around clear roles and respectful participation.
Chapter 3: APP 3 Collection of Solicited Personal Information (Office of the Australian Information Commissioner)
Used for: Personal information collection should be limited to what is reasonably necessary for the stated purpose.

Candidate District material consulted

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

Club Playbook - Theme 2
Candidate record 56 Generations in Rotary Panel Night and record 11 Member Mentoring Circles provide related cross-generational story and small-group mentoring concepts. Neither is a literal current-title match or supplies reciprocal topic choice, no-age matching, separate consent, rematching, specialist-advice or data-closeout controls.

Theme 2 source-assurance wave

What has been checked

3 current primary pages used by this guide were reopened on 9 August 2026.
3 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

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.
National Standards for Volunteer Involvement
Supports: The 32 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: The club's local need, legal position, capability, cost, safety, accessibility, suitability, likely effectiveness, authority to act or approval of the initiative.
Chapter 3: APP 3 Collection of solicited personal information
Supports: Data-minimisation, collection-purpose, proportionality and consent safeguards where the Privacy Act and APP 3 apply.
Does not establish: Whether a particular Rotary club is an APP entity or whether a proposed renewal survey, diagnostic or member record is lawful in its actual circumstances.

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

The club must approve the charter, topics, coordinator access, matching, contact exchange, problem route, rematching and deletion process.
Members must opt in separately and may decline, change or finish a match without affecting standing or opportunity.
No participant represents a generation and the program must not provide counselling or specialist professional advice.
Matching information and any private discussion details must remain restricted and be deleted on schedule.

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: Use Mentoring Across Generations to keep participation realistic as members move through different work, family, health and life stages.

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 Mentoring Across Generations
Step	What we will do	Who could lead it	Our date	How we will know it is done
1	Agree the purpose, suitable topics, reciprocal principle, boundaries and issues that must move to a separate club or professional process.	Program lead and club board sponsor	Six weeks before launch	An approved mentoring charter
2	Invite members to name what they can share, what they want to explore and how they prefer to meet, without asking them to identify a generation.	Program coordinator	Four weeks before launch	Member-controlled topic and contact choices
3	Propose topic-based matches, disclose the reason for each match and obtain separate agreement from both members before exchanging contact details.	Program coordinator	Two weeks before launch	Mutually accepted pairs
4	Begin with a shared agreement, alternate who brings the question or practice task and keep discussion within the chosen topics.	Mentoring pairs	First two conversations	A genuinely reciprocal working rhythm
5	Check each person privately for safety, usefulness, access and fit, and offer adjustment, rematching or closure without requiring an explanation.	Program coordinator	At the midpoint	Supported continuation or safe change
6	Close the cycle, invite each member to record only learning they choose to share and delete matching notes and contact preferences on schedule.	Program coordinator and pairs	After four to six conversations	A respectful closeout and next-cycle decision

3. Checks before we start

Things our club needs to check
Question	What it means for us	Who will check	Done?
Check the idea with the people affected and confirm its purpose, owner and practical limits before putting it into use.
Protect member choice and privacy, make participation accessible, and do not infer belonging or satisfaction from attendance alone.
The program reinforces stereotypes about generations or Rotary tenure. — Match on member-nominated topics, make reciprocity explicit and prohibit generational representation or ranking.
A power imbalance makes one person feel assessed, managed or unable to leave. — Keep the program outside performance and selection processes, check consent separately and provide no-fault rematching and exit.
Conversations drift into specialist advice or private personal support. — Name excluded topics in the charter and provide appropriate separate referral and club processes.
Matching information or conversation details are retained or shared too widely. — Collect only what is needed, restrict coordinator access and delete matching records after the agreed closeout.
The club must approve the charter, topics, coordinator access, matching, contact exchange, problem route, rematching and deletion process.
Members must opt in separately and may decline, change or finish a match without affecting standing or opportunity.
No participant represents a generation and the program must not provide counselling or specialist professional advice.
Matching information and any private discussion details must remain restricted and be deleted on schedule.

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 Mentoring Across Generations. Look for members choosing workable forms of participation and staying connected without pressure to disclose private circumstances.
Pairs accepted for topic fit rather than age-based allocation.
Both members reporting that they gave and received something useful.
Midpoint changes, rematches or exits completed without pressure or disclosure.
Matching and contact records deleted after closeout and learning reported only with permission.

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.

Reciprocal Mentoring Charter and Choice Form

Set equal terms and capture member-controlled topics and meeting choices.

Open supporting document

Cross-Generational Mentoring Conversation Guide

Help pairs alternate questions, practice and reflection without age assumptions.

Open supporting document

Mentoring Cycle Review and Closeout

Review value safely and close records and contact arrangements.

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.

Conversation guide

Use this worksheet to hold a respectful conversation, hear different views and tell people what happens next.

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

Check-in log

Use this worksheet to hear what people experienced and decide what to change next.

Open worksheet

Review template

Use this worksheet to note where things stand and choose a few useful signs that will help the club decide what to do next.

Open worksheet