E-125 · A 90-day try-out

A club plan for Rotary Achievement Badges

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-125 · Rotary Achievement Badges
Theme
Theme 2: Engagement & Belonging · Subtheme 7: Recognition & Celebrations
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 participation, supported volunteering and privacy-minimal information collection; they are not an endorsement of the named Rotary Achievement Badges initiative or authority for any badge, criterion, credential or role decision.

Primary references consulted

Candidate District material consulted

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

  • Club Playbook - Theme 2
    Candidate record 76 Rotary Rings of Honour Symbolic Tokens provides the related badge, pin or token concept. It is not a literal current-title match and does not supply local-status, no-credential, evidence, access, brand, platform, no-ranking, no-role-use, retirement or deletion 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

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 Rotary Achievement Badges to make recognition timely, genuine and fair across visible and behind-the-scenes contributions.

2. Our 90-day try-out

What our club will do for Rotary Achievement Badges
StepWhat we will doWho could lead itOur dateHow we will know it is done
1Define a small set of experiences, local-status wording, evidence, alternatives and no-credential and no-role-use boundaries.Badge lead and club board sponsorTen weeks before launchAn approved local badge charter
2Review badge designs and any platform for brand authority, accessibility, privacy, tracking, deletion, cost, safety and supplier terms.Brand, access, privacy and procurement contactsEight weeks before launchSuitable physical and digital options
3Test each badge with members for clarity, unintended hierarchy, access barriers and the risk it will be mistaken for skill or role certification.Member reference groupSix weeks before launchPlain and non-hierarchical badge descriptions
4Invite optional participation, verify the defined experience and let the member choose badge, alternative thanks, display, publication or no record.Badge coordinatorAt each experienceMember-controlled acknowledgement
5Issue the badge with the local, non-credential status and expiry or version information clear and publish nothing without permission.Badge coordinatorAfter verificationAccurate optional badge issue
6Review access, recipient patterns, platform data, role influence and badge meaning and retire or redesign badges that create harm or confusion.Club board sponsorAnnuallyA fair program and closed records

3. Checks before we start

Things our club needs to check
QuestionWhat it means for usWho will checkDone?
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.
A badge is mistaken for a qualification or delegated authority. — Use plain local-status and no-credential wording and prohibit safety, professional and role-readiness claims.
Badges create competition, levels or exclusion from opportunity. — Prohibit leaderboards and role requirements, use alternatives and review patterns and decisions.
Brand marks or symbols imply official Rotary approval. — Complete current brand and rights review and avoid designs that resemble official awards or credentials.
A digital platform exposes or retains member activity. — Minimise data, disable public profiles and tracking where possible and provide deletion and offline alternatives.
The club must approve the local-status, criteria, evidence, alternative, brand, access, platform, no-ranking, no-role-use and deletion controls.
Badges must not certify competence, safety, safeguarding, professional skill, delegated authority or readiness for a club role.
No member can be required to earn, receive, display or publish a badge to access roles, opportunities, recognition or belonging.
Physical and digital designs require brand and rights authority and platform data must be minimised and deletable.

4. What changed?

What we will keep an eye on
What mattersWhere we are nowWhat we hope to seeHow we will checkWho
After 90 days, review Rotary Achievement Badges. Look for a wider range of contributions being recognised, with consent, and for recipients reporting that the recognition felt appropriate.
Members understanding local non-credential status and choosing badge or alternative freely.
No badge required for roles, opportunities, standing or recognition.
Physical and digital options meeting access, privacy, brand and cost controls.
Confusing, unequal or low-value badges revised or retired and records deleted on request.

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.

01

Achievement Badge Charter and Catalogue

Define local badges without credentials, levels or role requirements.

Open supporting document
02

Badge Design, Access and Platform Review

Check brand, privacy, accessibility, cost and technology before issue.

Open supporting document
03

Member Badge Choice and Issue Record

Verify the experience and keep badge and publication under member control.

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.

Who can say yes?

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

Are people protected?

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

Can everyone take part?

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

Are the facts and permissions right?

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

How will we learn?

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

Worksheets for your club

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

01

Criteria rubric

Use this worksheet to recognise people's contributions fairly and ask before sharing their story.

Open worksheet
02

Safety and approval check

Use this worksheet to notice problems early, make the idea safer and know who needs to say yes or help.

Open worksheet