R-022 · A 90-day try-out

A club plan for Member Storytelling Dinner

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: R-022 · Member Storytelling Dinner
Theme: Theme 3: Retention & Member Support · Subtheme 2: Long-Term Fellowship
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 long-term fellowship, accessibility, privacy, safety and responsible governance; they are not an endorsement of the named Member Storytelling Dinner, a finding that it suits any club or approval of its local design.

Primary references consulted

Club experience - the key to member satisfaction (Rotary International - Rotary 360)
Used for: Rotary's member survey connected satisfaction and retention with service, friendship, meeting enjoyment, confidence in leadership and an inclusive club experience.
Rotary Fellowships (Rotary International)
Used for: Rotary Fellowships connect people through shared interests, relationships and activities across clubs and communities.
Rotary Clubs (Rotary International)
Used for: Rotary clubs combine service, friendship, diversity, integrity and leadership, and may support online participation for people affected by schedules, mobility or distance.
Hosting accessible and inclusive in-person meetings and events (Australian Human Rights Commission)
Used for: Inclusive events require accessible invitations, venues, transport, formats, technology, activities, adjustments and a clear contact for participant requirements.

Candidate District material

No candidate local guide was used for this version. The current initiative identity and the attributed primary references remain separate.

Theme 3 source-assurance wave

What has been checked

4 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

Club experience - the key to member satisfaction
Supports: Evidence-informed prompts for discussing member satisfaction, expectations, service, friendship, leadership confidence, conflict and club experience.
Does not establish: Current District 9510 results, a diagnosis of a particular club, causation, an individual member's reasons or that the 2022 survey findings remain unchanged.
Rotary Fellowships
Supports: The existence of Rotary Fellowships as an optional connection route that may enrich a person's Rotary experience.
Does not establish: Membership availability, safety, accessibility, cost, suitability, endorsement by the club or that fellowship participation will improve retention.
Rotary Clubs
Supports: Rotary participation context and the value of service, connection, integrity, leadership and accessible participation in the member experience.
Does not establish: Why a person joined, stayed or left, what support they want, whether a club meets their needs or approval of a named initiative.
Hosting accessible and inclusive in-person meetings and events
Supports: Practical accessibility and inclusion safeguards for in-person member support, meetings, conversations and events.
Does not establish: Accessibility conformance, the adjustments a person needs or the suitability of a particular venue, format, activity or event plan.

What still needs a person to confirm

Confirm person-led consent, privacy, scope and referral boundaries before the club collects personal information or offers support.
Confirm which incorporated-association, charity, work health and safety, privacy, safeguarding and other duties apply to the club and this local design.
Test accessibility, belonging and participation with affected members rather than inferring suitability from the guide.
Confirm every local fact, starting point, measure, owner, current service contact and stopping condition before the club decides to proceed.
Resolve any candidate District-source provenance and approval decision without treating the candidate as controlled authority.

The source-verification release gate remains closed.

Checks still on hold

The Theme 3 index establishes this current code and title. The placeholder-heavy Theme 3 candidate files remain quarantined and have not been used as delivery evidence for this draft.
No newly added or publicly writable Drive material has been used in this record. Existing Drive candidates remain attributed, unapproved and held from controlled-source status until integrity, ownership, crosswalk and human approval are resolved.
Before local delivery, the club must approve the decision, participant choices, access arrangements, privacy and records plan, role boundaries, referral or escalation routes, resource limit and the specific control for this boundary: no guest is required to disclose or be photographed to participate.
Formal human review has not started. Member Storytelling Dinner remains an internal initiative-specific draft until the full corpus reaches the Full-Corpus Review Build and every source, editorial, local-suitability, accessibility and governance gate is resolved.

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 Member Storytelling Dinner to sustain fellowship over time without relying on attendance at one style of meeting.

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 Member Storytelling Dinner
Step	What we will do	Who could lead it	Our date	How we will know it is done
1	Write a decision brief for Member Storytelling Dinner: define which stories and table formats help people know one another better, the evidence already held, people affected, local authority, fixed constraints, success signals and stop conditions.	Fellowship coordinator and access contact	Week one	An approved decision and boundary brief
2	Co-design timing, cost, access, transport, dietary and participation options with a varied member group, and invite without ranking tenure or requiring personal disclosure.	Fellowship coordinator and access contact with the access and privacy contacts	Weeks one and two	A participant, access and information-handling plan
3	Build and test a dinner where optional stories are paired with facilitated cross-table conversation; use the Storytelling Dinner Run Sheet, rehearse the boundary wording, check materials and confirm who can decide, refer, pause or close the activity.	Hosts and safety lead	Before the trial	A tested storytelling dinner run sheet and delivery pack
4	Host the fellowship experience with active welcome, mixed and optional participation, a quiet or early-exit option, safe transport planning and no recruitment or fundraising ambush. Capture only the evidence needed to judge whether the trial achieved its stated aim: use food and storytelling to create new connections rather than a speaker-audience divide.	Hosts and safety lead	Weeks three to eight	A controlled activity and evidence record
5	Analyse the evidence against the starting point, validate meaning with the people involved, record exceptions and unintended effects, and prepare a dinner run sheet and consented story set without overstating what the trial proves.	Hosts and safety lead and an independent reviewer	Within seven days of the trial	A dinner run sheet and consented story set
6	Make and record the authorised continue, adapt, refer, scale or stop decision for Member Storytelling Dinner; explain the reasons, complete every action or referral, close unnecessary records and schedule the 90-day follow-up.	Member-experience lead	By day 90	A published response, closed action register and next-step 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.
Use only the personal information needed. Agree who will handle routine care and who should be contacted if a serious concern arises.
Confirm venue, accessibility, safety, incident, cancellation and follow-up arrangements for the actual audience and setting.
The club proceeds with Member Storytelling Dinner without respecting this boundary: no guest is required to disclose or be photographed to participate. — Name the boundary in the brief and participant information, give the delivery lead stop authority and move any excluded matter to its responsible process.
The activity strengthens an existing inner circle rather than wider belonging. — Use varied hosts, intentional welcome, mixed optional activities and a participation-gap review.
Cost, travel, alcohol, food, noise or timing excludes people. — Offer transparent low-cost, alcohol-free, dietary, transport, quiet and alternative-time options.
Personal stories, photos or contact details are shared without permission. — Use explicit choices for storytelling, photography, introductions and follow-up contact, with a withdrawal route.
The Theme 3 index establishes this current code and title. The placeholder-heavy Theme 3 candidate files remain quarantined and have not been used as delivery evidence for this draft.
No newly added or publicly writable Drive material has been used in this record. Existing Drive candidates remain attributed, unapproved and held from controlled-source status until integrity, ownership, crosswalk and human approval are resolved.
Before local delivery, the club must approve the decision, participant choices, access arrangements, privacy and records plan, role boundaries, referral or escalation routes, resource limit and the specific control for this boundary: no guest is required to disclose or be photographed to participate.

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 Member Storytelling Dinner. Look for regular, voluntary contact across the club and early follow-up when someone becomes unexpectedly disconnected.
Member Storytelling Dinner produces a dinner run sheet and consented story set by the promised decision date, with evidence limitations and any participation gaps stated.
The participant mix crosses existing friendship groups, tenure and attendance patterns, with gaps recorded.
Access, dietary, transport, cost and communication requests are resolved or honestly explained before the activity.
Follow-up shows whether new connections continued without creating obligation, unwanted contact or a closed social circle.

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.

Member Storytelling Dinner Fellowship Design Brief

Define the relationship outcome and avoid designing only for regular attendees.

Open supporting document

Member Storytelling Dinner Accessible Invitation and RSVP

Give people a clear, welcoming and adjustment-ready invitation.

Open supporting document

Member Storytelling Dinner Host and Welcome Plan

Allocate active welcome without forced networking.

Open supporting document

Member Storytelling Dinner Run Sheet

Coordinate the experience while keeping fellowship spacious and optional.

Open supporting document

Member Storytelling Dinner Safety, Access and Transport Check

Resolve practical risks before participation.

Open supporting document

Member Storytelling Dinner Consent and Contact Preference Card

Record only the permissions needed for the activity and follow-up.

Open supporting document

Member Storytelling Dinner Connection Follow-Up and Evaluation

Check whether the experience helped without pressuring people to return.

Open supporting document

Storytelling Dinner Run Sheet

Balance story, conversation, access and meal timing

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.

Event brief

Use this worksheet to plan who the session is for, when it will happen, how people can take part and what happens afterwards.

Open worksheet

Registration and follow-up log

Use this worksheet to map each step and keep only the information the club genuinely needs.

Open worksheet

Feedback form

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

Open worksheet