Calculating Attendance

My Dear Club Secretaries,

By now, you should have received your club’s semi-annual report (SAR) packet from Rotary International (RI) and paid (i.e. with a smile!) your club’s dues and fees to RI. Your club’s subscription to Philippine Rotary should have likewise been paid. If not, please do so as soon as possible to avoid being terminated. Your club’s contribution to the District Fund may also be paid as early as now or when District Governor Jude Doctora visits your club. The dues and fees are as follows:

• RI per Capita Dues for RY 2014-15: US$ 27.00/member/semester
• Council of Legislation Fee: US$ 1.00/member
• Philippine Rotary Subscription: Php 270.00/member/semester
• District Fund Contribution: Php 400.00/member

As mentioned by IPDG Mark Ortiz in his email last June 2014, I would like to reiterate that RI will be implementing changes to make the dues process simpler. Beginning January 1, 2015, clubs will receive a one-page invoice that clearly states the amount owed for subscriptions, membership dues, and outstanding balances. This easy-to-understand invoice will replace the complicated SAR. Club officers will no longer need to recalculate bills, make adjustments, or fill out the eight-part SAR. Dues amounts on the semi-annual one-page invoice will be calculated based on the membership numbers filed by you as club secretary—through Rotary.org, email or mail—by January 1 and July 1 of each year.
As club secretaries, you are likewise asked to register new and terminated members within 30 days and report incoming club officers by February 1 each year. The sooner you report a new member, the sooner this Rotarian will receive a welcome kit from Rotary and be eligible for all the privileges of membership. This will definitely make a positive impact on your new member and will signify a good start for a long and lasting relationship with Rotary.

One of your main responsibilities as club secretary is taking and calculating the meeting attendance, and reporting the calculation monthly to the district governor. The formula in calculating meeting attendance is as follows:

A: # of Active Members Present
B: Total # of Active Members in Club

If your club has members who are excused under Article 9, Section 3b (i.e. A member’s absence shall be excused if the aggregate of the member’s years of age and years of membership in one or more clubs is 85 years or more and the member has notified the club secretary in writing of the member’s desire to be excused from attendance and the board has approved) and Section 4 (i.e. A member’s absence shall be excused if the member is a current officer of RI or a Rotarian partner of a current officer of RI) of the Standard Rotary Club Constitution or because of a district officer position, count them as present if they attend a club meeting (i.e. The member and the member’s attendance shall be included in the membership and attendance figures used to compute the club’s attendance), but do not count them as absent if they do not attend (i.e. The member and the member’s absence shall not be included in the attendance records).

For example, your club has a total of 30 members including 2 members who are excused. During a club meeting, 22 members attend while the 2 excused members are absent. The value for A shall be 22, while the value for B shall be 28 (i.e. 30 – 2) for a 79% attendance rate. The following week, 22 members plus the 2 excused members attend the club meeting. The value for A shall be 24, while the value for B shall be 30 for an 80% attendance rate.

The average of the attendance rates for the month is the percentage that you shall use in the Monthly Attendance Report (MAR). For example, your club had 4 meetings for the month of July with attendance rates of 79%, 80%, 89% and 96%. The average attendance rate is therefore 86%.

The MAR should be submitted via SMS/text (Globe: 0916.7838248; Sun: 0925.8743853), email (elaine_rotary3850@yahoo.com) or fax (034.4337460) on or before the 15th of the following month (e.g. For July, the MAR is due on or before August 15) and should include the following data:

• Club Name
• Total Club Membership
• Report Month
• Number of Meetings
• Name of Club Secretary
• Average Attendance Rate for the Month

For submission via SMS/text, please follow this format:
Club Name (space) Total Club Membership (space) Report Month (space) Number of Meetings (space) Name of Club Secretary (space) Average Attendance Rate for the Month

Example:
RC Bacolod East 30 July 4 Remi Suatengco 86%

Lastly, as in everything we do, please keep in mind the 4-Way Test when doing your club’s MAR.

Sincerely,

DS Jun-Jun Arceo

District Secretary's Corner Archives

• July 2014
• Oct-Dec 2013
• September 2013
• August 2013
• July 2013
• 2012-2013
• 2011-2012