CLUB GROWTH CORNER
This page holds a number of resources that are useful to create Toastmasters clubs.
If you would like to contribute/share materials on this subject please send them for publication to cgd[a]district107.org.
Creating new clubs creates great new opportunities for leadership in our District
The more clubs there are, the more Club Officers, Area Directors and Division Directors there will be. We get to have new friends and grow and improve, in number and quality!
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Improving the quality of the sessions results in a growth in number of clubs
which in turn also helps quality improve! It's a virtuous cycle!
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Clubs go through three stages: LEADS, PROSPECTIVE and CHARTERED. Let's see them one by one.
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CLUB LEADS
This is the very beginning, when someone has an idea to create a club - or you convince them to do so! If you know of such a case, get that person in contact with the Area Director or Division Director closest to the club. Area Directors and Division Directors know what to do ​(visit the menu above Leadership Team to find them):
- They will help the club by sharing their knowledge and experience;
- They will help prepare the new club​, such as finding a venue, prepare a demo session / open house and get new members;
- They will help find a club sponsor, someone who helps filling and sending to Toastmasters International the right forms at the right time;
And finally, when this preparation is over there comes the time to launch the club, into a new stage that we call Prospective.
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PROSPECTIVE CLUBS
To become a prospective club, the creators of the club only need to do two things:
1. Fill the following form and send it to newclubs[at]toastmasters.org. (If the link is broken search online for "Application to Organize Toastmasters"). The PDF is editable making it easier to fill and send.
2. Pay a one time fee of $125 to create the club. This fee is usually paid by the founder of the club and can be later be charged to the new members to recover that money.
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When a club becomes Prospective, club life can start right away. Clubs can organize sessions, participate in Toastmasters life at area and division level and - very importantly - find new members to join. They can also get club officer training and attend the Fall Summit and the Spring Conference!
Clubs can be prospective for up to a year, after which they can either get at least advance to the next stage ("Chartered").
CHARTERED CLUBS
When clubs reach 20 members (of which no more than three members can be already members of another club) they can become charter, i.e., fully official clubs.
At this point there are two main things to do:
1. Fill out all the following forms and send them to newclubs[at]toastmasters.org. The PDFs are editable making them easier to fill and send.
2. Pay the member fees. See section "Charter Payments" below for more information on this topic.
Use the form above to check if you filled all the forms.
Form 2 - In the form above you will calculate the individual expenses and add them all up to calculate the total amount.
Here are the expenses as of October 2023:
a) $20 per new member
b) $60 per new member, i.e. one full semester corresponding to the current semester
c) Clubs may also wish to pay at this time the membership dues of the semester. The cost of the next semester corresponds to the number of months that the club has been active until the beginning of the next semester. For example, members of a club chartering in March can pay $10m which corresponds to the month of March divided by the full semester. If a club chartered in January then the club will be in existence for three months until the next semester, which is half of $60, i.e. $30.
Club President and Club Secretary need to sign the document, along with the person responsible for the credit card.
Form 3 - You have a choice of filling out one Charter Membership Application for each member, getting them to sign it themselves. In this case you don’t need to fill the dues and fee section and also the Payment Information as this is a Charter and all the necessary information will be filled in Form 2 – Charter Payments.pdf.
Alternatively, you may use the Members List Excel File to gather the information about all members in a single file.​
Form 4 – Fill this document with information about the seven people who will have the officers roles during one year or half year mandate.
Form 5 – Additional information regarding the club to be included in Toastmasters International records. Needs to be signed by a club officer, preferentially the President.
​Form 6a – The club needs to fill the header in page 1.
Form 6b - Fill this form with all the options you chosen for the club.
All documents should be then sent to newclubs[at]toastmasters.org, ideally copying the Club Growth Director, Area Director and Division Director.
