Minimum Club Requirements - Your Club is required to do very little

Don't let your Club be a "minimum" Club!

Toastmasters International has some very simple Minimum Requirements for a Toastmasters Club.

By my reading the Club is only required to meet twelve times a year, have members who are working towards their Competent or Advanced Communicator Award, meet face-to-face (no video teleconferencing allowed), give oral manual speeches, give oral evaluations, and pay dues for a minimum of six members.

In other words, the "minimum" Club is not required to do many things that we associate with successful clubs - a "minimum" Club is NOT REQUIRED TO:

1) have their Club Officers trained

2) achieve ANY educational designation, or even achieve any of the Distinguished Club Program goals

3) send contestants to Area Contests

4) participate in any manner outside of their Club

5) do ANY of the many things that we associate with a "successful" Toastmasters Club

In return, Toastmasters International asks that the District visit the Club (in the form of an Area Governor) and submit a "Area Visit Report of club visit" two times a year. In this manner, Toastmasters International is assured that the Club exists and is visitable.

(The message that I tried to send to the Area and Division Governors during their training is that they CANNOT TELL the Clubs that they NEED TO DO ANYTHING - they can only suggest and recommend what and how the Club MIGHT do some things differently. To do otherwise, the District runs the risks of annoying the Club and its Members - we do not want to do this.)

Do NOT let your Club be a "minimum" Club - instead, look at the Mission of the Club and SERVE your Club Members by creating the mutually supportive positive learning environment within which your Club Members can reach their educational goals!


mjj

See below what I had downloaded from Toastmasters International regarding the "minimum" club:

Section VI C 2
Toastmasters International
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Origin Date: August 16, 1977
Last Updated: October 1, 2003
Audited: February 23, 2007

MINIMUM CLUB STANDARDS
The purpose of a Toastmasters club is to provide a positive environment in which members can participate in the Toastmasters educational program. Active participation is a necessity if members are to learn and if clubs are to fulfill their purpose. All clubs must meet the following minimum requirements for a Toastmasters club:

* meet at least 12 times per year
* regular meetings shall be conducted in person/face-to-face
* have members working toward Competent Communicator and/or Advanced Communicator awards
* have members give oral manual speeches
* have members give and receive oral evaluations
* give members the opportunity to develop and practice leadership skills and earn Competent Leader and Advanced Leader awards

Toastmasters International encourages all clubs to maintain a membership level of at least 20 members. However, in order to keep its charter in good standing, a Toastmasters club must maintain a minimum level of six members, at least three of whom were members of the club during the last renewal period.