Recent Rotaract Policy Updates

The 2019 Council on Legislation amended the constitutional documents of Rotary International to include Rotaract clubs as a membership type. After this landmark decision in April, RI president Mark Maloney appointed the Elevate Rotaract Task Force, composed of Rotaractors and Rotarians, to recommend updates to policies to better reflect Rotaract’s newly elevated status. At every stage of the Task Force’s discussions, the critical goals were to learn what Rotaractors want from their membership and to give them every opportunity to shape these important policy decisions through surveys and focus groups.

Key decisions about Rotaract from the October 2019 Board meeting:

In October 2019, the Board of Directors of Rotary International made several changes to the policies related to Rotaract, which were recommended by the Elevate Rotaract Task Force.

To learn more:

Review policy changes related to Rotaract in detail, which take effect 1 July 2020.

Review the updated Standard Rotaract Club Constitution, which takes effect 1 July 2020.

Review the updated Recommended Rotaract Club Bylaws, which takes effect 1 July 2020.

Below are the notable changes to Rotaract and frequently asked questions to help clarify the impact of these changes.

Changes to the Code of Policies — effective 1 July 2020:

Rotaract clubs will be able to establish a new club with or without a sponsor.

Rotaract clubs will able to choose other Rotaract clubs as their sponsors.

Rotaract clubs will be open to all young adults at least 18 years old.

Rotaract policies will be moved from Chapter V, “Programs,” to a revised Chapter II, “Clubs.”

The Standard Rotaract Club Constitution and the Recommended Rotaract Club Bylaws will be amended to reflect these policy changes.

Rotary districts are encouraged to include Rotaractors in every district committee.

Other key decisions:

Rotaractors will pay per capita dues in the future, but the amount of dues and when we’ll begin collecting them have not been determined.

The RI president, the RI Board of Directors, and The Rotary Foundation Trustees should consider how Rotaractors might advise them on Rotaract matters.

Rotary International has set goals for Rotaract to:

Increase the number of Rotaractors reported to Rotary by 100 percent by 2022

Increase the number of reported Rotaractors who join Rotary clubs by 20 percent by 2022

Increase the number of reported Rotaractors to 1 million by 2029