Shriners parading their updates
Wearing a bucket-shaped fez and being referred to as “Grand Potentate” doesn’t exactly speak to younger crowds, so Shriners International decided it was time to bring some sexy back.
Naturally, they called Justin Timberlake.
“You have to definitely step things up in order to make an impact,” said Alicia Argiz-Lyons, spokeswoman for Shriners International Headquarters, which co-hosted a fundraiser headlined by the pop star and featuring performances by the Jonas Brothers, Rihanna and 50 Cent.
The October event was arguably the Shriners’ flashiest appeal to hipsters in its 136-year history, but other groups, such as the locally based Lions Clubs International and Rotary International, also are facing declining membership and trying new approaches.
Officials for the groups say the changes are critical to staying strong for another generation.
“In the ‘60s or ‘70s, we could just put up a sign, ‘We’re forming a Lions Club,’ and people would come,” said Peter Lynch, executive director of Lions Clubs International in Oak Brook, Ill. “It doesn’t work like that anymore.”
Decades ago, business leaders went out of their way to join service clubs such as Kiwanis, Lions and Rotary, which were founded as networking groups and quickly expanded to do charity work in local communities and then the world. Fraternal organizations such as Shriners and Elks also easily drew in members using similar charitable goals.
But since the late 1990s, social scientists have noted that Americans are less connected, and that rings true for these groups.
Lions International membership dropped from 1.45 million in 1995 to 1.29 million last year, Lynch said. Shriners’ 2007 membership was 393,896, compared with 937,712 three decades ago. Kiwanis membership has dropped by 20,000 since the early 1990s. Rotary membership in the U.S. went from its peak of 445,434 in 1996 to 375,914 last year, officials said.
The Lions and Rotarians aren’t going as far as booking Hollywood stars, but they’re trying to update their images.
Lions board members from all parts of the world recently met for an emotional, three-hour debate about changing the familiar logo seen on city welcome signs, business awards and Little League baseball caps. With a cleaner font and updated colors, the new logo was sent to all Lions clubs worldwide along with a PowerPoint presentation on how to talk about the group with impact.
And travelers on United Airlines flights may have noticed cartoons about Rotary International’s good deeds mixed in with the in-flight TV reruns. The public service announcements, part of an overall re-branding campaign called “Gears in Motion,” were designed to give the Evanston, Ill-based organization a more forward-moving image than the stagnant wheel logo, said spokeswoman Kathy Kessenich.
In addition to a Timberlake golf outing, Shriners are reaching out to fraternities on college campuses with advertising designed for them.
The organizations have been offering more creative and flexible opportunities. Instead of meeting monthly, for instance, Lions members can now touch base online in “e-clubs” and show up only for volunteer outings. Instead of holding traditional raffles, new Lions clubs host Wii tournaments as fundraisers, said Sue Haney, who runs membership programs for the organization.
The changes were designed to match the way people seem to want to get involved, especially post-Sept. 11 -- one event at a time rather than a long-term commitment, officials said.
“People are so busy now that it’s hard to get them involved in community service work,” said Mark Knigge, Lions Club president in Wauconda, Ill., who is also a Rotary Club member. “It’s still frustrating a little bit, but we keep working at it.”
Despite the major face-lifts, club leaders say some aspects of the longtime organizations will not change to preserve the groups’ history.
Kiwanis International, based in Indianapolis, has no plans to change the “K” logo it has used for years. Its efforts to relate to today’s generation focus more on offering more flexible membership options, such as allowing people to attend meetings online or join through work.
Rick Kohn, regional spokesman for Shriners of North America, said the modern updates have to come in moderation.
“We don’t want to have a young person come in to a social gathering and have your grandfather’s music playing,” he said.
But Kohn quickly added that he doesn’t see the fez caps going away any time soon.
“There’s a certain element of tradition involved in everything we do in life,” he said. “The fez is simply part of that.”
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