Membership

Kiwanis is a service organization. Our international mission is “changing the world one child and one community at a time”…and we endeavor to do that not only internationally, but also locally and throughout our division and district. When you elect to join our Downtown Club, you accept the obligation to participate in the fund-raising and service projects and other activities of our Club, all of which benefit our community…and kids! We have lots of opportunities for you to participate including:

• By working on our fund-raising projects such as our largest and longest-running project—our Annual Basketball Jamboree! This involves planning by way of the steering committee, selling ads for the program/brochure, volunteering the day of the event, and a multitude of other related assignments;
• By working on our on-going service projects such as Red Barrel, feeding the homeless at Churches United, Read It See It Give It to Kids, reading to Greenwood ESL kindergartners, Riverview Nature Island Center, etc.;
• By attending our weekly meetings, serving in many ways to make each meeting a meaningful experience for all;
• By participating in interclubs, which are held at least once or twice a month; and
• By actively working on other Club committees, whether that be programs, membership, board of directors, or other ad hoc committees.

Membership Procedure
Want to check us out? Prospective new members may visit our club up to three times at no expense to the sponsor(s) for meals. After the third time, if you decide to apply for membership, your sponsor should download a membership form from the bottom of this page and submit it to the Membership Committee chair (Jan Burch) for approval by the Membership Committee and the Board of Directors.

Before being offered admission to the club, we will tell you all about the rewards and responsibilities of membership, including participation and financial obligations. If you don’t already have a sponsor, we’ll assign you to one of our members. We want your sponsor to act as a buddy or mentor to you for however long it takes for you to feel connected and involved with our Club. We also provide each new member with a “new member orientation” meeting and will ask you to complete our Time & Talents brochure so that we can get you “plugged in” as quickly as possible!

Club Communications
Our members receive several Kiwanis publications:

• The Kiwanis Magazine from Kiwanis International
• The Kiwanian Newsletter from the Nebraska-Iowa District
• The Downtown Kiwanis "News" which is our bi-weekly club publication, distributed electronically
• Our Annual Membership Roster

We also send out eMail blasts periodically when time sensitive information needs to get out to our membership.

Membership Categories
Active Members
Members in this category pay local/district/international dues plus the cost of weekly luncheons, assuming attendance at every meeting. Statements are issued quarterly, however, the member may pay monthly if s/he chooses.

Associate Members
Members in this category pay local/district/international dues plus the cost of two lunches per month, billed quarterly. Additional luncheon meetings attended are billed the following quarter.

Spousal/Partner Members
Members in this category are billed for local/district/international dues plus the cost of two lunches, billed quarterly. Additional luncheon meetings attended are billed the following quarter.

Senior Members
Members who have been in the Club ten years or more may be granted senior membership by applying in writing at the beginning of each administrative year (October) to the Board of Directors. Senior membership may be granted for personal or business reasons. It allows members to pay only for lunches at the meetings they attend plus local/district/international dues, billed quarterly.

Financial Obligations
Unless there is a price change, meals will cost approximately $13 per luncheon as of 11/1/2006. In addition, we pay international, district dues, and local dues that are $55.00 per quarter. You may pay your dues/meals either monthly or quarterly.

We also have periodic fundraising activities. When you check out tickets for fund-raising events, we ask that you either pay for the tickets or return them within 30 days of the event, otherwise they will be billed on your next statement.

Leaves of Absence
Requests for leave of absence must be submitted in writing to our Club secretary (Carol Stone). Leaves for no less than 30 days or no longer than six months are granted for reasons of illness, business assignments, travel, military service, or when moving to a new locality and prior to joining a new Kiwanis club. Leaves do not relieve members from dues and other possible assessments (if any).

Resignation
While we don’t like to talk about resignations, we know they happen for various reasons. Should resignation be necessary, we request that you submit a letter of resignation to our club secretary (Carol Stone) for approval by the board. You would continue to incur financial obligations for dues and lunches until the board acts.

In some instances, a transfer to another Kiwanis Club may be discussed. We want to keep you as a Kiwanis member, no matter where your club affiliation might be!

To Join or For More Information
For additional information on any aspect of the Downtown Kiwanis or Kiwanis International please contact:

Jan Burch
Membership Chair
info@downtowndesmoineskiwanis.org

To download a membership application, please click here.