By Debbie Baker, Club Growth Director
Club Sponsor Training – October 5, 2020 at 5:30 pm Alaska time / 6:30 pm Pacific Time
A Club Sponsor serves as a guide, helping new clubs to learn the Toastmasters requirements, best practices, meeting roles, and orientation to the educational resources as the members get started. A Club Sponsor is an experienced Toastmaster who possesses leadership skills, passion for Toastmasters, and a strong sense of dedication to helping charter a new club. Sponsors work together with a leadership team that ensures the new clubs and their members understand the Toastmaster cyclical yearly events, so that training expectations, contests and elections are clearly communicated. Toastmaster members are educated on the importance of giving speeches that apply to the learning path. Each newly chartered club is allowed up to two sponsors.
What are the responsibilities of a club sponsor? Sponsors assist with organization of the new club, including marketing the “Wow” factor utilized to sell the value of Toastmasters to prospective club members. Sponsors also help set up regular meeting agendas and roles, and assist in completing the new club’s charter paperwork. Most fun of all, sponsors help the new club plan its charter party!
The sponsor offers encouragement, fills roles, gives educational moment speeches and provides advice to the attending audience of prospective club members. When the club charters, the sponsor creates a small team to help the club with its charter party. It is imperative that sponsors continue to attend the new club’s charter presentation and general meetings for the first 6 months.
Sponsors educate and remind club members to set goals that align with the Distinguished Club accomplishment program. They also inform officers about the requirement to attend two District training programs each year. Additionally, sponsors encourage participation in contest competitions, including the progressive opportunity to compete at the Area and Division Speech contests. Sponsors also explain the other integral District meetings and functions to the new club and its members. The sponsor will help the new club establish a strong foundation and encourage its ongoing participation in these Toastmasters events in future years.
Note: Sponsors receive a certificate and credit toward the requirements of a DTM by sending a “Get Credit” form to Toastmasters International after it is completed and signed by an officer of the new club.Sponsors must apply for credit no later than 90 days after the club’s official charter date. Any changes or additions to the sponsor assignments must be made no later than 60 days after the club’s officer charter date.
Sponsoring clubs
Occasionally, an entire existing club may help start a new club. The sponsoring club offers the new club encouragement and advice and its members attend the new club’s charter presentation. Sponsoring clubs earn the “Founder’s Award” club banner ribbon.
At the new club’s meetings, THE SPONSOR and Sponsoring Club work TOGETHER with the club mentor after the new club charters to:
1. Arrange inter-club meetings and exchange of speakers and evaluators. 2. Invite the new club’s officers to attend meetings of the Executive Committee. 3. Invite the new club’s members to attend anniversary meetings, speech contests, and other special meetings. 4. At the new club’s meetings sponsors and mentors should present educational programs from the advanced manuals: a. The Better Speaker Series b. The Successful Club Series c. Leadership Excellence Series |
| Would you share your leadership and Toastmaster skills? Are you interested in becoming a New Club Sponsor? Please contact Debbie Baker, the Club Growth Director at cgd@d32toastmasters. org |
Club Sponsor Training will be provided on October 5, 2020 at 5:30PM Alaska/6:30PM Pacific time. Registration for the event can be found on Eventbrite.
Additional resources:
For more information about New Club Mentors and Sponsors, download “New Club Mentoring Matters.“
If you would like to learn more about chartering a new club, please read the document, “How to build a Toastmasters Club.“