Gold Coast's First Corporate Club looks at a return to Rotary basics, engaging professionals in their working sphere.

Posted by Barbara Mifsud

The Rotary Club of Gold Coast Corporate in D9640 recently chartered in October, made up entirely of corporate members. The club, one of the first of its kind in our region, has 27 senior corporate leaders from over 14 international and national companies, with 5 more members wanting to join since chartering. The club has over 60% women and 40% are under 40 years of age.

 The club’s champion, DG Andy Rajapakse, tells us what the value proposition was for corporate members when starting the club: ‘My message was simple. Rotary gives a trusted platform to implement their corporate purpose to be a good corporate citizen. Today's customers will ask what your corporate purpose is before making their purchase choice. And it worked!’ 

DG Andy says that it took him 100 days to start this club from ground zero. ‘The magic was, I found the right (nonRotarian) community champion from a leading company in the Corporate Centre. As leaders, we must trust the leadership and ability of people we don’t already know’.

 This new style club meets physically once a month for wine and cheese at the Corporate Centre. Each company takes a turn hosting and showcasing their corporate story. Additionally, there is little personal outlay for members, as with corporate membership, corporates pay RI/district dues, which can be deducted as a company expenditure before tax as business development. This makes Rotary more affordable for everyone. DG Andy highlights another selling point for corporates: ‘Rather than honouring their best employees with a plaque or a watch, why not make a contribution to the Rotary Foundation and honour them with an international and ethical award, a Paul Harris Fellow? Again, this contribution is tax-deductible.’ 

The club will be mentored by PDG Michael Irving as the new club advisor, for the next three years. We look forward to seeing what the club achieves in the future.