Our core mandate as the Sponsors’ committee is to help club sponsors establish quality clubs that not only charter before their set deadlines, but also maintain high standards thereafter. Collating my experience as the co-sponsor of Mtandao Toastmasters Club with that of my colleagues on the committee, we walk hand  in hand with prospective club sponsors to understand their unique challenges, provide recommendations and follow up to ensure a seamless implementation.

On September 24th 2020, we held our first online District training with interested club sponsors. We trained  them on  publicity, converting guests to members and enhancing club momentum. This session served  as a catalyst that  propelled several clubs to charter while bolstering  members’ confidence, enabling them to mint maximum value. 

Currently, each committee member supports two clubs by attending their meetings, noting areas requiring improvement, and suggesting solutions. After this, they schedule a meeting with the sponsors to share the action points agreed upon. 

Our goal is to support the chartering of at least 8 more clubs by July 2021. 

For a club sponsor, the process of leading a club from an idea up to the charter stage is not a walk in the park.  It is a journey that requires grit to enforce necessary changes, tenacity through arduous times and team work with their Excos. It is therefore critical that the sponsor’s home club provides maximum support.

Fellow Toastmasters, the idea of chartering a new club might appear like a pie in the sky, especially when the sponsor does not have a well-defined value proposition. In this case, it becomes extremely helpful for the more experienced toastmasters to hold the hands of the club founder and mentor him/her through the process. This leads to an increase in the number of clubs that charter and significantly builds the leadership and communication skills of everyone involved in the process.

Jack Welch,  the former Chairman and CEO at General Electric once said, “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself; when you become a leader, success becomes all about growing others.” Something stirred us to join toastmasters: It was the desire to change the status quo, and we each grabbed the bull by the horns: we gave a speech, took up a role or participated in a table topic session; we became more confident communicators, and our new interactions either changed our lives or inspired others to change. 

The mere fact that Toastmasters gave us the tools to change our lives qualifies us as leaders. Sponsoring a club will inspire someone else, a group of people or an entire organisation towards positive change. Grow others by starting or supporting a new club.

Moses Waihura heads the Club Sponsorship committee under the District Club Growth department. He is the sponsor of Mtandao Toastmasters; the first online club in the District. Reach him on his email: moseswaihura1@gmail.com for further guidance on how to sponsor a club.