Rotarian Lal Goel
Founder & Charter President and Membership Chair
Rotary Club of Organ Donation International
The recently held online Installation Ceremony of the Rotary Club of Organ Donation International was a memorable evening for all of us.
The Regal District Governor, Rtn Rajan Dua, inducted 22 new members into the Club during the online ceremony. As the applause continued and the atmosphere was filled with excitement—even though we were all connected through screens—I made an ambitious announcement:
“In the Regal Rotary Year, our Club will add at least 100 new members.”
The announcement was appreciated by many.
Later, I received a WhatsApp message from our District Membership Chair, Rtn S B Prasad.
It contained a simple but intriguing question:
“How did your Club manage to get 22 members?”
A million-dollar question!
I smiled as I read the message and replied:
“I promise to answer you tomorrow.”
But when I actually started thinking about the answer, something unexpected happened.
I went into memory lane.
A Journey That Began with a Doubt
My memory immediately took me back to 2 November 2023, the day the Rotary Club of Organ Donation International received its Charter.
I was extremely excited and proud to be installed as the Charter President of the newly formed Club.
Our Club was different from a conventional Rotary Club. It was a cause-based Rotary e-Club dedicated entirely to the noble cause of organ donation.
And there was another defining feature:
All our meetings are conducted online.
Our members are spread across India and different parts of the world. Even our Installation Ceremonies are conducted online.
The online format gives us a truly global character, but initially I saw it more as a challenge than an advantage.
During the Charter Presentation ceremony, one of the most senior and seasoned Rotarians, the then District Governor of Rotary International District 3141, Rtn Arun Bhargava, expressed concern about the sustainability of our Club.
At that time, I must admit, his words did not sound very pleasant to my ears.
I was excited about the Club, passionate about organ donation and full of optimism. I believed that the strength of our cause would automatically attract people.
But as time passed, I realised that his concern was absolutely justified.
Rotary is built not only on service but also on fellowship, personal relationships and interaction. Building those relationships entirely through a screen is not easy.
There is no handshake before a meeting.
No informal conversation over tea.
No sitting together after a meeting.
Everything happens online.
And during my first year as President, I faced the hard truth:
Getting new members into an entirely online Club—and retaining existing members—was not easy.
From One Member to Fifty
I sought guidance.
With the support of our Club Mentor and senior Rotarian, the Service Governor PDG Rtn Dr Rajendra Agarwal, and with the help of then District Membership Chair Rtn Anand Ramnani, I held a meeting with some of our Club members in Mathura.
We discussed our challenges and received valuable suggestions.
The result?
At the end of the Incredible Rotary Year 2023–24, we managed a net growth of just one member.
One!
It was certainly not the kind of number that would make a Membership Chair celebrate.
The following year remained challenging, although things began to improve.
With the dynamic leadership of District Governor Rtn Chetan Desai and Membership Chair Rtn Sandip Kedia, our Club achieved a net growth of seven members.
Seven was better than one—but we still had a long way to go.
Then came the Inspire Rotary Year.
This time, I was entrusted with the responsibility of serving as the Membership Chair of the Club.
At the Installation Ceremony, the Inspire District Governor threw a seemingly impossible challenge at us:
“Grow the membership from 38 to 100.”
From 38 to 100!
That meant adding more than 60 members.
It looked like a mountain.
But mountains are climbed one step at a time.
Under the dynamic leadership of Inspire President Rtn PHF Ritika Gupta and Inspire Secretary Rtn Ruby Agarwal, we accepted the challenge.
And then something remarkable happened.
We achieved a net growth of 50 members, taking our membership from 38 to 88.
That was almost half of the total net membership growth of District 3141, which stood at 101 members.
Suddenly, the Club that had once struggled to add even one member was becoming a Club that others were asking about.
And that brings us back to Rtn S B Prasad’s million-dollar question:
“How did you do it?”
The Regal Year: Another Challenge
In the Regal Year, the incumbent Regal President, Rtn Hemalatha Bhandari, once again entrusted me with the responsibility of chairing the Membership Committee.
Working alongside Regal President Rtn Hemalatha Bhandari and Regal Secretary Rtn Ruby Agarwal, we started the new Rotary year with renewed enthusiasm.
And the first major milestone came at our online Installation Ceremony, where Regal District Governor Rtn Rajan Dua inducted 22 new members into our Club.
Twenty-two new members—in an online, cause-based Rotary e-Club!
That was a moment of great satisfaction.
And it was during this ceremony that I announced our next ambitious target:
100 NEW MEMBERS IN THE REGAL YEAR.
The announcement clearly caught the attention of our District Membership Chair, Rtn S B Prasad.
Although he was not present at the Installation, he later sent me his question on WhatsApp:
“How did your Club manage to get 22 members?”
That question took me back through the entire journey.
The Day We Discovered That Online Was Not a Weakness
The answer gradually became clearer to me.
Initially, we looked at the online format as a limitation.
But over time, we discovered that it offered some extraordinary advantages.
Think about Mumbai.
No traffic jams. No long journeys. No searching for parking. No rushing through Mumbai’s traffic to reach a physical meeting.
A member could join our meeting while sitting at home, from the office, or even while travelling—wherever circumstances permitted and without the inconvenience of commuting.
Geography stopped being a barrier.
A member in Mumbai could interact with someone in Mathura.
Someone in another Indian city could participate alongside a member from another part of the world.
And perhaps the biggest advantage was time.
Some of the most eminent doctors and experts in the field have extremely busy schedules. Their appointments are difficult to obtain, and their time is precious.
Yet our online platform allowed us to bring these experts before our members.
We invited eminent doctors to speak about the health of specific organs, prevention of organ disease, transplantation and organ donation, often in considerable detail.
Our members could then ask questions directly.
The experts answered them.
This was not just a Rotary meeting.
It became a knowledge-sharing platform.
And that knowledge became one of our strongest membership attractions.
Our Weekly Meeting Became a Habit
We decided that if our Club was going to exist online, our online meetings had to be meaningful.
Our regular weekly expert sessions became an important part of Club life.
Members came not merely to fulfil attendance requirements but because they wanted to learn.
They asked questions.
They participated.
They discussed.
They developed an academic thirst for knowledge.
The screen that once seemed to separate us gradually became the window through which we connected with some of the finest minds in the field.
And there was another important advantage.
Our Board meetings became highly effective.
Because our Board members were not required to travel, we could meet more efficiently and discuss ideas for the growth of the Club.
New ideas emerged.
Projects were discussed.
Strategies were refined.
Members contributed freely.
The online format gave us flexibility and speed.
We had begun to discover that the very model we once worried about could actually become a competitive advantage.
From One Meeting to Almost Three Awareness Projects a Week
But meetings alone were not enough.
We wanted the Club to be visible outside the virtual meeting room.
Our awareness work expanded rapidly.
We began conducting organ donation awareness projects almost three times a week—and sometimes even more.
Schools.
Colleges.
Universities.
Institutions.
Professional organisations.
Community groups.
Wherever there was an opportunity to spread awareness, our members stepped forward.
And this created another powerful cycle.
More projects meant more people heard about organ donation.
More people heard about our Club.
More people understood what Rotary was doing.
And more people became interested in joining us.
Every Member Became an Organ Donation Warrior
But perhaps the most important ingredient was our members themselves.
We started encouraging every member to think of themselves not simply as a Rotary member, but as an Organ Donation Warrior.
Every member had a circle of influence.
Family.
Friends.
Business associates.
Professional contacts.
Social groups.
Neighbours.
Community networks.
We encouraged them to talk about organ donation and about Rotary wherever appropriate.
A single member could reach dozens or even hundreds of people.
One conversation could lead to another.
One awareness session could inspire a pledge.
One pledge could inspire a family.
And one family could influence an entire social circle.
Every member became a messenger.
And that multiplied our reach far beyond what the Club leadership alone could have achieved.
Social Media: The Message Never Sleeps
We also understood that in today’s world, awareness cannot depend only on physical events.
Our social media became another powerful tool.
Facebook. Instagram. WhatsApp. Twitter—now X.
Messages, posters, announcements, educational content, programme information and organ donation awareness material were shared every day, without fail.
Day after day.
Week after week.
Month after month.
Consistency was the key.
People began seeing our message repeatedly.
And repetition creates recognition.
Recognition creates curiosity.
Curiosity creates conversation.
And conversation can create membership.
Our digital presence therefore became not merely a publicity exercise but an important part of our membership strategy.
The Rotary Lapel Pin Became My Silent Ambassador
But there was another lesson I learnt.
Never hide your Rotary identity.
Whenever I travelled within or outside Mumbai—whether on a flight, attending a family gathering, meeting friends, going to a wedding or birthday party, or even watching a movie—I made it a point to wear my Rotary lapel pin.
Sometimes people would ask:
“Are you a Rotarian?”
That was my opening.
I would tell them about Rotary.
Then I would tell them about our Club.
And finally, I would explain why organ donation matters.
I discovered something fascinating:
People cannot join a cause they don’t know about.
So we started talking about Rotary wherever an opportunity arose.
Whenever I attended an organ donation programme in a school, college or university, I made sure that I not only spoke about organ donation.
I also spoke about Rotary.
I explained what Rotary stands for, its global reach and the opportunities it provides to serve society.
The result?
The conversion rate started improving dramatically.
One Member, One New Member
We also encouraged our existing members to become ambassadors.
The message was simple:
“If you believe in our cause, bring at least one more person into the family.”
After all, membership growth is not the responsibility of a Membership Chair alone.
It belongs to every member.
One person introduces another.
That person introduces someone else.
And slowly, a movement begins.
The online nature of our Club, which initially appeared to be our biggest weakness, gradually became one of our strengths.
A person from Mumbai could attend.
Someone from Mathura could attend.
A Rotarian from another city—or even another country—could become part of the same meeting.
Geography was no longer a barrier.
Even our Installation Ceremony could bring together members from different parts of India and the world on a single screen.
We had learnt to replace physical fellowship with meaningful digital fellowship, personal connection and valuable knowledge.
That was the transformation.
So, What Is the Secret?
The honest answer is:
There is no secret.
But there is a formula.
During my two years as President, I learnt two important truths.
First, Rotary is one of the most powerful brands in the world.
Second, organ donation is one of the noblest causes anyone can support.
When these two powerful forces are combined with the right intention, commitment and consistent effort—
magic happens.
Add to that:
* Meaningful weekly online meetings
* Eminent expert speakers
* Opportunities to interact directly with doctors
* Effective online Board meetings
* Almost three awareness projects every week
* Daily social-media communication
* Personal outreach
* A Rotary lapel pin that starts conversations
* Members acting as Organ Donation Warriors
* And every member encouraging at least one new person to join
Suddenly, the answer becomes much less mysterious.
There is no secret. There is only consistent effort.
“Why Are You Not Sleeping?”
It was now almost 1 AM.
I was still sitting and thinking about what to write in my reply to Rtn Prasad.
Suddenly, a familiar voice brought me back from my memory lane.
“Why are you not sleeping? It’s 1 AM!”
It was my wife.
I looked at the clock.
Indeed, it was 1 AM.
I smiled.
In my mind, I had already framed the answer.
There was no million-dollar secret.
There was simply a million-dollar belief:
Give people a meaningful cause.
Give them knowledge.
Allow them to serve.
Make them proud to belong.
Make every member an ambassador.
And invite others to become part of the movement.
That is what we are trying to do through the Rotary Club of Organ Donation International.
And now, in the Regal Rotary Year, under the leadership of Regal President Rtn Hemalatha Bhandari and Regal Secretary Rtn Ruby Agarwal, we have announced another ambitious target:
100 NEW MEMBERS IN THE REGAL YEAR
Is it possible?
After everything we have experienced, I have only one answer:
Why not?
Because when the purpose is noble, the people are passionate, the meetings are meaningful, the message is consistent and every member becomes a warrior—
Today Club has 123 members.
even the impossible begins to look possible.
