Ever engaged, Dungeons & Toast sent a large contingent of members to the Toastmasters Leadership Institute yesterday. Andrew B, Cliff C, Michael C, Yanini C, Loni H, Arbind R, Greg S, Kelly S, Patrick V were all present for personal and professional development through officer training and a variety of great workshops.

Here are some key takeaways, according to those present:

• Yanini C, Secretary COT with Ursula Bell, DTM: Remind members who give speeches to take the Assess Your Skills quiz through the completed project on Pathways.
• Arbind R, Treasurer COT with Bob Hollis, DTM and Advanced Officer Training: Treasurer with Jeremyha Lyle, DTM, PDD (notes combined)
  • Recommended books on Leadership:
    • Start with Why
    • Leaders Eat Last
  • The Treasurer is a club’s accountant. The goal of the Treasurer is to support all officers, handling and reporting of club’s funds, collecting and paying dues to Toastmasters International. If the person is taking this role first time, make sure to meet previous treasurer for proper handover. This is one of the leadership roles that provides a great learning experience.
  • Treasurer’s Roles and Responsibilities:
    1. CA Tax Form 199N. Call T.I. Tax Dept. or Ms. Cheri Roesler, Phone <redacted for privacy> (From T.I.)
       For the 199N its a form you fill out on the California tax site by May 15th. This allows us to still function as a club. Be sure to email that receipt of filing to TI. This link can be helpful:
       Note: This year taxes are little complex than previous years. You should know how to find the club number and federal tax number.
    2. Audits can be called to review the club’s financials.
    3. Budget
       • The Treasurer prepares the budget with the help of executive committee.
       • Keep last year’s budget and plan for the current year budget.
       • Look all your income from the spring and fall session.
       • Call for a meeting with executives committee to get the budget approved.
    4. Bank Account, signers, and where to bank
       • Discussed multiple perspectives from different club’s Treasurers.
       • Different banks offers different facilities for a non-profit organization.
       • Make sure to have at least 2 signatories on the bank account.
    5. Collect Dues, March and September. Due April 1st & October 1st.
       • Dues are paid for a six-month term to access benefits from TI.
       • Toastmasters billing duration is semi-annual.
       • Member dues are calculated from current month to next due date.
       • Dues deadline below:
         • 1st April (start collecting from end Feb)
         • 1st October (start collecting from end Aug)
       • Note: Collecting dues takes most of time. Do not use personal bank account for club’s money.
       • Different ways to pay dues (input from several clubs)
         • Direct payment to TI (best option)
         • Venmo/ PayPal (automate billing and invoice)
           • Need to check if it is legal as well as ethical approach, to keep business transactions as personal payment for non-profit organization.
           • These methods are popular among virtual clubs
         • Payment by check (address to send checks)
         • Payment by credit card
    6. Submit new member applications to TI
    7. Pay bills
       • Always requires an approval from the club President.
       • If any club officer orders anything, TI asks for money.
       • Reconcile your bank account balance and send a copy to the club secretary, for the records.
    8. Reconcile bank account: report to the Executive Committee or the club monthly.
    9. Keep financial records:
       • Organizes records in a database (bill, budget, reports, old and new bank records)
       • Keep routine correspondence for 3 years
       • Keep the financials report for 5 years
         Note: some clubs have cloud storage accounts to keep these reports. These records should be accessible by all club officers.
    10. Attend Club Executive Meetings and report financial status every month.
    11. Attend Officer Training: club gets credit, and you get credit.
    12. Recruit and train your replacement:
        • Election as Treasurer
        • Signature on the accounts
        • Access to financial records

• Kelli S, President COT with Lance Miller, DTM, WCPS
  • Encourage members to move through Pathways at a reasonable pace, suggested: 1 level/year. Participation is similar to going to the gym; you need to go regularly for it to be effective.
  • Promote the club on a regular basis.
  • Always start on time and allow people to be late or meetings will never start on time.
  • Toastmasters is where you put people into leadership roles so they can develop the necessary competencies to fill the role effectively.
  • There’s no such thing as Toastmasters Police. Pathways should fit what the member is looking for in a way that will benefit them. Every/any speech should count. Put more focus on the speech instead of the project, if that’s what benefits the member.
  • Struggles in Toastmasters often stem from struggles in life. Toastmasters isn’t only about developing speaking skills; it’s also about developing communication, leadership, and LIFE skills.
  • Break larger milestones into smaller, more attainable goals and CELEBRATE when those smaller goals are achieved.
  • Toastmasters is a great place to fail. Failing is often learning.
  • ” You can’t manage if you can’t measure.”
    • SAA: sets up space, starts meetings on time
    • VPPR: gets people to attend meetings; promotes and markets the club
    • VPM: converts guests into members
    • Treasurer: keeps accurate financials and handles dues collection; follows up with those who haven’t yet paid their dues
    • VPE: responsible for educational completions; schedules meeting roles, tracks educational goals, and encourages speakers
    • Secretary: keeps accurate records of club activities (who attends, who won awards, etc.)
    • President: ensures that members are winning and the club is expanding; helps other officers perform their roles; if the officer doesn’t do their job, the President is responsible; encouraged to get help when needed, first from within the club then from the Area Director
  • Leadership is about both knowing where you’re going and then arriving there
  • Organization
    • Communication: listening is more important than speaking
    • Agreement:
      • Where are we going? (goals, objectives)
      • Why are we going there? (purpose, reason)
      • How are we getting there? (organization, planning, administration)
      • Who is doing what? (team structure and responsibilities)
      • What metrics are being measured? (“If you’re not managing by metrics, you’re managing by opinion.”)
• Patrick V: President COT with Lance Miller, DTM, WCPS
  • A lot of communication is required in the role of club president and to run a Toastmasters club.
  • Turn disagreements into agreements. Turn no’s into yes’s.
  • When you face unexpected challenges, figure it out and find a way.
  • When interacting with club members and challenges they may be facing or when addressing challenging behaviors and/or situations involving club members, show them love and whenever possible work with them to resolve the situation and help them grow as a person.
  • Toastmasters is a microcosm of life. If a club member is facing a challenge or exhibiting challenging behaviors, it’s something they are facing in their life. Again, show them love and whenever possible work with them to resolve the situation and help them grow and develop as a person.
  • Spend time with your members who are unwilling to enroll in the Pathways learning experience and find a way to make it work for them so that they enroll in Pathways and continue their educational journey in Toastmasters.
  • Spend time with members who want to leave the club, address their reasons for wanting to leave the club and see if a way can be found to address their concerns and/or meet their needs so that they’ll stay in the club.
  • Make sure that meetings start and end on time.
  • Make sure that club members are steadily progressing towards their educational goals.
  • Have club members take on different functionary meeting roles and have them try new functionary meeting roles, thereby having them progress towards being the Toastmaster of the Day at a meeting. In this way, you’re building a pipeline of (new) club members being the Toastmaster of the Day at a meeting.
  • Build a pipeline of leaders by having (new) club members take on club leadership roles, starting with the Sergeant at Arms and moving upward through the remainder of the club leadership roles to prepare to be the club president.
  • Hold several club officer roles before becoming the club president. Ask for help, from inside and outside of the club.
  • You’ll have 30-40% membership attrition rate in the Toastmasters year.
  • Best practice for membership dues renewals, send out an invoice and then follow up.