The secrets of their success

Rotary Action Groups have a lot to teach about volunteer organizing

By Etelka Lehoczky

When Rotary club members thousands of miles apart decide to collaborate, something has to bind them together. For Marion Bunch and Stephen Mwanje, it was a shared awareness of the devastation of AIDS.

Bunch, a member of the Rotary Club of Dunwoody, Georgia, USA, experienced that devastation when her son died from an AIDS-related illness. Mwanje, a member of the Rotary Club of Mukono, Kampala, Uganda, had seen how the disease ravaged his country. The two met when Bunch visited Uganda, and they began talking about the complexities of fighting AIDS in Africa.

“In some African countries, mentioning AIDS was a taboo. People didn’t want to know their status,” says Mwanje. “So I wanted to have Rotary Family Health Days. AIDS testing would be just one of the activities. There would also be malaria screening, blood sugar testing, family planning, and so on.”

That idea became the signature initiative of the Rotary Action Group for Family Health and AIDS Prevention, which Bunch founded. It was one of the first groups created as part of the Rotary Action Group program, now celebrating its 20th year. Today the expert members of Rotary’s 26 action groups advise Rotarians on service projects and initiate projects of their own. They’re terrific repositories of wisdom about making an impact.

In honor of the 20th anniversary of action groups, we asked the CEO of the Rotary Action Group for Family Health and AIDS Prevention, Sue Paget, for some tips on carrying out effective projects.

Start small and learn as you go

Successful social change initiatives almost always start small. Circumstances can vary hugely from place to place, so it’s wise to limit a project’s scope at first. A pilot project’s successes and failures show what needs to change before it can be scaled. By expanding slowly and deliberately, Paget says, the family health action group has had time to thoroughly test its approach.

“There’s a methodology when we go into a country,” says Paget, who’s a member of the Rotary E-Club of Eagle Canyon, South Africa. “You go to the Rotary clubs and get their buy-in, then you go to the ministries of health and get letters of intent. It takes a lot of work, but if you follow the steps, it can be done.”

Partnerships are magic

Government agencies, nonprofits, and businesses can supercharge a project. Partners from the same city or region appreciate local concerns. Or a potential partner might address the same issue at a national or international level.

A partner organization can help fund the project, share valuable expertise, or simply lend the strength of its brand to the effort — which makes it easier to recruit even more partners. And the benefits don’t stop there, says Thembisile Xulu, CEO of the South African National AIDS Council, one of the action group’s partners.

Getting feedback and measuring impact

The Rotary Action Group for Reproductive, Maternal, and Child Health has achieved significant results, including through its flagship program, Together for Healthy Families in Nigeria. Some of its leaders offer their tips.

We usually have a meeting before we start any project. We call together religious leaders, opinion leaders, women leaders, adolescents, heads of households, and we have a discussion. We don’t just go to them and say, ‘I want to start this, come and join me.’ No. We build it from scratch together. That way, they have ownership.

Emmanuel Adedolapo Lufadeju
cofounder and technical adviser

You need to get correct data to really know the situation. Find out the metrics [to determine] where you can make the most significant impact interms of planning, implementation, evaluation, and moving on to scale [the project].”

Angela Benson
chair of the board of directors

Don’t be frightened if you have a failure. Keep an open mind so you can be innovative and adapt.

Himansu Kumar Basu
medical director and technical adviser

The family health action group “is a shining example of how public-private partnerships can multiply impact,” Xulu says. “Its wide network of partners prevents duplication, ensures resources are used effectively, and fosters innovation.”

To find partners, start by looking at existing connections, Paget says. When Bunch founded the action group, she already had relationships with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta and the Coca-Cola Africa Foundation from her previous nonprofit work.

“They sort of kick-started us,” Paget says.

Build a reputation

When carrying out a project, aim to leave a positive impression on everyone you work with. Paget says the dedication of the family health action group’s members has won the support of important people all over Africa.

“We have created a reasonable reputation in terms of what we do. We are transparent, and I think people know we work hard,” she says. Ultimately, though, it’s about producing results.

“I really do believe that’s how we’ve got that bigger support, whether it’s from government partners or most Rotarians, along the way,” Paget adds.

Focus on follow-through

Another key to successful volunteer organizing is also one of the toughest parts: following through. Everyone involved in the project should understand the importance of responding promptly to emails and staying in touch with people. Even if a person or organization you contact can’t contribute to the project, they may be helpful in the future.

It’s that kind of thinking that helped the family health action group become a nonprofit powerhouse. Since the official inception of Rotary Family Health Days in 2011, 3.5 million people in 16 countries have received free medical services at the events.

“In 2009, when I was the governor-elect of my district, I planned to do things which were bigger, better, and bolder,” Mwanje says. “Today, Rotary Family Health Days take place all over Africa. Millions of children are benefiting from the program. One country after another has come on board, and as they say, the rest is history.”

Learn more about Rotary Action Groups.

— November 2025