Summer Visits
Who We Invite
We have been intensely debating the subject of Lions summer visits over the past couple of years. We are working hard to lower our expenses to increase the percentage of financial resources that go directly to our programs that serve people who are blind and visually impaired. This has been mandated by our board of directors, by our stakeholders (donors and funders) and by the nonprofit community.
To comply with these mandates, and in consultation with our Lions Advisory Committee (composed of Lions in leadership across North America), we began updating our summer visit strategy in 2008. The new strategy includes inviting Vice District Governors from select districts on an annual basis and Leader Dog Chairs on an occasional basis.
We realized that this was a big change from our previous policy so we invited ALL District Governors, First Vice District Governors and Leader Dog Chairs to the 2008 summer visits to communicate the change. The cost was steep, but we felt it was important to communicate this change with as many Lions leaders as possible.
In 2009, we invited District Governors who were unable to attend as First Vice District Governors in 2008 and Leader Dog Chairs who were unable to attend in 2008. We also invited First Vice District Governors from several Multiple Districts as funds permitted. Priority was given to Multiple Districts that showed consistent, sustained financial support for Leader Dog programs. (View reports showing Lions financial support by multiple district and by sub-district.)
This year, we are inviting primarily First Vice District Governors from select districts to visit our campus. We are also exploring ways that we can help Leader Dog Chairs learn more about our programs and services. We hope to pilot a few off-site regional trainings for these important volunteers during the next fiscal year.
We continue to explore ways to best manage our resources to allow us to continue to educate Lions and celebrate our amazing 71-year partnership.
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