Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Have a question?

We have an answer! Please read below for our most frequently asked questions about membership, service, and Kiwanis in general. Is your question not listed below? Please contact us!

What is Kiwanis?
Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time.

Kiwanis International is a service organization that supports children and young adults around the world. Kiwanis was founded in 1915 and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Kiwanis members in over 8,400 clubs around the world provide millions of hours of community service each year.

Club service projects often are linked to the Kiwanis program, “Young Children: Priority One.” Other service projects help the elderly, promote literacy, support youth sports, and support specific persons in need.

Kiwanis is divided into districts, and each district is divided into divisions. We are in the Illinois-Eastern Iowa district (I-I) in Division 8. The special service project for our district is the Kiwanis Neuroscience Research Foundation. Every year Kiwanians throughout the district raise thousands of dollars for research of diseases of the central nervous system. International and District officers provide support to club officers. Also, the Division, District, and International levels sponsor events such as dinners and conventions where we can meet and share ideas with other Kiwanians from all over the world!

In addition, Kiwanis plays a special role in developing future generations of leaders by sponsoring Builders Clubs in middle school and junior highs, Key Clubs in high schools, and Circle K clubs at the collegiate level.

How is eKiwanis different from traditional Kiwanis Clubs?
All club business for eKiwanis is completed via the internet: through email lists, and the website. No weekly meetings are held at a particular location; they are held online via a conference call or online meeting platform (such as Zoom), so you can join in from any computer! Other than that, eKiwanis is exactly the same as traditional clubs – dedicated to service.

How much time will I have to commit?
No minimum attendance at projects, chats, or events is required for a member. That’s the beauty! You decide when you want to participate and what you want to do according to your schedule. Club meetings are for fun and to decide what to do next so you’ll want to join in on as many as you can.

Sign up only for the service projects you want to do and for which you have time. The only commitment we ask is that you show up when you sign up or find someone to go in your place so we don’t let the charity organizations down when they are counting on our help.

If you’d like to take on some more responsibility, there are many positions available in the club and many committees to take part in for more fun! We encourage every member to be on at least one committee to help shape the group. Committees meet approximately once a month via an online platform or in-person.

How many emails I should expect?
Typically, a few email messages a week. Generally, these are reminders of upcoming events and meetings and then recaps/minutes of those events and meetings. If you sign up for events or join a committee, you should expect a few additional email messages each week.

Where and when are service projects and social events held?
We schedule a variety of service projects throughout each month and plan a social event or face-to-face get together approximately every month. Some projects and events will occur on weeknights and some on weekends. Some will be held in the city and others in the suburbs. We attempt to provide a variety of events, times, and locations to accommodate everyone’s schedules. We encourage you to help coordinate a project or event in a location or at a time convenient for you! Learn more about our service projects here.

How much are dues?
Dues are $60 bi-annually every April and October. For those joining mid-way through the fiscal year, the bi-annual dues are prorated. Kiwanis International also offers a discount to those who were in a Kiwanis Sponsored Youth organization (K-Kids, Builder’s Club, Key Club, Circle K, etc) and are under the age of 25.

You can either mail a check to our Treasurer or send the money via PayPal to [email protected]. Note a small convenience fee will be charged when paying with PayPal.

What do my dues cover?

• Liaisons from District and International to counsel our club and give us fresh ideas.
• District newsletter of projects around Illinois and Eastern Iowa.
• Kiwanis magazine of projects around the world.
• Insurance for all attendees at projects.
• Web site and other operations costs.
• Being part of a larger global organization helping to change the whole world, one club at a time.

How do I become a member of eKiwanis?
Please fill out our contact form here and a member will reach out to you!

By the way, potential members are invited to join eKiwanis as a guest at any meeting and most service projects/events! Let us know if you are interested!

What is the meeting schedule?
eKiwanis meets on the first Tuesday of each month. Most meetings are held online via video/conference call and begin at 7:30 p.m. Central Time.

Approximately 3-4 times a year, we will meet in-person for a club meeting. These meetings are still on the first Tuesday of each month, but start at 7:00 p.m. Please fill out our contact form here and a member will reach out to you!

To join our meetings, email [email protected] for information.

What are the officer roles and responsibilities?

• President – Run chats and board gatherings, keep everyone on task, and follows-up with officers on their individual projects.
• President-Elect – Oversees Committees, fills in for President when the President is absent, makes sure member needs are being met.
• Secretary – Records service hours of club members and reports activities monthly to International, keeps attendance records for meetings and handles other administrative details required by International.
• Treasurer – Records financial transaction for the club, submits membership dues and follows-up with members regarding their membership financial status, reimburses member expenses for the club and “keeps the books straight,” works with Fundraising
• Committee for both administrative and charitable fundraisers.
• Board of Directors – There are 5 members on the Board of Directors plus the Immediate Past President. Directors have 2-year terms with half the Board being replaced each year. These members have a vote in Board Meetings and advise the current Board. You may hold both a Directorship and a Chair position at the same time.
• Committee Chair – Runs monthly committee meetings, spearheads activities of committees and delegates responsibilities to committee members, reports to the club on committee progress after each committee meeting, encourages members to participate in the events planned by their committee. These members are considered part of the Board and are encouraged to come to all Board Meetings, but do not have voting privileges.

What are the committees? How can I join a committee?

• Service – Arranges community service projects and publicizes them to the club, encourages members to take a leadership role in planning the events they would like to see happen
• Membership – Organizes membership events and handles member/membership needs/concerns. Also publicizes eKiwanis to charity organizations that might need our help and works with other committees to provide publicity for our public event. Finally, plans the social gatherings and handles social aspects of other events (like a membership night or service project)
• Fundraising – Arranges fundraisers for charitable donations and administrative funds.
• Service Leadership Programs (SLP) – Oversees our sponsored Key Club and Aktion Club.

Members can join as many committees as they’d like and at any time of the Kiwanis year. Email [email protected] for more information.

I am a member of another Kiwanis Club or work with a community organization. How can I contact someone about working together?
Please fill out our contact form here. We’d love to hear from you and discuss opportunities to collaborate!