Community clubs battle membership decline as lifestyles change

Saturday, 18 July 2026

Barry Scott has always been part of a club, from the moment he joined Cubs with his twin brother as a young whipper-snapper to becoming a life member of JCI and more recently, the Lions Club.

But there’s one thing the 84-year-old Christchurch man has noticed during his lifetime of involvement in community clubs - the steep decline in memberships.

The dwindling numbers have left some almost completely wiped out, like JCI, which Scott said had more than 30 branches around New Zealand when he joined the Christchurch chapter in his late 20s. Now, the international membership-based not-for-profit organisation, which develops leadership skills in 18 to 40-year-olds, is trying to set up a chapter in Christchurch, according to its website.

Feeling like he had become “too old” for JCI, Scott found the closest Lions Club in 1990 and “with open arms, I got grabbed”.

Scott’s attraction to Lions was the community service, fundraising for a variety of organisations including collecting donated spectacles for the Fred Hollows Foundation, out-of-circulation currency and wine bottle tops.

At the time there were 50 to 60 members in his Christchurch South branch, but in recent years it amalgamated with the Ferrymead club, which brought just two members with it, and the merged club now has about 15 members, Scott said.

“Generations were completely different when we were younger.”

He said people used to work Monday to Friday and have weekends off, giving them time to volunteer in community. These days, people had “no time or inclination to give time to organisations”.

The Richmond Lions Club, in Tasman, tells a different story.

Its numbers have remained between 20 and 25, former president Nigel Jones said, and since joining 10 years ago, numbers have increased. The only members leaving are those who have died, he said.

“We’ve had a pretty stable membership.”

The Motueka club has equally good numbers while the Nelson branch is static or decreasing, he said.

Since Lions Clubs were first introduced to New Zealand in 1955, society has changed.

Jones said the club was more restricted with its activities. For instance, it was no longer able to demolish a house to raise funds by selling the parts due to health and safety regulations. “Those sort of things get in the way a bit.”

But the club is moving with the times. “Our club has decided we need to have an eftpos machine for fundraising.”

For some fundraising events, the electronic payment system has been responsible for up to 80% of takings, Jones said.

“It’s a necessity in this day and age to raise funds. It’s something we have had to come to terms with … and things evolve.”

Fortnightly meetings of Lions Club branches across Christchurch, the West Coast, Nelson and Blenheim have been simplified with online video calls.

A similar community-minded club, Rotary has been diversifying and evolving to ensure membership stays strong, including by attracting a younger audience.

Rotary Club past district governor Liz Courteney said the club was “reinventing” itself, forming new cause-based clubs focused on areas such as the environment “to be more relevant in today’s world”.

Stepped levels of Rotary support new generations, beginning with Interact Clubs for 12 to 18 year-olds, which have attracted more than 100 students in Riccarton, she said. The Rotaract Club is for 18 to 30-year-olds, “then they can come into Rotary, that’s another pathway”.

Rotary Club is one of the largest and oldest volunteer organisations in the world, founded in 1905 in Chicago and now boasting more than 1.2 million members.

But memberships are generally decreasing as fewer people want to commit to weekly meetings, fundraising, and community projects, but the club is actively spreading its reach.

Courteney said it is targeting different types of members, including corporate, business, cause-based and family-based.

Christchurch South Rotary Club secretary Viv Ellis joined eight years ago after retiring early, following in her father’s footsteps. He joined when “it was huge”, she said.

“People are so busy these days with so many things going on in their lives and work commitments, something like Rotary is becoming less appealing.”

Zonta, which empowers women through service and advocacy, faces the same membership struggles as members grow older and connecting with potential young members becomes more difficult.

Judith Paget is part of the Waimakariri Zonta branch and joined because she is “enthusiastic about helping people less fortunate”.

“I’m a service person, I like to give; most Zontians are people who like to share what they’ve got.”

There were about 20 people in her group when she initially joined about 20 years ago. Since then, membership has whittled down to 12, mainly older women who have lost their husbands, and the branch has amalgamated with Papanui.

One of the group’s focuses is supporting women coming out of prison with care packs.

Paget said the international group was putting forward ideas to attract new members, including getting “energetic people to join us”, but being retired with limited means of networking was a barrier.

Similar to Rotary, Zonta has pathways into its organisation for youth: Z Clubs reach high school students across New Zealand with a strong group at Avonside Girls’ High School, Zonta Waimakariri member Anne Cherry said, while Golden Z clubs operate in the South Island’s three universities.

The club with waiting lists

However, one club aimed at people over 55 is having no problems gaining members, with some branches in Christchurch even having waiting lists.

U3A (formerly known as the University of the Third Age in France) has 22 clubs in Canterbury, with some “so popular they’re struggling to take on everybody who wants to join”, U3A Riccarton member Wendy Gallagher, 78, said.

The international organisation has two types of groups in Canterbury. One focuses on lectures, while the other caters to a variety of interest groups including coffee meet-ups, cycling, walking and men’s groups.

Gallagher is a member of both the Port Hills interest group and the Riccarton lecture branch, although each group functions independently.

“Some are oversubscribed, and others are looking for new members,” she said. The membership limit for each group depends on the size of its venue.

Gallagher joined nearly 11 years ago after moving to Christchurch from Auckland.

“I just wanted to broaden my horizons with ongoing learning, and meet a few new people. A lot my current friends have come from the U3A.”

Another set of clubs connecting people socially over a coffee or a tipple are former workings men’s clubs.

Among them is the Papanui Club where ”membership’s flying”, general manager Mark Belton said. “We’re doing really well.”

The club, which was rebuilt 10 years ago after the Canterbury earthquakes, has been “proactive” in recruiting, he said.

Becoming a member gives people access to sports teams, walking groups and gardening meet-ups. The club has about 10,000 members.

Two years ago the club held its first family fun day, which created a “huge influx” of members, capturing three generations, he said.

“If we can hold on to them we can continue to grow.”

The renovation of a former function space into a cafe eight months ago has helped increase membership and trade.

“Trends have changed,” Belton said, noting younger generations are no longer “going out to get pissed all the time”.

“We’re a community hub, no matter who you are … everyone is here to socialise and be safe and feel welcome.”