Those Benevolent Boosters:Spatial Patterns of Kiwanis Membership in the United States

Abstract

For over 80 years service clubs such as Rotary, Lions, and Kiwanis have helped to shape the economic stamina and social character of communities across the United States. However, despite their ubiquity within cities and towns, little research has examined spatial patterns or con centrations of service clubs or their members. The study presented here pro vides an overview of geographic patterns of membership in the third largest community service club in the world, Kiwanis International. County and state maps showing location quotients (LQs) reveal a core of membership concentration in northern Midwest and Rocky Mountain states, especially Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana. The lowest LQ values were found in urbanized states such as Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Maryland. A socioeconomic profile was also developed of counties that had very high or low LQ values. High LQ counties were mostly rural and have experienced recent losses in population and retail sales. In contrast, counties with at least one club but very low LQ values were primarily urban and have experienced population increases and economic growth. As suggested by the profile, Kiwanis membership remains robust in many rural communities despite unfavorable economic circumstances.

The internal accountability dynamic of UK service clubs: towards (more) intelligent accountability?

“…This local focus is partly grounded in the historical role of service clubs as 'booster' organisations (Charles, 1993;Wikle, 2009), specifically with the aim of benefitting the local area and economy. Because there was no obligation (either felt or imposed) to support the larger humanitarian cause 6 , some clubs in the sample had reflected this via strong forms of felt accountability (O'Dwyer & Boomsma, 2015) from themselves to the local community, and arguably based on an ethic for 'the Other' (Levinas, 1991;Roberts, 2001aRoberts, , 2009.…”

Trust, accountability and ‘the Other’ within the charitable context: U.K. service clubs and grant‐making activity

“…Charles (1993) provides an account of service clubs since their inception in the early 20th century. Other studies have focussed on membership demographics (Parsons & Mills, 2012); geographical spread (Wikle, 2009); and social capital implications (Farkas, 2012). Tadajewski (2017) observes the contribution of Rotary International toward business ethics, and highlights the intertwined nature of business and moral decision-making, in turn rejecting the separation thesis in the context of these initially seemingly competing themes of the pursuance of profit, and wider social responsibility.…”

Using GIS to Manage Surfrider Foundation Membership and Promote Growth

“…In his study of spatial patterns in Kiwanis membership, Wikle (1997) was able to construct a socioeconomic profile of its affiliates by examining membership distribution. From his findings, Wikle concluded that membership numbers were highest in rural counties which had experienced recent losses in population and retail sales.…”