FAQs – Members

What is meant by 'Active Members', 'Guests', 'Prospects' and 'Other Contacts'?

Polaris distinguishes between different types of members.

You can find a detailed description here.

Is double membership in Rotary and Rotaract possible?

The administration of members in Polaris is based on the principle of maintaining the data in a single place and on the unique identification of all members. This counteracts the redundancy of dual membership. Nevertheless, dual membership in Rotary and Rotaract is possible in Polaris.

You can find a detailed description here.

*NEW* (10.08.2024)

How can I search for members?

The various possibilities to search for member, events, projects, newsletters, bulletins, articles and documents in Polaris have one common starting point. It is the magnifying glass in the top right corner of the page.

• The "Members (Yearbook)" search allows you to find members in any district, zone or club in your Polaris instance.
• The "New Members" search shows members who have joined Rotary or Rotaract in their Polaris instance within the last three years.
• Search Members | Obituary - shows members for which their club has written and published an In Memoriam article.

Details ...

How do I register for honorary membership?

According to Art 4.010, 4.040 and 4.050 Manual of Procedure 2022, a club may only award Honorary membership to a Guest Rotarian of another club, or to a non-Rotarian. In other words, an active Member cannot be an Honorary member of his or her own club!

Polaris still offers various options for registering an honorary membership. Details ...

As a user, can I set which of my personal data is visible?

Yes, certain data can be hidden from people outside the club by activating the checkbox to the right of the respective field. These adjustments can be made under “My Settings > Change my data”.

Note: "RI" means that this data will be transferred to Rotary International - this cannot be prevented.

What for is the "Portraits" field in my profile?

In addition to a brief self presentation (optional), this field can be used to enter a wide variety of honors and distinctions, such as Major Donor, Paul Harris Society Member - this is currently not recorded and displayed in any other way.

Can I delete a member?

Only Prospects or Other contacts can be deleted by club administrators. No Rotarian can be deleted by club administrators. If this is necessary, please inform your DICO.

How do I get access to the Polaris administration?

If necessary, the CICO or the current secretary can give you access with the appropriate right (role). Access for administrators should be chosen carefully.

How can I be sure that Rotary International sends me invoices with correct membership figures?

Rotary International does not allow early changes for a date in the future and also does not allow retroactive membership changes beyond one month. Therefore, membership changes must be made in Polaris within 28 days.

Here is a guide on the subject for the Secretariat.

I have missed the 28-day deadline to change a member's details. What can I do?

In this case, a mutation in Polaris alone is not possible and the data must be adjusted via Rotary International via the email address data@rotary.org. You can find the exact procedure here.

How can I transfer an active member to another club?

As long as the new club belongs to the same instance (e.g. Rotary BeLux) as the current club, the transfer can simply be carried out by the secretaries of the clubs.The "Initiate member transfer" action is carried out in the member administration, in the Community section. The leaving date (cannot be in the past) and the new club are then entered.

The secretary of the target club, who has been informed of the desired transfer by email, can now complete the process by accepting or rejecting the member.

You can find detailed information here, including for other types of transfer (to a club in another Polaris instance or to a non-Polaris club / from a Polaris club in another instance or a non-Polaris club).

Which communication option do I have to select for active members?

All active members must select the “e-mail and postal delivery” option. The postal address is required by Rotary International and for receiving the printed Rotary magazine or other printed materials. You can find more information here.