Talk:Service club
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Not a good idea, to merge with social and fraternal. Service clubs are a key feature of life in America. All admit women and minorities, the good ones seek them, though some local clubs remain unreconstructed in some locales. These tend to be geriatric. The main organizations -- Kiwanis, Rotary, and Lions -- are organized globally and are growing rapidly in the developing world. Civitans, Ruritans, and others operate chiefly in America.
Service clubs are organizations which have been formed in many parts of the world so that their members may volunteer to perform valuable community services, as well as enjoy fellowship, learn from knowledgable speakers and interesting programs which provide an insight into issues affecting the local and global community, develop and exercise leadership skills, expand business through professional networking, and gain a sense of worthwhile accomplishment. There are a wide variety of service clubs, with different goals, focus, programs, and memberships.
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/service-clubs/general-faq/
[edit] Financial Consequences
I also do not recommend this merge. It is desirable to maintain a strict separation between the terms “service organization” and “fraternal organization”. Corporate grant procedures often exclude “fraternal” organizations, only as a matter of obsolete or non-existent semantic connotations. Corporate foundations want to know their money is going to a 501c3, and that the organization will use all of the money as a “primary caregiver” or for a specific budgeted (and detailed to them) “hands on” event – and NOT for any overhead or organizational expenses. An organization may be fraternal, but for purposes of grant income should steer clear of the “fraternal” label and market themselves as a service organization. Ex: go to LFG.com – “About Us” (tab) – “Corporate Giving”; Select “Guidelines”; Fraternal organizations are specifically excluded. I supported the IT for this foundation and they will reject grant requests with “fraternal” stated. Corporations with more specific guidelines have more hurdles, but in the long run mean more money. The (possibly obsolete) connotation is that “fraternal” has a focus on friendships and networking, and “service” has a focus on community works. SingDeep 01:46, 8 December 2006 (UTC)
