October 2025 Leader Letter

October and April Dues Accepted Online — Inspire your members to continue their journey; you can still submit October dues payments through the Membership Management page to keep your club and members in good standing. You can also now begin submitting April and October 2026 dues as well! If you need assistance, please email the Club Quality and Member Support Team or call +1 720-439-5050 from 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Mountain Time, Monday–Friday. Review the Renewal Dues FAQ for additional support.

Board of Directors Meeting Minutes — Did you know that the meeting minutes for the Board of Directors are available on the Toastmasters International website? Explore the dropdowns on the Meeting Minutes page to read about recent discussions and decisions. Check back throughout the year; the page is updated regularly.

Toastmasters Education Series — The Education Series are full of helpful tips for your club! Check out "Creating the Best Club Climate" in the Successful Club Series to learn how your club can hold excellent and welcoming meetings. Do you and your fellow members have trouble picking speech topics? Present "Selecting Your Topic" in the Better Speaker Series to learn useful tips. Finally, if you want to give more effective evaluations, review "Giving Effective Feedback" in the Leadership Excellence Series.

Convention Highlights and Replay — Just because the 2025 International Convention is over doesn’t mean you have to miss it! You can now get on board with the sessions and highlights through unlimited On Demand access.

Digital Guest Packet — The “Why Toastmasters?” page is a great link to include in your email to a guest after they visit your club. There, potential members will find the same information found in the Guest Packet, including Toastmasters' structure, how members can grow, and details on how to join your club.

Meeting Minutes — One of the main responsibilities of the Club Secretary is to record the meeting minutes. Templates and examples are available online for club meetings and Club Executive meetings. Also available are branded letterhead options.

Using Club Funds — If your club has available club funds, you can use this money to purchase club materials, pay for the meeting space, purchase refreshments, and more. Additional information can be found on the Use of Club Funds page. You can also contact clubquality@toastmasters.org with any questions.

Invocations and Pledges — Invocations and pledges are popular ways to open club meetings with an inspirational message. They are usually one or two minutes in length, delivered by a designated club member, and are entirely optional. If your club chooses to open a meeting with an invocation or pledge, always respect the diversity of club members and visitors.

Top Communication Tips — Author, Lecturer, Podcaster, and Keynote Speaker Matt Abrahams—this year’s Golden Gavel Honoree—shares his wisdom on communication and listening, offers his take on effective listening, describes conversational turn-taking, and explains why we shouldn’t be so afraid to use filler words.

Go for the (Culturally Appropriate) Laughs — Language, technology, and presentation style are all affected by culture. If you have members from different countries in your club, learn how to determine whether your humor is funny, or doesn’t make sense.

Sing in the Shower — … or in the car … or anywhere. Find out why singing is one of the most powerful tools for training your speaking voice, as well as strengthening, toning, and stretching your vocal cords for peak performance. Then, turn on some tunes and start practicing!

New Member Fee Update — As announced during the August Board Briefing, the new member fee increased to $25 USD on October 1, 2025. This one-time fee supports administrative costs, Base Camp system access, and provides new members with their first path. The fee has remained unchanged for 20 years, predating the current online engagement system, making this adjustment necessary to continue providing quality member support and services. Please ensure your club is using all updated materials, including physical membership application, How to Build a Toastmasters Club , and The Benefits of Toastmasters Membership.

Smedley Award 2025 — Contest submissions for the Smedley Award have ended. All notifications regarding clubs that have earned the award will be posted in late October. For more information about the month-end closing dates and their impact on reporting, please refer to the Month-End Closing Dates page.

Looking for Your Renewals? — Has your club submitted information for members to be renewed that is still not reflected on your club's roster? If your club has submitted payment by wire transfer, this may be the reason for the delay. Please email the wire transfer confirmation (commonly called the SWIFT Receipt) to the Finance Team. They will ensure the funds are allocated to renew the appropriate members. During the increased volume for the renewal period, please send only one communication regarding confirmation for the wire transfer.

Submitting Payments — The easiest way to pay Toastmasters International is online with a debit or credit card. We also accept payments by fax, wire transfer, or over the phone. Please note, we do not accept international money orders, even in U.S. dollars. If your payment is tax-exempt, you must send it directly to World Headquarters. Tax-exempt payments can't be made online.

Contacting World Headquarters — When communicating with World Headquarters staff, please select a single email address. Including multiple email addresses on the same communication may result in a reply email not reaching you, and your email may be categorized as spam.

Need Help Logging In? — If a club member has difficulty logging in, use the Forgot Password feature, which sends an email prompting the user to create a new password. If that doesn't resolve the issue, email membership@toastmasters.org.

Don’t Fall for Phishing Scams — Each year, we see an increase in phishing scams targeting our members. Scammers send messages that appear to be official contacts from Toastmaster leaders or members but contain malicious links. DO NOT click these links as they often are trying to obtain sensitive data such as usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, and bank account details. Always verify suspicious messages by confirming that the email address or link only contains ‘toastmasters.org’ and report phishing attempts to your email service provider or cellular company. Stay vigilant!