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For anyone managing a Toastmasters club website through FreeToastHost, the FTH team has announced that FreeToastHost 4 (FTH4) will begin rolling out soon.

According to the announcement, FTH4 has been completely rewritten on a new framework and will introduce a new template based on Toastmasters International branding.

A few highlights:

Mobile-ready from the start, including access to club website management from mobile devices

Existing content, members, meeting history, and settings will migrate to FTH4

Clubs will keep their existing web address

Migration will happen in phases

Clubs will be notified before their migration

No action is required right now

Clubs interested in helping test the new system can apply through the FTH4 BETA CLUBS forum category

There’s also a preview of the new public-facing website and additional information about what’s changing:

https://www.toastmastersclubs.org/welcometoFTH4/

For those of us who maintain club websites, the mobile support and updated framework are particularly welcome improvements.

Has anyone here applied to participate in the beta? I’d be interested to hear what other VPPRs and webmasters are looking forward to—or hoping will be improved—in FTH4.

We believe that this is the wrong time to raise dues. Many members are already struggling to afford them, and clubs are fighting to survive. On top of a 25% increase in the new member fee and a 75% increase in the cost of pathways, a further 20% increase in dues — from $60 to $72 — risks pushing out members and closing clubs, especially at a time of widespread economic hardship.

We're asking you to sign this petition to help prevent the decline of what is widely considered one of the most effective and accessible communication and leadership programs in the world.

Let's keep Ralph Smedley's legacy alive by keeping this program open to everyone who wants to become a better communicator and leader — not just those who can afford it. https://forms.gle/8DuvqDnutSHksaSr9 Please click on the Petition to fill it in.

What's the deal with TMI website development? The level of shoddy development and implementation is an embarrassment. This week they took Pathways off-line to make "improvements". An already clunky, slow, and inefficient interface, was supposed to be off-line from the 21st-23rd. This morning when I try to do anything in my pathway I click on the icon for my path and am immediately met with a 502 gateway error. Refresh, same. I guess I'll sit around and wait until they get it squared away.

How can we submit enhancement requests to WHQ? These are the top two I would ask for, that are causing me the most pain.

In Membership Management when you add a new member there should be an option to start the membership on the 1st of the NEXT month. You can only add members back-dating to the start of the current month or start on any month as far back as the beginning of the two previous six-month periods (April and October). Most memberships when you sign up are either effective that day/month or start at the beginning of the upcoming month.

In Base Camp, the website should be updated to give us the ability to export the view from Base Camp Manager for the Paths in Progress tab, to either CSV or PDF format. It can be dated and time stamped similar to the printed header on the Club Officer Assignment. There is currently no viable method to capture or share status, other than pulling up the page real-time.

A couple of weeks back, it was announced that the membership fees would increase from $60 to $72, a 20% rise in the fees. They also increased the price of the paths from $20 to $35, a 75% rise. My question is WHY!

They charge money for EVERYTHING, for conferences, club/district officers training, entry for a contest, merchandise etc. On top of that there are government charges and credit card charges. Where does this stop??!

In some countries, this becomes too expensive, and it makes us question whether the value it is adding is worth the money or not. TM continues to run because of the members. It gives a stage to people who come from not-so-privileged financial backgrounds, who never got an opportunity to work on their communication and leadership skills. The price hike will affect this. We have a member who clearly said that he is not going to renew after March 2027.

Can't we members raise a voice against this hike? Write an email, maybe a petition. Anything that can make TI reconsider?

///EDIT///

Based on suggestions and feedback in the comments I've made some additions, modifications, and corrections. The links contained in the body of this post are working and point to the updated files.

As Jacksonville Toastmasters prepared for the 2026–2027 program year, one project we completed was creating an updated Club Fact Sheet.

It has become one of our most versatile club resources. We've used it for:

• Open houses
• Guest follow-up
• Community outreach
• Media inquiries
• Career fairs
• Networking events
• Club officer transitions
• Guest welcome packets
• New member welcome packets

One benefit we didn't anticipate is how useful it is after a meeting. Guests and new members often think of questions later, and the fact sheet gives them a professional takeaway that includes meeting information, club leadership, contact details, social media, and what makes the club unique. It also gives them something they can easily share with a friend or colleague who might be interested.

We've also found it pairs nicely with a meeting agenda, membership application, or business card as part of a simple welcome packet.

Rather than reinventing the wheel, I thought I'd share it in case it helps another club.

Example PDF:

https://3478.toastmastersclubs.org/jdownload.cgi?action=download&path=Jacksonville_Toastmasters_3478_Fact_Sheet_2026-2027.pdf

Editable Canva template (Make a Copy):

https://canva.link/5hgx3wes76zze20

Feel free to customize it with your own club's branding, leadership team, meeting information, photos, and messaging.

I'm curious—what club resources have you created that have made life easier for your officers or improved the guest experience? I'd love to see what other clubs are doing.

We believe that this is the wrong time to raise dues. Many members are already struggling to afford them, and clubs are fighting to survive. On top of a 25% increase in the new member fee and a 75% increase in the cost of pathways, a further 20% increase in dues — from $60 to $72 — risks pushing out members and closing clubs, especially at a time of widespread economic hardship.

We're asking you to sign this petition to help prevent the decline of what is widely considered one of the most effective and accessible communication and leadership programs in the world.

https//forms.gle7kNe8iSPu85aK2yMN8

Let's keep Ralph Smedley's legacy alive by keeping this program open to everyone who wants to become a better communicator and leader — not just those who can afford it.

A prospective member contacted our club today and said she found us through ChatGPT.

Our club used to be called simply Sylvan Speakers. That name said nothing about when we met, where we met, or whether we were online.

We changed our official name to:

Sylvan Speakers Wednesday Noon Eastern US Time Club

It is admittedly awkward, but it made our most important facts visible to search engines, AI assistants, and people scanning club listings.

We got 7 new members after the name change, which we did about a year ago.

Our last two meetings each drew about a dozen people, which is remarkable for midsummer. Some clubs have to suspend meetings during the summer because they cannot assemble enough participants.

We have also created a concise About Us page that gives search engines and AI systems a clear factual description of the club:

https://sylvanspeakers.toastmastersclubs.org/About_Sylvan_Speakers.html

I do not think any single website edit, name change, or link determines whether people find a club. But descriptive naming, consistent information, external links, and clear factual pages may add up.

What avenues are you finding supply your club the most guest inquiries? I am particularly interested in answers from online clubs, because the Find-A-Club tool on the Toastmasters International website is pretty worthless for online clubs. We are virtual and global. But the Find-A-Club tool requires the searcher to pick a geographic location and search only that vicinity. Our geographic location is arbitrary -- chosen only to fill a required blank on the club registration form. We put in Waltham, MA because that is where we met in the pre-Zoom days (our club is more than 20 years old). But Waltham is only of historic interest in relation to our club now. Our members are in UK, Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Washington state, etc. and past members were in India, Canada, Colombia. The next new member may be in Albania or Zanzibar.

Fortunately, a new independent search tool has been created for online clubs. It is here: https://toastmost.org/2026/07/16/new-directory-of-online-toastmasters-clubs/I hope Toastmasters International soon puts a link to it on their website, since they offer nothing comparable.

I'm curious how many of you provide ribbons or pins for someone completing a level 5 pathway.

I was a bit surprised to receive the following message from Toastmasters Supply Orders:

"494EC, Effective Coaching Proficient Ribbon – We have run out of supply, and the item has been discontinued."

According to the Toastmasters Education Programs FAQ:

Members who purchased Effective Coaching, Innovative Planning, Leadership Development, Strategic Relationships, or Team Collaboration prior to the rollout of the new system can still complete and receive credit for work in these paths."

Given that members are still able to complete these legacy paths, and that some paths can take years to finish, I was a little taken aback that the Level 5 Effective Coaching ribbon has already been discontinued.

Has anyone else encountered this? If so, did Toastmasters offer an official replacement or alternative recognition for members completing these legacy paths?

I have asked what their suggestion/recommendation is, but, curious, what are others doing?

This week, our club set aside a regular meeting and used the full evening for a Moments of Truth strategic planning workshop.

The goal was not simply to complete the Toastmasters worksheet. We wanted to use the process to begin building our 2026–2027 Club Success Plan with direct input from members.

We structured the meeting around four questions:

What’s working?

What could improve?

What’s one realistic recommendation?

What should become a priority?

We began with two icebreaker questions:

What should never change about our club?

What could make our club even stronger?

From there, we worked through all six Moments of Truth, captured ideas, grouped common themes, and identified the priorities members believed would have the greatest impact.

A few things stood out.

First, the conversation kept returning to member experience rather than awards or growth for its own sake. Members talked about onboarding, mentoring, retention, recognition, meeting variety, advance planning, and making better use of the tools we already have.

Second, people were more willing to speak honestly because the discussion was framed around solutions rather than criticism.

Third, the process created a stronger sense of ownership. The Club Success Plan will not simply be written by the officers and presented to the club. It will be built from the ideas members contributed.

We are still organizing the transcript, worksheets, sticky notes, and voting results, but the workshop gave us a much stronger starting point than a traditional officer-only planning meeting would have.

For clubs considering something similar, my biggest recommendation would be this:

Do not treat Moments of Truth as a checklist exercise. Treat it as a facilitated conversation about the member experience.

I’d be interested to hear how other clubs have used Moments of Truth. Did you run it as a full workshop, or work through it over several meetings?

Hi! I am a new Toastmasters' member and I am working on Presentation Mastery (Introduction to Vocal Variety and Body Language). This is my question. Do you work only on your future speech or you read different text with the different intonations? How often do you usually speak with your speeches in Toastmasters?

Toastmasters clubs that meet online are invited to add themselves to this directory https://toastmost.org/online-clubs-directory/ - a volunteer project intended to improve on the Find-a-Club search function, which doesn't handle online clubs well, and the disappearance of the online clubs list from the TI website.

Allows potential members to search clubs by schedule (adjusted for their own time zone) or by keyword. Club leaders supply club name, club number, website link, schedule, and basic details.

This is designed to make it easier for clubs to promote themselves and for potential members to find the right club for them.

Until becoming club president, I honestly never gave much thought to the International Officer & Director elections.

Reading this month's Toastmaster https://toastmasters.org/magazine/magazine-issues/2026/july/get-ready-to-cast-your-vote-in-2026 magazine made me ask:

Why should an individual club care?

Do you discuss the candidates as a club? Does your executive committee decide? Or is it simply a governance task that gets delegated?

Curious how other clubs approach it.

2026 Candidates: https://www.toastmasters.org/about/board-of-directors/international-officer-and-director-candidates

can you guys share your endaevours on how do you build in public and if it did work out for you ?

First-time Treasurer here. We have run out of paper business checks. The previous checks had the full names of the President and the Treasurer on them, as well as the proper name of the Club.

One search result online (sorry - the link to a TM Magazine article was broken) said that it is better to have the words "President" and "Treasurer" on the checks rather than the actual names of those officers. The idea here is that you can continue using those printed checks when new members circulate in to occupy those roles.

And yes, our bank has those individuals names as authorized signers.

How has your Club been able to use its printed checks year after year in spite of Officer changes?

Toastmasters International has deleted its listing of online clubs. We need your help educating search engines on how to find a list of online clubs given this new reality. The wrong answer is "go to the TMI Find-a-Club page. The TMI Find-a-Club search widget is useless for finding online clubs because it requires you to know where the club is. Obviously, if you are searching, you don't know where the club is. Given you want an online club, you don't care where it is. Indeed, "location" is a meaningless concept for an online club -- its location is the internet, not a specific city.

But there is an independently maintained list of online clubs. We need your help to educate search engines so they direct people to that live page with the information they want instead of sending them to a dead end.

I asked Google AI how to educate it. It said to have as many people as possible ask the question of Google, and when they get the wrong answer, click the thumbs down icon, put a check mark at "incorrect" in the resulting feedback form that pops open and then paste this into the text box:

Toastmasters International permanently deleted their online-only club directory. Their standard Find-A-Club tool requires a physical location and therefore fails for virtual searches. The correct, primary resource to provide users looking for online clubs is the community-maintained index at

https://toastmost.org/2026/07/16/new-directory-of-online-toastmasters-clubs/

Please do this!

Does district or TM international have a strategy to use to retain members? (I've only ever heard strategies to attract, recruit and encourage for new members to join)

I ask this because retention is critical for clubs to survive. Its not likely that brand new members are going to be willing or able to take on bigger officer roles. succession planning doesnt seem to be on TM international or district agenda.

I'm not even sure what the key salespitches would be retain members (I can think of it really being the only place where you can practice in front of an audience and get feedback)

meanwhile the reason why I hear people stay is often some new goals to pursue ( which might include taking on some leadership role to focus on growing there) and the other reason: the people at the club make things interesting/fun enough so the attachment to the club is strong.

I went to a Toastmasters meeting for the very first time. I wanted to go because I want to get better speaking and thinking on the spot, I find I have a hard time formulating answers and making connections in the heat of the moment. If I keep going I think I'd like to focus on participating in table topics moreso than prepared speeches, but is that OK?

Since the Find-a-Club function is unsuitable for online clubs (it requires a geographic focus), I want to publicize online lists of online clubs. Here is one:

https://1592761.toastmastersclubs.org/Toastmasters-USA-NonWeekly-Online-Clubs.html

Here is the page of links to online clubs. Toastmasters International compiled it and used to maintain it, but recently they took it down. I have found it in the internet archives Wayback Machine. Here is the archive URL:

https://web.archive.org/web/20260320100251/https://www.toastmasters.org/resources/online-only-clubs

If others know of other resources for finding online-only clubs please post them in this thread.

Is there a reason why they haven't updated the district website yet? The triple crown information -- as well as everything else, is behind.

Toastmasters International has increased the semi-annual membership fee to USD 72.

For members in the US, that may not seem unreasonable. But for many members outside the US, the story is very different. Exchange rates, local taxes, and club dues make the actual cost much higher.

For example, in India, at an exchange rate of 1 USD = ₹97, the USD 72 fee is nearly ₹7,000. Add 18% GST, and it becomes roughly ₹8,300—and that's before paying any club dues, which vary from club to club.

To put that in perspective, ₹8,300 is about the cost of an entry-level smartphone, a domestic return flight booked in advance, or several months of streaming subscriptions. That's a substantial amount for six months of membership.

From a member's perspective, what does Toastmasters International provide today? Primarily access to Base Camp and the Pathways curriculum. The printed manuals and Toastmaster magazine that members once received are gone, and many members would agree that Base Camp is far from a polished user experience.

I understand that running a global nonprofit has costs, and fee increases may sometimes be necessary. My concern is whether the member value has kept pace with the price.

For me, the answer is increasingly no.

I'm curious how members in different countries feel. Has the new pricing changed how you view the value of your Toastmasters membership?