About Kiwanis - What Is Kiwanis

Kiwanis is an international service organization comprised of 600,000 adult and youth members in 91 nations whose mission is to improve the quality of life for children and families worldwide.

Service Slogan

"Serving the Children of the World"

History

The first Kiwanis club was organized in Detroit, Michigan, in 1915. Kiwanis became international with the organization of the Kiwanis Club of Hamilton, Ontario, in 1916. Kiwanis limited its membership to the United States and Canada until 1962, when worldwide expansion was approved. Since then, Kiwanis has spread to all the inhabited continents of the globe.

Kiwanis was defined as "an organization for men" in the constitution adopted in 1924. Membership was opened to women in 1987, and today women serve in leadership positions at all levels of the organization.

The Kiwanis Name

The name "Kiwanis" was coined from an expression in an American Indian language of the Detroit area, "Nunc Kee-wanis," which means, "we trade" or "we share our talents."

Membership

Kiwanis clubs: 8,445
Kiwanis members: 288,702

Membership Profile

Kiwanis members are active or retired business professional men and women. Membership is 83 percent male, 17 percent female. The average Kiwanis member is 57 years old, a college graduate, married, and a homeowner. The average Kiwanian has been a member for 9.6 years.

Service Mission

Any community need can become a Kiwanis service project, especially the needs of children. In the past year, Kiwanis clubs sponsored about 150,000 service projects and raised more than $100 million.