It is a fact that many individual members regularly offer assistance with area community service projects. If one were to check the individual service activities of members in any given Club, the average member would probably carry out far more volunteer service than those in most of the recognised service clubs. Probus Clubs pride themselves on their independence and freedom from the responsibilities of a service club. The structure of the clubs is simple, and members are normally not required to attend a minimum number of meetings.

Probus Clubs are in essence autonomous and as such have no central governing body, but Probus Centres have been established internationally by country to disseminate information and assist clubs. Offices are staffed largely by volunteers and operating costs are met by member contributions.

The Probus worldwide web page - address given above - contains information on Probus, and includes contacts for many international Probus Clubs, the Informal Probus Network of chat groups, and several segments dealing with information about forming a Probus Club, Probus services etc.

Following the Probus Clubs formed in the early 1920s in Canada (Melville, Saskatchewan and around Connecticut, USA about the latter part of 1965), an active and notable Rotarian of Welwyn Garden City assembled some retired professional and business men (some Rotarians and some not), to form a Club. In a Probus newsletter we find a report 'A Simple Idea' by the Founder, Fred Carnill:

"I used to meet a few retired men for morning coffee - mostly ex-commuters (to London) with professional or business backgrounds and with a wealth of experience behind them. Conversation was always brisk and entertaining. One was an architect, responsible for many public buildings over the country, another an ex-borough treasurer, an ex-railway official, an headmaster, an ex-journalist, an ex-newspaper editor and an ex-secretary to a Prime Minister. This gave me an idea, really a very simple one . . . I telephoned 33 friends that night and they said, 'Put me down, Fred.' Thus the Campus Club, (because it faced the centre of town, called The Campus), was formed."

In the next year Rotarian Harold Blanchard of Caterham Rotary Club formed and sponsored the Caterham Probus club. In his writings of 'The Birth of Probus' he states:
" . . . one of our more erudite members came up with the idea of PROBUS, PROfessional and BUSiness, (probably from knowledge of a name used in Saskatchewan, Canada and in Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.A., with similar attributes but not it seems, with the same purpose). He assured us that Probus was a Latin word from which "probity" was derived, and the name was adopted with enthusiasm. Incidentally we found there was a village in Cornwall called Probus and also there was a Roman Emperor of the same name who in his day was famous for his cultivation of the vine."

Due to the success of these two clubs, which incidentally never merged, Probus Clubs were promoted through Rotary in adjacent towns. As a result Rotary International British Isles was informed and a promotional pamphlet established urging other Rotary Clubs to form Probus. There are now approximately 1,700 clubs in Great Britain alone.
The first Probus Club in the South Pacific was originated by Gordon Roatz at Kapiti Coast, Paraparaumu, north of Wellington in New Zealand in November, 1974. In the mid 1970s Rotarian Cliff Johnstone from Australia discovered Probus on a visit and began Probus at Hunters Hill in Sydney, Australia. The formation of this Club seems to have created an interest so strong that there are now over 1900 clubs in Australia and New Zealand under the umbrella of the Probus Centre - South Pacific.

Many other countries have followed the Australian example. Although this information is probably now out of date, the Netherlands has 300 clubs, Ireland 75, Belgium 60, South Africa 75 (including seven Women's clubs). In India there are at least 20 clubs, in the U.S.A. there are approximately 12, Bermuda has 1, and others have started in Germany (1991, now 5 clubs), Chile, Cyprus, Portugal, Spain (1996), Trinidad, and Zimbabwe (3 clubs).