These notes barely cover what Nick shared with us. I kept getting drawn into the stories about what The Rotary Foundation (TRF) does with our donations. While writing, it turned into a primer on TRF.
The Rotary Foundation transforms your gifts into service projects that change lives both close to home and around the world.
History: At the 1917 convention, outgoing Rotary president Arch Klumph proposed setting up an endowment “for the purpose of doing good in the world.” That one idea, and an initial contribution of $26.50, set in motion a powerful force that has transformed millions of lives around the globe.
We’re not afraid to dream big and set bold goals. We began our fight against polio in 1979 with a project to immunize 6 million children in the Philippines. Today, polio remains endemic in only two countries — down from 125 in 1988.
The Rotary Foundation Mission: The Rotary Foundation helps Rotary members to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace by improving health, providing quality education, improving the environment, and alleviating poverty.
What impact can one donation have?
- For as little as 60 cents, a child can be protected from polio.
- $50 can provide clean water to help fight waterborne illness.
- $500 can launch an antibullying campaign and create a safe environment for children.
When we contribute to The Rotary Foundation, we can select which fund we want the donation to go to. All of the following are eligible for Paul Harris recognition.
Annual Fund-Share– The Foundation holds the funds for three years, at that time half of the donations made by a district come back to that district as “District Designated Funds” (DDF); the other half goes to the World Fund. The World Fund is the primary funding source for global grants which support large international activities with sustainable, measurable outcomes in Rotary’s areas of focus.
Endowment-Share - The Foundation Endowment holds the funds for three years, at that time half of the donations made by a district come back to that district as “District Designated Funds” (DDF); the other half goes to the World Fund.
World Fund. You can also direct your contribution to the World Fund. This contribution is not included in a district's SHARE calculation and does not increase its DDF (District Designated Fund.)
One example of the great work the World Fund does is the Guatemala Literacy Project; a global grant provided textbooks, computer labs, teacher training, and scholarships to impoverished schools.
Annual Fund-Areas of Focus Funds. Annual Fund contributions that are directed to the Foundation's areas of focus count toward a club's annual giving goal and per capita giving calculations. This is not included in a district's SHARE calculation and does not increase its DDF.
PolioPlus Fund – Gates Foundation is matching 2:1 up to $50 M in match. Our district has a goal of $1,500 per club to polio plus. Last year the average was over $2,000 per club. The donations help Rotary reach every child with the polio vaccine. This is not included in a district's SHARE calculation and does not increase its DDF.
And there are more! The Rotary donation page has more information; https://my.rotary.org/en/donate
2023-2024 Grant Summary
All Rotary: $30 million awarded for 485 District Grants – small scale, short term projects.
In 2024-2025 our district (5240) has 59 clubs doing 63 programs for over $129,000.
All Rotary: $4 million for 105 Disaster Response Grants
All Rotary: $82 million awarded for 1,285 global grants. These grants are restricted to specific projects.
All Rotary: $2 million to 1 program of scale grant (this is a new grant category.)