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November is ‘The Rotary Foundation’ Month

By Gerry Roberts, PDG

Foundation Chair, Rotary eClub One of District 5450

District Governor Bob Eurich (District 5230 USA) provided much of the material for this article and I want to acknowledge his contribution because much of what he has said makes very good sense.

This month is a great time “to consider your personal connection to The Rotary Foundation (TRF).”

It was in 1917 that Rotary International President Arch Klumph proposed that an endowment fund be set up “for the purpose of doing good in the world.”  What was left over from an International Convention, some US$26, was put into the fund.

Yours and my Foundation – The Rotary Foundation – grew slowly but we did make the first grant in 1930 – it was US$500 which was contributed to The Crippled Children’s Society, which was started by a Rotarian and later grew into what we know today as Easter Seals.  In 1947, when our main Founder, Paul Harris died, we Rotarians began to honor him and his work by donating to the Foundation, which allowed several more programs were added. 

Our Foundation is very unique in that we have a lot to say about how our donated funds are spent.  A full 50% of our donations to the Annual Programs Fund come back to the District to support projects that our Club and all the Clubs in the District are doing.   “Sadly, many Rotarians and many Clubs are just silent partners in this process.” Smart and effective Clubs leverage our Foundation funds to support and complete Club projects and to develop new efforts in conjunction with other Clubs in or outside of the District.  This is a good partnership by anyone’s definition because the more we give the more we can spend from this donated money and we can also leverage our donations too. 

While we ask every Rotarian to give at least US$100 each year, this year we are asking that you consider making an even greater donation.  Yes, the world’s economy is not in stellar shape, but that means there is an even greater need than ever before for those of us than can donate.

By using a Matching Grant, we can receive as much as 1.5 times the money each Club puts into the Grant – pretty good math I would think.  If you have a project in mind, first thing to do is discuss it with your Club’s Foundation Chair and see where it might fit into the programs that our Foundation sponsors.  Then decide what amount you might need to meet your project’s goals.  Break that amount down into four parts – what your Club can contribute and what your International partner Club can contribute, then how much you can expect from your District to match your Club’s donation and the same for your International partner District, and finally how much you should expect from TRF if your project is accepted.  Remember that more than one Club can sponsor a project so contact other Clubs in your District or other Districts – this combined effort will increase the depth, breadth and strength of your project and involve more funding from them too.  The project may take more than one Rotary year, so develop a committee to see the project through to the end, even if that end is more than one year away.

“The Future of Rotary IS in Your Hands”.  “Know that you contribution will make a very real difference in the lives of others who are in need of clean water, basic sanitation, functional literacy, treatment and prevention of disease, and so very much more.”

It is up to us – Rotarians - wherever we are, whatever we do, and whatever language we use.