DG Doug's Notes - Supporting Foundation
Posted by Doug Detweiler
Supporting Foundation
Congratulations to the Rotary Club of the Athol-Orange Area which reached a major milestone this year. Over the past 40 years the club has given a total of $100,000 to The Rotary Foundation.How did they do it?
By committing their members to yearly contributions to the Foundation as well as earmarking a portion of funds raised by the club. As part of their “fireside chats” with prospective members, the club explains they will be expected to contribute $100 or more each year to The Rotary Foundation. Each year the club is consistently among the top three clubs in District 7910 in the amount of money they give to Foundation.
The North Quabbin area isn’t known for being a wealthy part of the Commonwealth; it has one of the lowest per capita incomes in District 7910. Nonetheless, club members have consistently given to The Rotary Foundation because they understand that the Foundation is the force multiplier that allows all 53 clubs in District 7910 to undertake community service projects. The matching funds that come from the Foundation are used together with money raised by our clubs to serve others, both locally and internationally.
The club’s Foundation Chair, Al Bowers, a long-time member, has taken the lead in educating and encouraging the club to support Foundation. At their weekly club meetings Bowers gives a short “100 Seconds” about something related to Foundation. “It’s all about expectations,” Bowers says. “People need to know what is expected and they’ll live up to what you expect.”
Bowers and club president Jeanette Robichaud organized a special evening of celebration earlier this month when the club recognized 14 members who had either become new Paul Harris Fellows by contributing $1,000 to The Rotary Foundation or, had increased their giving to become multiple Paul Harris Fellows. Eight of the 14 are Paul Harris multiples including one member who is a Paul Harris plus eight! In addition, using a combination of club and member Paul Harris points, eight non-Rotarians from the North Quabbin region were honored for their service to their communities by making them Paul Harris Fellows. Quite an accomplishment for a 32-member club!
Many Rotarians may not realize that for every dollar you give to The Rotary Foundation through the Annual Programs Fund, PolioPlus, or by being a sponsor of a Foundation grant, the Foundation credits you one Foundation recognition point. So, 1000 points for a $1,000 donation yields one Paul Harris Fellow. These points can be used to award a Paul Harris Fellow to someone you or your club wants to recognize for their work that embodies the Rotary motto of Service Above Self. Using points to recognize local non-Rotarians is good public relations and could lead to getting some local residents interested in Rotary.
So let’s follow the lead of the Athol-Orange Area Club and ask all Rotarians in District 7910 to think about making a contribution to The Rotary Foundation as you write checks for your end-of-year charitable contributions.