Twenty-nine clubs will soon be receiving District Grants from The Rotary Foundation. Each year, our District receives up to 25% of the funds our members previously donated to the Foundation’s Annual Fund for use in District Grants. The remainder of our donations to the Annual Fund is used to support our Global Grants, World Fund projects, and for operating costs of The Rotary Foundation.
This year, we received $117,239 to distribute as matched District Grants for club projects to be conducted here in Australia or overseas. So far, we have received 43 applications from clubs, and have been able to approve 29 of them, allocating $93,469 of the funds available. About half of the projects support community-based activities here in our District, and the remainder support projects in Cambodia, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nepal, Philippines, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor Leste, and Tonga. We are reviewing the remaining applications and hope to be able to approve more by the end of this month.
Information about each of the District Grants is available by...
...clicking on this link
The matched grants approach requires each club to contribute at least as much to the project as it receives from the District Grant fund. The total value of projects is almost $250,000. This is an amazing effort by clubs in our District, particularly during the pandemic!
It is not too late to apply for a District Grant this year. As a result of the fluctuation in exchange rates between the US Dollar and Australian Dollar, we have received more funds than expected when they were transferred last week. If your club has not already applied for a District Grant, please contact our Grants Committee Chair, Haran Ramachandran at 0419 980 529 for more information. Clubs interested in applying for a District Grant must meet eligibility requirements and be able to complete their projects within the remainder of the Rotary year. Once all funds are committed, we will place the remaining applications on our Waiting List in case the approved projects are unable to be completed or are able to be completed with lower spending than planned.
David Dean
Disrtict 9685 Rotary Foundation Chair