District 7070 Update  - Rotary Foundation Grants & COVID-19 Responses

As people of action, Rotary members want to find ways to respond to COVID-19 and to help people affected by it. The Rotary Foundation offers several options that Rotarians can use to help care for and protect people in their own communities and others around the world. On that page, please take a look at the files section called Rotary Foundation COVID-19 Grant Options for additional background. Here , you will read and learn more about :District Grants, Global Grants, and the Rotary Disaster Response Fund.

If you have questions, please send them to Michael Bell, District 7070 Foundation Chair, and copy Lars Henriksson, District 7070 Foundation Grants Chair.

Thank you so much for all you are doing to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rotary’s response is needed, and our Rotary Foundation is ready to help us help us others. If you have not yet made a personal or club donation to our Foundation, please do so if you can........

Districts can use district grant funds to support local activities, like purchasing thermometers, protective medical gear, or other items to donate to medical professionals and community members who need them. Projects might also include initiatives related to food security, access to education and literacy resources, and other COVID-19 related needs. Tip: Take a look at Rotary Showcase to see what other clubs are doing around the world!

In District 7070, in order to simplify the application process and to get COVID-19 responses underway as soon as possible, we will provide up to $1,000 CDN per Rotary club on a 1:1 matching basis. There will be no requirement for partnership with other clubs, although you are welcome to do so. 

Because Rotaract clubs are not currently eligible to receive District Grants, an additional amount of up to $1,000 will be provided to a Rotary club that partners with a Rotaract club on a project using the same 1:1 matching principle. These two grants can be combined into one grant of up to $2,000 should that be the wish of the partnering clubs. A Rotaract club can partner in this way on only one COVID-19 related project with a Rotary club.

We have approximately $10,000 available in this Rotary year to fund COVID-19 related responses. An application form is available on the District website (see download on left-hand side of this page). These 2019-20 funds will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. All projects must be approved by The Rotary Foundation before a grant will be awarded. 

In the 2020/21 Rotary year, priority for District Grants will be given to club projects related to Rotary’s COVID-19 response on the same 1:1 matching basis as outlined above. The same partnership with Rotaract clubs is encouraged and the same matching amount maximums apply (up $1,000 for one project, up to $2,000 if there is a partnership with a Rotaract club).

The deadline for all District Grant applications is 31 May 2020. The District Grant application form has been revised to include notes in red about COVID-19 related projects. The funds available in this Rotary year (2019/20) will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis for eligible projects. Don’t wait to get these applications in! These projects must still be approved by the Rotary Foundation, and the grant funds will be paid out before the end of the 2019/20 Rotary year. The timing for the approval and payment of the 2020-21 District Grants is still being determined, but these are usually paid out in the late summer/early fall. 

IMPORTANT NOTES: As a one-time exception, the Rotary Foundation will allow expenses related to COVID-19 projects that were incurred after 15 March 2020. Note that the expenses must be approved by the Foundation for the funds available in 2019-20 and also for the funds available as part of District 7070’s 2020-21 District Block Grant submission. Clubs that incur project expenses prior to approval are doing so at their own risk. 

In every case, the Rotary Club applying for a District Grant(s) must complete the online qualification process on the District 7070 website and have its President and President-Elect sign and return the Memorandum of Understanding before any grant will be awarded. 

While many clubs in District 7070 are developing COVID-19 responses in their local communities, both local and international projects are eligible for funding. 

There must be active Rotary participation in all projects, although this may take some creativity given safety concerns and social distancing protocols. Clubs are encouraged to highlight the involvement of Rotary and the Rotary Foundation in their projects to help enhance our community profile. Please use the logos available in the Brand Center.

Globals Grants

As always, applications for Global Grants are accepted on an ongoing basis. This is done online on the Rotary website through the Grants Center. District 7070 Rotary clubs wishing DDF (District Designated Funds) to match club cash contributions to a Global Grant project must make a request using a form available on the District website. Based on the information provided in the form and discussions with the Club, District 7070 will inform the Club/s how much DDF that can be made available to the project. DDF will not be made available to projects if no request form was sent to the District. Note that the Rotary Foundation is waiving the 30% foreign financing requirements for any new Global Grant that addresses COVID-19. These grants still require both a host and an international partner.  

Rotary Disaster Response Fund 

Rotary’s Disaster Response Grants provide a fast and effective way to respond to local events. The Rotary Foundation recently added COVID-19 projects to its list of eligible activities for these grants. Each district can apply for one grant (of up to $25,000) to address COVID-19, depending on the availability funds. Note that the funds available for COVID-19 responses are currently depleted. Please consider making a personal or club donation to this fund if you are able. District 7070 has made a $10,000 USD contribution from our District Designated Funds (DDF) to be used exclusively for COVID-19 grant activities. Cash contributions from non DDF sources will be used for general disaster response, including response to COVID-19.