November is Foundation month in the Rotary calendar. It gives us the opportunity of high-lightning all the good that come thanks to Rotarians and the Rotary Foundation. Both those who raise and donate funds to the Foundation and those who take advantage of the generous support the Foundation is offering........
However, it is worth noting that raising/donating funds to the Foundation or designing projects using Foundation funds are not limited to November. On the contrary. Donations to the Foundation are welcome every month to guarantee the ability for the Foundation to award funds to humanitarian projects.
The Rotary Foundation offers two kinds of grants, Global and District Grants. Global Grants are supposed to be used for larger, long-term projects. They must fall within one of the six areas of focus. They must also be between Clubs or Districts in two different countries. And the project budget must be at least USD30,000. Sustainability is a major factor in the project. Applications for Global Grants are made online at www.rotary.org. and can be made throughout the year.
District Grants on the other hand are for smaller projects. They can be used for local and international projects. There is no requirement to have a Rotary Club as partner if the project takes place in another country. Having said that, it is always positive with a Rotary connection if possible. Application for District Grants are made to the District at a certain deadline. For the 2018-19 Rotary year, the deadline was June 15, 2018. The deadline for the 2019-20 Rotary year will most likely be at the end of May 2019. But you may want to start planning for a District Grant project already now.
Every year, Districts receive half the amount the was raised in the District for the Foundation’s Annual Fund three years ago. This amount is called District Designated Funds, DDF. It can be used for matching Club cash support to Global and District Grant projects, as well as Vocational Training Teams, Graduate Scholarships and contributions to the End Polio Now Campaign and Rotary’s Peace Centres. For both Global and District Grants, D7070 is encouraging cooperation between Clubs.
Clubs that want to apply for grant money, must be qualified. This is a yearly process. Two members of the Club must attend. Every year, the District organizes a Qualification Seminar. The on for the 2019-20 Rotary year will be held Saturday, February 9, 2019 in Oshawa. In addition, we are planning to do one or two on-line sessions. Some Districts have found this very positive, so we want to try it as well. Still, there are advantages to attend the Seminar and connect with other like-minded Rotarians.
Much more can be said about the Rotary Foundation and its grants program. You may want to schedule a presentation to your Club. Please, feel free to contact PDG Lars Henriksson, District Grants Sub-Committee Chair for that matter as well as any other questions you may have about the grants program. Lars can be reach at lars@norditrade.com or tel.416 489 8438.
Please, donate to the Rotary Foundation so we can do more!
District Grants 2018-19
Just in time for the District Conference and Rotary Foundation month (November), we received the good news from the Rotary Foundation that our application for District Grants had been approved. Here is a summary of the projects that will receive funds. The amount of funding from the District depends on the number of clubs supporting the project; hence the column heading Max. District Grant.