The Rotary Foundation by PDG Alastair Paterson
It cannot be emphasized how vital the Rotary Foundation is to the basic function of Rotary and the furtherance of its motto 'Service Above Self', both on a local basis as well as internationally.
Many Rotarians in the Cayman Islands will question how the Foundation can benefit us locally. We are fortunate as we could be described as a wealthy territory, at least compared to many of the other countries and islands in our Caribbean District and certainly in many other locations throughout the world. Jamaica and Haiti, for example are both in our District and have been the recipient of substantial assistance in grants from the Foundation. Rotary in the
Cayman Islands has not maximized the benefits of the Foundation and its available funding over the years. That is not because the need does not exist, indeed the need does exist, but mainly due to the facts that Rotary in the Cayman Islands has been more than generous in donations to the Foundation over the years and it tends to fund its own programmes independently.
Foundation funding is however available to Rotary in Cayman and there is no doubt that
The Foundation has been a tremendous investment for our District over the past few years. As you will discover in presentations, our District has been the recipient of over six times the funding we have actually given. When one considers that three years or so ago our District donated over US$ 250,000 to the Foundation yet received over US$ 1,500,000 in grants last year it proves that the system works. We in Rotary Sunrise, with other Clubs as partners, can
also make the system work to benefit our community.
The Rotary Foundation is a separate and distinct entity from Rotary International. In simple terms Rotary International is an administrative body to support Rotarians and Rotary Clubs. It is administered and governed by a Board of Directors. Their responsibility is essentially the supervision of the running of Rotary International through Zones, Districts and Clubs.
The Foundation on the other hand, and again in simple terms, is the sole arm of Rotary charity with the funds being accounted for and disbursed completely independently of the administrative body by a Board of Trustees whose only role is to take in and distribute donations from both Rotarians and friends of Rotary.
One of the outstanding principles of the Rotary Foundation is that it is one of the few charities in the world which essentially disburses almost every dollar it receives. Not a few cents per dollar. Not with substantial reductions for administrative or other costs. You donate a dollar. Almost the entire dollar is disbursed.
The mission statement of the Rotary Foundation (commonly referred to as TRF) is 'To enable Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill and peace through the improvement of health, support of education and the alleviation of poverty'. TRF is a not for profit corporation supported solely by voluntary contributions from Rotarians and friends of Rotary International and TRF, who share its vision of a better world.
This may sound grand or perhaps 'pie in the sky'. It is however a starting point and many of the TRF programmes have proven to be very successful to date. As the month progresses you will learn about Ambassadorial Scholarships and Group Study Exchange, two TRF programmes in which our District and the Cayman Islands have participated. You will be introduced to Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies which has become an important aspect of international affairs and will more than likely develop internationally as the years pass. You will also learn that basic community service projects such as health and hunger, literacy and education, all of which are part of Rotary in Cayman can be further supported by the TRF. You will also hear more about the success of the Rotary instigated Polio Plus health programme
kicked off in 1985 and which, with the support of the Gates Foundation and WHO are within striking distance of eradicating polio from the world. This could not have occurred without the foresight of Rotary itself and has only been a success due to the dedication of Rotarians and their friends.
TRF which was founded in 1917 and developed into a Foundation in 1928 when it grew to $ 5,000 now has three different funds one of which is the Annual Giving Fund which last year raised approximately 100 million dollars worldwide for grant disbursement worldwide. Youshould be proud that Rotary Sunrise was part of that and can thus participate in developing its own programmes with TRF support.
Rotary Sunrise asks each of you to please support the Rotary Foundation.