Foundation

Dean said that although, through the Golf Tournament especially, the Club is a strong supporter of the Foundation, on a per capita basis our donations are low and it appears there is a lack of commitment. Donations from individuals and from the Club go to accumulate Paul Harris points and we can award a PH to anyone we want to recognize but Dean feels maybe we award too many to ourselves and should be looking to expand the reach of Rotary by giving them to outsiders. RI asks every Rotarian to give to Foundation every year. An endowment by Arch Clumpf in 1917 started it and it has grown, in the ensuing years, to $335,000,000.00. The interest is redirected back to the Clubs in matching grants to promote their projects. 30,000 grants have been funded in 199 countries. The money is working - fulfilling the mandate. Dean said he would ask departing Rotarians why they were leaving the Club and often he would hear that 'nothing is happening'. He thinks that we are not getting the message out - Read the Rotarian - there's lots going on. Local events are good but Rotary is way more. He quoted a Chines proverb to the effect that 'it is better to serve the needy without their knowing' than to advertise our selves. Vaccinations, clean water, literacy, student ambassadorships - as donors, you make all this happen. Make a donation - designate a fund - give to a specific project. Every member has a Rotary International ID number and your donation is recorded against that. (I looked, every member profile on Club Runner included this number so if you forget it, look for it there.) Interest is reassigned proportionallly and, for instance, a $5,000.00 fund started at the Club can be matched by another 5 by the District and then another 10 from CIDA. Rotary International is a good manager - the Gates family entrusted it with $350,000,000.00 recently and all they are asking from us is $150.00 per member. The scale that Rotary operates at is hard to grasp at first and takes time to understand. The Polio project alone is huge and International is working on Peace and Conflict Resolution, Disease Prevention, Water and Sanitation projects, Maternal Care, Literacy, and Community Development as well. Ralph thanked Dean for his presentation and enthusiasm for the Foundation.