Giving Back to Support the Community & The World

Take Action » Giving Back to Support the Community & The World
 
The Rotary Foundation transforms your gifts into projects that change lives both close to home and around the world. As the charitable arm of Rotary, we tap into a global network of Rotarians who invest their time, money, and expertise into our priorities, such as eradicating polio and promoting peace. Foundation grants empower Rotarians to approach challenges such as poverty, illiteracy, and malnutrition with sustainable solutions that leave a lasting impact.
 
Strong financial oversight, a stellar charity rating, and a unique funding model mean that we make the very most of your contribution. Give and become a part of Rotary’s life-changing work!
 
Rotary Grants
 
District grants
 
District grants fund smaller, short-term activities that address needs in your community and communities worldwide. Each Rotary district gets to choose which projects it will fund with these grants..
 
District grants fund small-scale, short-term activities that address needs in your community and communities abroad. Each district chooses which activities it will fund with these grants.
 
What they support
 
You can use district grants to fund a variety of district and club projects and activities, including:
  • Humanitarian projects, including service travel and disaster recovery efforts
  • Scholarships for any level, length of time, location, or area of study
  • Vocational training teams, which are groups of professionals who travel abroad either to teach local professionals about a particular field or to learn more about their own
How to use them
 
You have a lot of freedom to customize your service projects. There aren’t many restrictions, as long as your district grant supports the mission of The Rotary Foundation. Districts must be qualified before they can administer district grants.
 
How they’re funded
 
Districts may use up to 50 percent of their District Designated Fund to receive one district grant annually. This percentage is calculated based on the amount of DDF generated from a district’s Annual Fund giving three years prior, including Endowment Fund earnings. You aren’t required to request the full amount available.
You’ll receive this funding as a lump sum and then distribute it to your clubs.
 
How clubs request funds
 
Clubs work directly with their district to get funding. Your district governor or Rotary Foundation chair should be able to tell you when to submit a request and whether you’ll need to meet additional district requirements, such as reporting or training.
 
Resources & reference
Tools
 
Global grants
 
Global grants support large international activities that have sustainable, measurable outcomes in one or more of our areas of focus. Rotarians create their own projects and carry them out. We accept and review applications as they arrive.
 
Global grants support large international activities with sustainable, measurable outcomes in Rotary’s areas of focus. Grant sponsors form international partnerships that respond to real community needs.
 
What they support
 
Global grants can fund these activities:
  • Humanitarian projects
  • Scholarships for graduate-level academic studies
  • Vocational training teams, which are groups of professionals who travel abroad either to teach local professionals about a particular field or to learn more about their own
How to use them
 
A key feature of global grants is partnership, between the district or club where the activity is carried out and a district or club in another country. Both sponsors must be qualified before they can submit an application.
 
To be successful, your application must:
  • Be sustainable and include plans for long-term success after the global grant funds have been spent
  • Include measurable goals
  • Align with one of our areas of focus
  • Respond to real community needs
  • Actively involve Rotarians and community members
  • Meet the eligibility requirements in the grants terms and conditions
  • Applications are accepted throughout the year and reviewed as they are received.
 
How they’re funded
 
The minimum budget for a global grant activity is $30,000. The Foundation’s World Fund provides a minimum of $15,000 and maximum of $200,000. Clubs and districts contribute District Designated Funds (DDF) and/or cash contributions that the World Fund matches. DDF is matched at 100% and cash is matched at 50%.
 
Resources & reference
Tools
Rotary support
 
History of The Rotary Foundation
 
At the 1917 convention, outgoing RI President Arch C. Klumph proposed to set up an endowment “for the purpose of doing good in the world.” In 1928, it was renamed The Rotary Foundation, and it became a distinct entity within Rotary International.
 
Growth of the Foundation
 
In 1929, the Foundation made its first gift of $500 to the International Society for Crippled Children. The organization, created by Rotarian Edgar F. “Daddy” Allen, later grew into Easter Seals.
 
When Rotary founder Paul Harris died in 1947, contributions began pouring in to Rotary International, and the Paul Harris Memorial Fund was created to build the Foundation.
 
Evolution of Foundation programs
 
1947: The Foundation established its first program, Fellowships for Advance Study, later known as Ambassadorial Scholarships.
 
1965-66: Three programs were launched: Group Study Exchange, Awards for Technical Training, and Grants for Activities in Keeping with the Objective of The Rotary Foundation, which was later called Matching Grants.
 
1978: Rotary introduced the Health, Hunger and Humanity (3-H) Grants. The first 3-H Grant funded a project to immunize 6 million Philippine children against polio.
 
1985: The PolioPlus program was launched to eradicate polio worldwide.
 
1987-88: The first peace forums were held, leading to Rotary Peace Fellowships.
 
2013: New district, global, and packaged grants enable Rotarians around the world to respond to the world’s greatest needs.
 
Since the first donation of $26.50 in 1917, the Foundation has received contributions totaling more than $1 billion.
 
Named after Rotary's founder, the Paul Harris Society recognizes Rotary members and friends of The Rotary Foundation who contribute $1,000 or more each year to the Annual Fund, PolioPlus, or approved global grants. The purpose of the Paul Harris Society is to honor and thank individuals for their generosity of annual support to The Rotary Foundation.
 
“I have been inspired watching Rotarians jump at the chance to be charter members of the Paul Harris Society. I am experiencing a truly historic moment.” – Yale Jones, Paul Harris Society Coordinator for District 5520
 
What your gift supports
 
With your gift you’re promoting peace, fighting disease, providing clean water, saving mothers and children, supporting education, and growing local economies through grants that:
  • Bring peace-building seminars to 200 teachers and 1,300 students in Uganda.
  • Distribute insecticide-treated mosquito nets and medical services that help prevent malaria in Mali.
  • Train teachers who are establishing an early childhood education center in South Africa.
  • Provide water filters, toilet blocks, and hygiene training to prevent fluorosis in a community in India.
  • Fund a scholarship for a medical professional to research treatment to minimize mortality rates among premature babies in Italy.
  • Protect children around the world from polio.
Rotary Direct, Rotary's recurring giving program, makes it easy to join the Paul Harris society.
 
 
For more information contact your district Paul Harris Society coordinator, district leader, or fundraising staff at the Rotary office that serves your region.
 
If you have questions, email Rotary’s Support Center at contact.center@rotary.org or call 1-866-976-8279.
 
Recognition
 
Rotary districts often honor new members of the Paul Harris Society by creating certificates for them and presenting them with their insignia at a district or club event in a way that is culturally appropriate and comfortable for each member.
 
Paul Harris Society coordinators and district leaders can order insignias from The Rotary Foundation at no cost. Email your request to annualfund@rotary.org
 
Rotaract brings together adults ages 18-30 to take action in their communities, develop their leadership and professional skills, and have fun. Rotary clubs sponsor them, but Rotaract members manage and fund their clubs independently.
 
As you connect with other young leaders in Rotaract, you can take advantage of all that Rotary has to offer, including:
 
International connections
 
From attending international events to joining a Rotarian Action Group, you’ll discover a variety of ways to connect globally through Rotaract.
 
Events
 
Celebrate your club’s commitment to creating positive change by getting involved in:
You can learn more about these events in the Rotaract Handbook. 
Follow Rotaract on Facebook, Twitter, Slideshare, and Storify for updates on these events and to find inspiration and ideas for getting involved.
 
Twin clubs
 
Connect with a Rotaract club in another country by developing a twin club relationship. Not only will it expand your knowledge of another country and its cultures, you’ll also increase your club’s global impact.
 
Find potential twin club candidates by referring to the Worldwide Rotaract Directory, available to Rotaract club presidents and district leaders through the Rotaract Workgroup. Clubs interested in a twin club relationship are marked with a letter P.
 
Rotarian Action Groups
 
Connect with Rotaract and Rotary members and their families who are experts in a particular field by joining a Rotarian Action Group. Group members share their expertise by collaborating with clubs and districts on service projects.
 
 
Rotary Fellowships
 
Interested in scuba diving or marathon running? Want to use your skills as a doctor or environmentalist to make a difference? Share your hobby or vocation with fellow club members, their spouses, and Rotary members. Some Rotary Fellowships are purely social, and others use their common interests and skills to carry out service projects.
 
 
District connections  
 
Your district offers a variety of ways to stay up-to-date on what’s happening in your area. You can also contact Rotaract clubs outside your district using the Worldwide Rotaract Directory. Your club or district Rotaract leaders can access the directory through the Rotaract Workgroup.
 
District Rotaract representatives
 
District Rotaract representatives are Rotaract members who have been elected by clubs in their district to help promote and share information about Rotaract with their members. District governors may appoint a Rotary member to serve as a district Rotaract chair. Together, the district Rotaract representative and chair serve as co-chairs for the district Rotaract committee, which comprises Rotaract and Rotary members.
 
Email Rotary staff for information about your district Rotaract chair or representative.
 
Multidistrict information organizations
 
Rotaract multidistrict information organizations help connect Rotaract clubs across several Rotary districts. Working within a country or region, these organizations bring members together to exchange ideas, share information, and meet other young leaders.
 
Contact your district Rotaract representative for more information.
 
Interact gives students ages 12-18 the chance to make a real difference while having fun. Every Interact club carries out two service projects a year: one that helps their school or community and one that promotes international understanding.
 
Clubs meet at least twice a month and are sponsored by their local Rotary club. When you sponsor an Interact club, you’re helping young people:
  • connect with community leaders
  • develop leadership skills
  • make international connections
  • discover more opportunities to connect with Rotary, including Rotaract, RYLA, and Youth Exchange
  • Learn more about Interact.
 
 
RYLA
​
Invite Interact members to attend a Rotary Youth Leadership Awards event to connect with the next generation of community leaders. RYLA is a leadership development program that is organized at the club, district, or multidistrict level.
 
 
International connections
 
From attending international events to joining a Rotary Youth Exchange, you’ll find a variety of ways to connect globally through Interac
 
Events
 
Celebrate your club’s global impact by getting involved in:
  • World Interact Week
  • Interact Video Contest
Follow Interact on Facebook and YouTube to find more opportunities to get involved.
 
Youth Exchange  
 
Help young people explore new cultures and customs by encouraging their participation in a Rotary Youth Exchange. Students can choose between a short term or long term exchange. It’s a powerful way to promote global understanding and peace.
 
These principles have been developed over the years to provide Rotarians with a strong, common purpose and direction. They serve as a foundation for our relationships with each other and the action we take in the world.
 
Object of Rotary
 
The Object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and, in particular, to encourage and foster:
  • FIRST: The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service;
  • SECOND: High ethical standards in business and professions; the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations; and the dignifying of each Rotarian’s occupation as an opportunity to serve society;
  • THIRD: The application of the ideal of service in each Rotarian’s personal, business, and community life;
  • FOURTH: The advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.
The Four-Way Test
 
The Four-Way Test is a nonpartisan and nonsectarian ethical guide for Rotarians to use for their personal and professional relationships. The test has been translated into more than 100 languages, and Rotarians recite it at club meetings:
Of the things we think, say or do
  1. Is it the TRUTH?
  2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
  3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
  4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
Avenues of Service
 
We channel our commitment to service at home and abroad through five Avenues of Service, which are the foundation of club activity.
  • Club Service focuses on making clubs strong. A thriving club is anchored by strong relationships and an active membership development plan.
  • Vocational Service calls on every Rotarian to work with integrity and contribute their expertise to the problems and needs of society. Learn more in An Introduction to Vocational Service and the Code of Conduct.
  • Community Service encourages every Rotarian to find ways to improve the quality of life for people in their communities and to serve the public interest. Learn more in Communities in Action: A Guide to Effective Projects and this Community Service presentation (PPT).
  • International Service exemplifies our global reach in promoting peace and understanding. We support this service avenue by sponsoring or volunteering on international projects, seeking partners abroad, and more.
  • Youth Service recognizes the importance of empowering youth and young professionals through leadership development programs such as Rotaract, Interact, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, and Rotary Youth Exchange
Establish your legacy by ensuring The Rotary Foundation can meet the world's vital needs for generations to come. Your gift helps us prevent disease, promote peace, and advance communities well into the future.
 
 
SHARE
 
You can designate the spendable earnings from your endowed gift to SHARE, which makes a portion available to support, club, and district projects.
 
World Fund
 
The World Fund provides the necessary funding for our highest priority activities around the globe. Fifty percent of SHARE-designated contributions are applied to the World Fund. You can also designate the spendable earnings from your endowed gift entirely to the World Fund, to be used for critical activities.
 
 
WAYS TO SUPPORT ROTARY'S FUTURE
 
Planned giving
 
The Foundation offers several ways to structure your gift of a lifetime, which may provide U.S. tax and other financial benefits to you and your loved ones.
 
 
Areas of focus
 
You can strengthen one of Rotary's top priorities by designating your gift to an area of focus:
  • Promoting peace
  • Fighting disease
  • Providing clean water
  • Saving mothers and children
  • Supporting education
  • Growing local economies
HOW DOES THE ENDOWMENT FUND WORK?
 
A portion of available earnings from our Endowment Fund supplements Foundation activities and helps strengthen our future commitments. Your contributions are invested in perpetuity. A percentage of the total value of the Endowment Fund is spent annually to benefit current and future Foundation grants and programs. The Foundation has set a goal of $1 billion in Endowment Fund assets and gift commitments by 2025.
 
The Foundation has recognition opportunities for your gift that include:
  • Benefactor
  • Bequest Society membership
  • Major Donor
  • Arch Klumph Society membership