Wayne shared Rotary information about The Rotary Foundation.
For the 14th consecutive year, The Rotary Foundation has received the highest rating — four stars — from
Charity Navigator, an independent evaluator of charities in the U.S.
The Foundation earned the recognition for adhering to sector best practices and executing its mission in a financially efficient way, demonstrating both strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency. Only one percent of the organizations Charity Navigator evaluates have received fourteen consecutive 4-star evaluations.
“We are honored to have been recognized and to be among the top 1% of charities evaluated,” said Rotary Foundation Trustee Chair John Germ. “Our donors can feel proud knowing that their gifts will allow them to make an impact in their communities and the world for years to come.”
The rating reflects Charity Navigator's assessment of how the Foundation uses donations, sustains its programs and services, and practices good governance and openness. We can be proud of TRF.
Wayne also shared information about RI President Jennifer Jones and the announcement about new fundraising for polio eradication.
Rotary International President Jennifer Jones appeared on the main stage at the star-studded Global Citizen Festival on 24 September to highlight Rotary’s commitment to eradicating polio and announce an additional US$150 million pledge toward that end.
Jones, who spoke in front of 60,000 people in New York City and tens of thousands more online and on TV, noted the state of emergency that the governor of New York state recently declared to combat a resurgence of polio in the region.
Jones stressed that polio is preventable through vaccines and that wild poliovirus is endemic in only two countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Although female vaccinators are critical to building relationships with mothers and reaching children in these areas, they sometimes can face harassment or even attacks.
In Pakistan, "frontline female health workers put themselves at risk every day," Jones said. "They are committed, even with obstacles, to reaching every last child with polio vaccines." The vaccination program works with the local police and government to ensure the safety of these health workers.
Jones talked about the effect of polio vaccinations in some countries being disrupted by COVID-19. She pointed out that in 2021, about 25 million children went without critical immunizations. "The world has beaten back this disease significantly, but we must redouble efforts," Jones said.
The additional funding Jones announced will go to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, which said in August that it was seeking new funding commitments for its 2022-26 polio eradication strategy. "We want this to be the start of a massive effort to reach the initiative's US$4.8 billion funding goal," Jones said.
Rotary members have been at the center of the worldwide effort to eradicate polio for more than three decades. Rotary launched PolioPlus in 1985 and helped found the GPEI in 1988, when there were an estimated 350,000 polio cases across more than 125 countries in one year. Since then, cases have plummeted more than 99.9%, sparing more than 20 million people from paralysis. Rotary has helped immunize nearly 3 billion children against polio, contributed more than US$2.6 billion to global polio eradication efforts, and helped secure more than US$10 billion from donor governments.
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