PLEASE SHARE THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE WITH YOUR CLUB MEMBERS:
We celebrate our Rotarians — valued members of District 5450 — at this special time of the year! You have continued the Rotary tradition of strong philanthropy and continue to help achieve our core mission of “advancing world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty.” You are part of the massive world-wide Rotary movement – 1.2 million Rotarians in more than 35,000 clubs providing 16 million hours of volunteer service to folks around the world! Yes, we ARE “doing good in the world!”
December is also a time for Rotarians to be asked for their contributions at year end… for good causes, each and every one of them. Rotarians only support worthy causes, right? But there are so many of them. It’s hard to decide which one(s) to support and how much to give them. And you probably don’t have time to look at their 990s or their annual reports on their website.
Rotary Foundation to the rescue. Make your gift to the Rotary Foundation and know that each and every dollar will be spent on causes you believe in, in places that need it, when they need it, and in ways that it helps the most. Thank you, Rotary Foundation. You have made it easy to handle all year-end requests for money.
We wish you and yours a joyous holiday season. May the beauty of the season bring you happiness throughout the year ahead!
*SPECIAL NOTE: Members of Denver Club 31 have mounted a special fundraising effort to recognize Grant Wilkins for his past Rotary International Board of Directors leadership and emphasis on polio eradication. They have undertaken a dedicated effort to raise $100,000 for PolioPlus in his honor. To date, $85,730 has been raised. Clubs should continue to achieve their own 2017-18 polio goals.
The Polio Plus Committee invites you and your club members and their guests to join in the festivity of the R.I President's Dinner on January 6. Meet our RI President, Ian Riseley; hear the latest news on Polio Plus campaign from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation representative Rachel Lonsdale, celebrate our district's generosity at the half year point; and ... enjoy drinks, dinner and conversation with fellow Rotarians. Who could ask for anything more?!
Please remember there are several challenges in our fundraising for Polio Plus. First, as announced at the 2017 Rotary International Convention, is that we have accepted the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation challenge to raise our matched contributions from $35 million to $50 million. To that end, our 5450 Polio Plus Committee continues to honor those clubs that meet our aspirational goal of at least $50 per member to this campaign. As of November 24, there are six clubs that have met the challenge. Several others are close. Announcements at the President's Dinner will be based on the posted figures available as of January 2, 2018.
Our thoughts are with all District 5450 Rotarians during the next month of joy-filled celebrations. We hope to see you on January 6!
Congratulations, Carolyn Schrader! Carolyn and the Rotary Club of Denver Mile High are featured in the “up front” section of The Rotarian magazine (December 2017, page 11). She has developed a strong relationship with Stella Dongo, Rotary Club of Highlands, Zimbabwe, over the past 14 years. Together, they and their clubs have partnered to deliver training, education and hope to women and youth in need in Harare, Zimbabwe. Click here to download and please share the article with your club members!
Has your club applied for a District Designated Fund (DDF)? To give you some ideas of projects other clubs have had funded this Rotary year, check out this list:
DDF for Local Projects – Dictionaries for third graders, youth and safety in schools, senior center programming, mental health projects, youth global water challenge, elementary school library books, military family support
DDF for Global Projects – Honduras (dental), Kenya (computer training), Senegal (English training), Costa Rica (literacy), Kenya (girls’ education), Nepal (dental), Afghanistan (children’s science museum)
Encourage your Club members to use their knowledge of unmet needs in your community as well as projects that "improve health, support education, and help alleviate poverty.” Submitting a grant request can be a life-changing experience for many!
PLEASE SHARE THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE WITH YOUR CLUB MEMBERS:
A Tax-Savings - See Your Generosity in Action
If you are 70½ years old or older, you can take advantage of a simple way to benefit The Rotary Foundation and receive tax benefits in return. You can give up to $100,000 from your IRA directly to a qualified charity such as ours without having to pay income taxes on the money.
This law no longer has an expiration date, so you are free to make annual gifts to our organization this year and well into the future.
Why Consider This Gift?
Your gift will be put to use today, allowing you to see the difference your donation is making.
You pay no income taxes on the gift. The transfer generates neither taxable income nor a tax deduction, so you benefit even if you do not itemize your deductions.
If you have not yet taken your required minimum distribution for the year, your IRA charitable rollover gift can satisfy all or part of that requirement
A ready-made way to educate your Rotary friends is to seek time from your club president to talk about The Rotary Foundation. Ask for 1-2 minutes at each meeting to provide valuable information. Give the presentation yourself or ask a member of your foundation committee or any member to give the Rotary Minute. Weekly ideas for presentations will be provided each month OR you can develop your own presentations.
In December, our Rotary Minutes focus on the Guiding Principles of Rotary:
January 6 - RI President’s Dinner - Denver Marriott South, Lone Tree 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. Reception (cash bar in a spacious hotel setting); 6:30 until 9 p.m. - Dinner and Program. Click here for more information.
January 17 - Rotary Night at the Stock Show - National Western Club (5 - 10 p.m.)
January 20 – Grants Qualification - Red Rocks Community College (12:30 – 3:30 p.m.) – A minimum of one person (but we recommend multiple Rotarians attend) should attend this grants qualification training for access to grant funds through District Designated Funds (DDF). Click here for more information and/or to register.
January 27 - Rotary Leadership Institute - Red Rocks Community College (8 a.m. - 3 p.m.) - Encourage fellow Rotarians to participate and learn more about the larger world of Rotary and build leadership skills. Click hereto learn more and/or register now.
“Money alone does little good. Individual service is helpless without money.
The two together can be a godsend to civilization.”
Arch Klumph, father of The Rotary Foundation -
Your financial resources combined with your time, energy, and talent is critical to Rotary’s mission ... click here to make your gift to The Rotary Foundation today.
For more information on any of these stories or the Foundation
contact Gail Lehrmann at glehrmann@aol.com
The Polio Plus Committee invites you and your club members and their guests to join in the festivity of the R.I President's Dinner on January 6. Meet our RI President, Ian Riseley; hear the latest news on Polio Plus campaign from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation representative Rachel Lonsdale, celebrate our district's generosity at the half year point; and ... enjoy drinks, dinner and conversation with fellow Rotarians. Who could ask for anything more?!
Congratulations, Carolyn Schrader! Carolyn and the Rotary Club of Denver Mile High are featured in the “up front” section of The Rotarian magazine (December 2017, page 11). She has developed a strong relationship with Stella Dongo, Rotary Club of Highlands, Zimbabwe, over the past 14 years. Together, they and their clubs have partnered to deliver training, education and hope to women and youth in need in Harare, Zimbabwe. Click 
