Introduction to Rotary International

We are professionals who share a passion for and a commitment to enhancing communities and improving lives across the globe.

 

With clubs in almost every country, there’s no limit to what we can do. We work together to exchange ideas, apply expertise, and implement improvements that transform communities.

 

Rotary has been dedicated to service for over 100 years, and has grown into a worldwide organization with a respected foundation. The Rotary Foundation enables Rotary clubs to partner and receive grants to carry out service projects all over the world.

Rotary has been Doing Good in the World for over 100 years. The organization was started by Paul Harris, an attorney in Chicago who wanted to create a professional group with the same friendly spirit he’d felt in the small towns of his youth. He gathered three other professionals, and they met at one of their offices in downtown Chicago. They decided to call the new club “Rotary” for their practice of rotating meeting locations.

 

At the organization’s 1917 convention, President Arch C. Klumph proposed setting up an endowment “for the purposes of doing good in the world.” That initiative became The Rotary Foundation, which has funded programs such as Ambassadorial Scholarships and PolioPlus and grants for thousands of projects around the world.

 

 

We work within our communities and connect with other clubs to work on international projects that address today’s most pressing humanitarian challenges, including fighting disease, providing clean water, supporting education, and promoting peace.

Rotary may not be the only nonprofit focusing on these issues, but our unwavering commitment, innovative approach, community presence, and global network are unique. We see opportunities where others see obstacles.