Part 1 Training of the Future Visions Rotary Foundation Program

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina flooded 80 percent of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. More than 100 public schools were destroyed and some 400,000 students were displaced. One year later, Warren Easton Charter High School, the city’s oldest public high school, reopened with help from Rotarian volunteers and a grant from The Rotary Foundation.

Your contributions to the Annual Fund help The Rotary Foundation and its partners support education and literacy, ensuring a bright future for the next generation.

Watch a video about the New Orleans project.

In 2011-12, the Foundation's unaudited and interim figures show that US$110.6 million was raised for the Annual Fund, the second-highest amount in the Foundation’s history. Annual Fund total giving saw a 3.72 percent increase from the previous year, as Rotarians continued their generous support of the Foundation.

Part of our success is owed to the 5,633 Rotary Direct participants who make recurring gifts to The Rotary Foundation on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis.

Please consider joining Rotary Direct today and help the Foundation reach its 2012-13 Annual Fund goal of $120 million. And, as always, thank you for your generous support.

How did the Rotary Club of Honolulu Sunset, Hawaii, USA, reach $946 per capita in annual giving with 100 percent member participation? Annual Giving Chair Richard Zegar cites a number of factors, but he says the primary reason people donate is “because they are asked.”

See the complete list of 2011-12 top-giving Rotary clubs and districts.

A new online tool, Rotary Club Central, enables leaders to track club goals, measure progress toward those goals, and see club achievements in three key areas: membership, service, and Foundation giving.

Launched in July, the tool changes the way clubs work with their district governors by replacing paper forms for annual goals. In addition to helping club leaders, Rotary Club Central makes it easy for district leaders to review club activities throughout their district. And it will also help gauge Rotary’s worldwide impact.

Rotary Club Central requires a Member Access account; if you don’t have one yet, sign up today.

The Foundation finds more innovative ways to cut costs

The Rotary Foundation has begun emailing gift acknowledgments and tax receipts for gifts received through www.rotary.org or at the Foundation’s Chicago bank. This change will save thousands of dollars per year in printing and postage costs.

Donors should receive their gift acknowledgment within a few days of the Foundation’s receipt of their contribution. Sign in to Member Access to ensure that Rotary has your current email address.

In another cost-cutting move, the Paul Harris Fellow certificate folder was recently changed from a padded folder to a heavy paper one. This change is expected to save US$125,000 annually, making more money available for Doing Good in the World.

The Future is now

The global launch of The Rotary Foundation’s new grant model is less than a year away, but clubs and districts are encouraged to begin preparing now. Find key dates and important tasks necessary for qualifying for district and global grants in the club and district timelines.

Read more.