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THE ROTARY FOUNDATION IS THE CHARITABLE ARM OF ROTARY INTERNATIONAL.   It is supported solely by worldwide Rotary club member voluntary contributions and is a 501 (c) (3) Non-Profit.    Every year Rotarians around the world contribute over $250 million to The Rotary foundation and approximately $250 million is spent on service projects around the world.  With 91% of it’s annual budget supporting service projects around the world, it has a 4 Star rating by Charity Navigator, the highest rating.

IT IS UNIQUE IN THAT IT:

  • Addresses the greatest Humanitarian & Educational needs
  • Has worldwide reach – greater than United Nations
  • Goes where politicians & religious organizations cannot
  • Mobilizes Rotary’s “people to people” contacts

CONTRIBUTIONS CAN — — AND DO — — COME BACK IN SUPPORT OF LOCAL CLUB INITIATIVES –  SUCH AS:

  • Matching District Grants for our own community needs and club service projects as well as Global Grants for our club’s international projects.
  • Ambassadorial Scholars — — Rotary Peace Fellows — — Group Study Exchanges
  • Youth Exchanges & Youth Leadership programs

CONTRIBUTIONS ALSO DRIVE GLOBAL INITIATIVES –  LIKE:

  • Polio Eradication
  • Disaster Recovery
  • Disease Prevention/Treatment
  • Basic Education/Literacy
  • Water & Sanitation
  • Economic & Community Development

Our partners make donations go even further, for instance; for every $1 a Rotarian gives to Polio eradication, the Bill & Linda Gates Foundation is committing $2.

Individual Contributions to The Rotary Foundation can result in a member achieving a Paul Harris Fellowship, once contributions reach $1,000.  Or increasing levels of Paul Harris Fellowship for each incremental $1,000 donated.

DISTRICT MATCHING GRANTS:

A District Matching Grant is primarily focused on local Durango or La Plata County charitable needs.  Every year our club members become aware of needs, solicited or unsolicited, in our community – – usually of the many non-profits in our area, and in which the members may be involved.  When the club becomes aware of a need and wishes to satisfy that need, it can do so by leveraging our financial contribution with those of other Rotary clubs, if needed, and then apply to our Rotary District # 5470 for a Matching Grant.  This Matching Grant usually doubles the amount that our club donates, plus any donations offered by other clubs.  For instance, in 2016 we were made aware of a $15,000 need for school supplies.  Our High Noon club committed $5,000 and immediately sought assistance from other clubs, netting another $2,500.   A Matching Grant request of $7,500 was made of our District and ultimately approved.  As a result our original commitment of $5,000 resulted in $15,000 check to the school.  That’s leverage!!  Normally these District Grants are smaller and might match a club contribution of $2,500 to $5,000 for a cause.  Involving other Rotary Clubs improves the chances of an even bigger grant.  There must always be Rotarian involvement in the project.  The District Matching Grants ultimately come from The Rotary Foundation  mentioned above.

Yes, our contributions to The Rotary Foundation do come back to causes we wish to support locally.

GLOBAL GRANTS:

A Global Grant is a grant of a different color, but this time it comes directly from The Rotary Foundation and is supplemented with funds from the District allocated to Global Projects that clubs wish to do.  These grants are for much bigger needs – – a minimum of $30,000 but can be in excess of $100,000.  A Global Grant is only approved for an international humanitarian need and must have the partnership of a local Rotary club in that general international location.  Appropriate stewardship of funds is of upmost importance, hence, for the need to have feet on the ground by the foreign club.  That’s what Rotary does, it mobilizes our “people to people” contacts to serve a need.

These grants must also be sustainable and qualify for one or more of The Rotary Foundation’s 6 Key areas of service;

  • Promoting Peace
  • Providing clean water
  • Fighting disease
  • Promoting Economic Development
  • Providing Education and Basic Literacy
  • Promoting Maternal and Child Health

Global Grants must have direct Rotarian involvement in all stages of the project, and both the District as well as The Rotary Foundation itself assists in the funding.   Normally, our club financially supports the Global effort of another club (the Sponsoring club), helping them leverage their financial contribution.  We are certainly not opposed to being the “sponsor” of a Global Grant ourselves, if the right opportunity presents itself.

So once more, the donations made by Rotarians in Durango do in fact come back to causes we wish to support.

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