Inspired to give
Spanning a large geographic area District 3160 can surpass $1 million in giving to The Rotary Foundation as time and again the Rotarians across the 69 clubs here have demonstrated that they have a big heart and this annual target can be achieved despite the usual excuses such as no airports, poor connectivity and very little business or trade being generated in the revenue belts.”
Saying so, RI Director C Basker motivated the large gathering of Rotarians at the 34th TRF district seminar in Hospet to further scale up their initiatives and visibility.
In Rotary, there is no discrimination of colour, caste, culture or nationality, it only teaches us to love everyone across the world, he said, adding how in his company’s canteen, the practice of rotating the same plates and crockery sets across the hierarchy from the top MDs, executive staff to the last employee had ensured social equity and a feeling of bonhomie. “The entire staff sit together in the same hall to have their food. Rotary has taught me that charity must start at home. Now, my organisation is healthy, I am making more money and spending more. You see, everything is interlinked.”
He highlighted PRIP Arch Klumph’s message that members won’t attend meetings regularly if they were not motivated and the responsibility lies with the club presidents to make it interesting and choosing the right projects.
Recalling Rotary’s success in polio eradication, Director Basker said, “We were never taken seriously by UNICEF and Centers for Disease Control in the global fight against polio till we succeeded in the Philippines (1982–84).” Ever since, PolioPlus has been one of the most successful health projects of an NGO.
With the “trendsetting” presidents, in the last four years India has become a global donor and moved from being a net receiver to a giver, even as we reached the second rank in the last Rotary year, with a TRF contribution of over $20 million.
In his address, DG Madhu Prasad Kuruvadi noted that only 13 per cent of the Rotarians had participated in the district’s contribution of $220,000 last year to the Foundation. “We had begun this year with a TRF giving of $30,000 during the installation. We have to contend with small clubs in small towns, but despite this hurdle, we are meeting the local needs of our communities.”
DRFC Ramalinga Reddy said, “Only through love and affection from the leadership, the Rotarians will be motivated to achieve the desired goals in TRF and project objectives.” He expressed confidence that the TRF target of $250,000 from the district for the current year will be met. The district has been doing projects without global grants and managing with local contributions alone.
District Secretary Tirupathi Naidu urged the Rotarians to attend TRF seminars to understand about the Foundation and its activities, and get motivated by the inspiring speeches of Rotary leaders.
Plenary sessions
DRFC and Vice Chair of the National CSR Committee Vinod Bansal gave a checklist of dos and don’ts while applying for a global grant in a CSR project with the club making sure all the formalities and procedures were complied with as per both the Companies Act and TRF guidelines. PDG Sathish Dhamankar, D 3170, enunciated the differences in the three types of Rotary grants — global, district and package grants — and urged the club presidents to do a SWOT analysis of their assets, financial strength and the expertise of the members before embarking on such projects. A global grant will be applicable only to a long-term project with sustainable outcomes aligned with Rotary’s focus areas and having a minimum budget of $30,000. And it must have a world fund match from a partner district, he said.
Listing out the projects of the host club, RC Hospet, PDG Gopinath Ramrathnam said till date there were 145 PHFs, 17 Major Donors, 100 non-
Rotarian donors and a cumulative giving of $246,000 to TRF. Club President P S Gurunath hoped that with the knowledge gathered at the seminar, the district will be able to sign some global grant partnerships. The seminar collected $60,000–70,000 for TRF, with the attendance of 310 Rotarians.
Pictures by V Muthukumaran
