Message from The Rotary Foundation Trustees

The Rotary International Convention has just concluded and there is so much positive energy in the air. We, as people of action, are making the world a better place — through our connections within clubs and transformative power of The Rotary Foundation.

Rotary implements projects that will help communities long after we’re all gone. Clubs in one country pool funds with those from another to make communities healthier, more prosperous and better educated. We partner with global health leaders to bring the scourge of polio to its knees. And we can proudly note that much of the good that Rotary does now and will do in the future is because of the Foundation and its promise to transform gifts into projects that change lives.

At publication time, we had approved 1,078 global grant applications with total funding of $76.5 million.

Last July, we launched the community assessment component as a requirement for all global grant or vocational training team applications as part of our commitment to sustainability. That approach also informs why we established the Rotary Disaster Response Fund and Grant this year, which allows distribution of grants up to $25,000 for worldwide Rotarian disaster response.

We also saw the Rotary Peace Centres significantly grow and increase their impact. From among record number of applicants in 2019, around 100 Peace Fellows will be chosen, and once they graduate, they will join more than 1,200 others in applying their conflict resolution skills to global problems.

We are committed to strengthening and growing the Foundation for the future. As we look forward to a new Rotary year and opportunities to make an even greater impact in communities worldwide, we thank our Chair, Brenda M Cressey, for her leadership during the past two months. Please visit rotary.org/myrotary for information on the Foundation’s recent leadership transition.

End your Rotary year on a high note: Visit rotary.org/donate. We thank you for your generosity and for all you do in Rotary.