Weekly Rotary Foundation Thoughts

Week 22:

This week’s Rotary Foundation Thought is about what OUR Rotary Foundation does with the money we contribute.

Last Rotary year, The Rotary Foundation spent over US$110 million on program awards and expenses. $27.8 million was spent on educational programs, including Ambassadorial Scholarships and Group Study Exchange; $46.1 million was spent on humanitarian projects, such as Matching Grants and District Simplified Grants; and $36.1 million was spent on polio eradication efforts.

Our annual contributions are what make these programs possible. TRF carefully invests our gifts for three years, with the investment earnings going to pay administrative expenses, and the full amount of our contributions going to fund the projects.
This is OUR Rotary Foundation; let’s be a part of it!

Week 23:

This week’s Rotary Foundation Thought is about how Rotary helps communities impacted by disasters long after many relief agencies have moved on.

Shortly after the deadly tsunami struck south Asia on 26 December 2004, The Rotary Foundation established the Solidarity in South Asia fund to assist Rotarians in supporting long-term recovery efforts in affected communities. In addition to $4.8 million in contributions from Rotarians around the world, more than 75 Rotary districts allocated over US$700,000 in District Designated Funds (DDF) for rebuilding efforts. This DDF was a result of Annual Programs Fund contributions made three years ago, in which the districts had not yet allocated to a specific TRF program.

As a result, Rotarians were able to respond quickly to the disaster, and provide much needed financial support, through The Rotary Foundation. Rotary Sri Lanka set the pace for the massive rebuilding effort of schools destroyed by the tsunami; with 25 schools spread across the country allocated to Rotary for rebuilding.

Rotarians can expect equally worthy projects in Indonesia, India and Thailand and in areas impacted by Hurricane Katrina. We can all be proud to be a part of an organization that is so responsive to needs in our own country and those around the world.