What is Rotary Foundation?

Because of it's American origins, the terminology of Rotary tends to reflect this.  The term 'Rotary Foundation' is no exception and would be better understood in UK parlance as the 'Rotary Charity'.

A major role of this Charity is the support of International Projects run by Rotary Clubs through funding support.  The Rotary model links Clubs (usually in different Countries) with one or more (usually from a 'developed' country) providing fund-raising leadership with a Club in the 'receiving' Country (often an under-developed Country) providing local management of the Project.

A good example of this is the recent North Wirral Project supporting the 'Classrooms in the Clouds' work in Nepal where we were partnered with a Rotary Club in Kathmandu to provide local management.  The budget for this Project was magnified threefold by Matching Grants from both 'District' and 'Rotary International' Foundation funds.

Although now run as a separate initiative, the Eradication of Polio has it's origins in Rotary Foundation and another important role of the Foundation is it's sponsorship of Peace Fellowships at several major Universities worldwide, specialising in teaching Conflict Resolution.

The North Wirral Club no longer has a 'Foundation Committee' as we feel that the International nature of this brief can better be handled by incorporating it into the 'International Committee'.