The Rotary Foundation

100 Years of doing good in the world

The Rotary Foundation is Rotary’s own charity and celebrated its centennial anniversary in 2016/17. Former Rotary International President Arch Klumph’s idea for an endowment fund dedicated to ‘Doing Good In The World’ planted the seed for The Rotary Foundation in 1917.

The mission of The Rotary Foundation is to enable Rotary members to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty. The Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation supported solely by voluntary contributions from Rotary members and friends of the Foundation who share its vision of creating a better world. This support is essential to make possible projects, funded with Foundation grants, that bring sustainable improvement to communities in need.

Rotary’s Six Areas of Focus

The work of Rotary begins in the community, and every community has its own unique needs and concerns. While we serve in countless ways, we’ve focused our efforts in six key areas to maximise our impact. These areas encompass some of the world’s most critical and widespread humanitarian needs, and we have a proven record of success in addressing them.

Peace and conflict resolution

Disease prevention and treatment

Water and sanitation

Maternal and child health

Basic education and literacy

Economic and community development

How do we do it?

Projects within the Six Areas of Focus are funded by a grant system operated between Rotary clubs and The Rotary Foundation. This gives clubs the opportunity to apply for grants for projects which matter to them.