Rotary Foundation

Foundation is Rotary’s own charity. That means it is also our charity. Foundation causes are Promoting Peace, Fighting Disease, Providing Clean Water, Supporting Education, Saving Mothers and Children, Growing Local Economies and Supporting the Environment.

We will support Foundation causes in various ways.

The previous Rotary year (2020/21) was frustrating due to Government restrictions on activities because of Covid-19.  

However, we continue to keep activities for this year under review to promote and raise funds for Foundation’s causes. Funds that are needed particularly since the UK Government reduced its funding to The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) by 95%.

GPEI have said:

Cutting the UK government’s contributions by 95% will, put millions of children at increased risk of diseases such as polio and will weaken the ability of countries to detect and respond to outbreaks of polio and other infectious diseases, including COVID-19. 

Furthermore, it risks delaying polio eradication and the dismantling of one of the most effective disease surveillance and response networks at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic continues its devastation.

It is my intention that we do our best to host a WGM event this year.

We will also consider special projects to include club members and community partners, such as Broadmead Primary School, to not only raise funds, but just as importantly, to inform people of the benefits of the work done by our club and Rotary in the wider community.

We will look to partner with International clubs to engage with supporting local in-country projects providing benefits to those communities.

We will continue to grow our partnership with Broadmead Primary School, and others, to engage the community in projects that directly relate to Foundation causes.

Where possible and practicable we will look for ways to raise funds for Foundation causes, in particular the End Polio Now campaign, a cause we have long supported.

We will encourage club members to support Foundation by participating in the schemes for direct donations. We will have fun whilst doing so.

When funds allow we will make an annual donation from our club to Foundation.

Finally, we will use our club newsletter and website to inform members and other readers of information of interest.

What is Rotary Foundation? 

The Rotary Foundation is an endowment fund dedicated to ‘Doing Good In The World’, and over the past 100 years has spent over $3 billion on humanitarian programmes across the world. This includes spearheading the movement to eradicate polio across the world, as well as facilitating projects which address Rotary’s Seven Areas of Focus: Peace and Conflict Resolution, Disease Prevention and Treatment, Basic Education and Literacy, Water and Sanitation, Maternal and Child Health, Economic and Community Development, and Supportng the Environment.

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.  

The work of Rotary begins in the community, and every community has its own unique needs and concerns. While Rotary serves in countless ways, it has focused its efforts in the Seven Key Areas. These encompass some of the world’s most critical and widespread humanitarian needs, in which Rotary has a proven record of success in addressing them.

Projects within the Seven 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. Once a project is identified, clubs in Great Britain and Ireland partner with Rotary clubs in the host country to undertake the project. Additionally, clubs have the opportunity to partner with approved agencies to provide specialist input in the Seven Areas of Focus.