As Global Travelers, our mission begins with “We serve the world.” We don’t all have the opportunity to provide “hands-on service” in remote corners of the world every year, but we can all make a financial contribution to unite for good and help Rotarians everywhere make a difference.
As members of Global Travelers, we have three options for our Rotary contributions. This article will focus specifically on the first two options and why they are both important for funding grants.
Our Rotary Global Travelers club maintains a fund that we use to originate (lead) grants, collaborate with other clubs on grants, and make donations to organizations that we visit during our trips, socials, and service projects.
The Rotary Foundation provides funding to Rotary Districts for grants and also provides matching funds for Global Grants.
Rotary’s longtime campaign (with partners around the world) to eradicate polio is close to achieving its goal. Most Rotarians contribute annually to this campaign. The polio fund is separate from the money used to fund grants.
Let’s examine how when we Create Lasting Impact, it is such a powerful multiplier… the secret sauce of Rotary grants. The image shows an example of our funding goal for our club’s current grant-in-process for a community bakery in Ethiopia. Our funding goal for the grant is $85,000.
Our club has committed $2,500 for this grant. We are working to partner with other clubs in our District (5950) to commit another $9,000. That brings our total from clubs in our District to $11,500. Our District provides a 3:1 match, giving us $34,500. And then, because this is a Global Grant (> $30,000), The Rotary Foundation (TRF) World Fund will match 80% of what our District gives us for another $27,600.
We are also working on collaboration with clubs from other Rotary Districts. Some of their contributions will be matched by their Districts. (Rules vary by District.) And that gets us to $85,600. The amount we hope to receive in matching funds is $66,100. Pretty impressive, right?
So where does that $66,100 come from? It comes from all of us who donate to The Rotary Foundation (TRF). Decades ago, Rotary developed a plan to manage our contributions responsibly and to leverage their impact across the globe.
When we contribute to TRF, the Fund holds and invests that money for three years. The investment income is used to manage the administration of the Fund. Therefore, all the money that we contribute ultimately goes to funding grants. That’s one of several reasons why The Rotary Foundation is consistently a top-rated philanthropic organization around the world.
After three years, 50% of what we donated is distributed to the Districts. This is called District Designated Funds (DDF). The amount that each District receives is proportional to the amount that their members donated three years ago. The $34,500 that we anticipate receiving as matching funds for our grant will come from our District’s DDF.
The other 50% of what was donated to TRF three years ago goes into The World Fund. That fund provides matching for Global Grants. So our anticipated 80% match ($27,600) will come from The World Fund.
Now that you’ve seen how grant funding works, you’re probably asking whether you should be donating to The Rotary Foundation or to our Global Travelers grant and service fund. They are both important for our ability to fund grants.
In our example, our contributions to our club’s grant and service fund provides the $2,500 used to initiate this grant. We also use the money from this fund to collaborate on grants initiated by other clubs, and donate to organizations we visit during our trips and social service projects.
The matching funds provided by our District and The World Fund come from our donations to The Rotary Foundation. Note: if you are an Associate Member of our Global Travelers club, your TRF donations are credited to your home club and District. That means the $4,000 we get in matching from other Districts in the example might be tied to your donations.
Where you give and how much you give is ultimately a personal decision. Many longtime Rotarians simply make it easy: determine your goal for Rotary giving for the year. Set aside some for End Polio Now. Divide the rest in half — half for our club’s grant and service fund (or for your home club if you’re an Associate) and half to The Rotary Foundation. The amount that each of us gives enables all of us to leverage the power of Rotary and do good in the world.