OUR FOUNDATION
WITH YOUR HELP…
WITH YOUR HELP
The Rotary Foundation transforms your gifts into service projects that change lives both close to home and around the world.
Since it was founded more than 100 years ago, the Foundation has spent more than $4 billion on life-changing, sustainable projects.
With your help, we can make lives better in your community and around the world.
Our mission
The mission of The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International is to enable Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty.
What impact can one donation have?
- For as little as 60 cents, a child can be protected from polio.
- $50 can provide clean water to help fight waterborne illness.
- $500 can launch an antibullying campaign and create a safe environment for children.
The mission of The Rotary Foundation is to enable Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty.
The Rotary Foundation helps fund our humanitarian activities, from local service projects to global initiatives. Your club can apply for grants from the Foundation to invest in projects and provide scholarships. The Foundation also leads the charge on worldwide Rotary campaigns such as eradicating polio and promoting peace. Rotarians and friends of Rotary support the Foundation’s work through voluntary contributions.
District 5330 proudly provides extensive Foundation training for all district Rotary clubs and Rotarians.
OUR CAUSES
Rotary is dedicated to causes that build international relationships, improve lives, and create a better world to support our peace efforts and end polio forever..
PROMOTING PEACE
Fighting disease
We educate and equip communities to stop the spread of life-threatening diseases like polio, HIV/AIDS, and malaria. We improve and expand access to low-cost and free health care in developing areas.
Providing clean water, sanitation, and hygiene
We support local solutions to bring clean water, sanitation, and hygiene to more people every day. We don’t just build wells and walk away. We share our expertise with community leaders and educators to make sure our projects succeed long-term.
Saving mothers and children
Nearly 6 million children under the age of five die each year because of malnutrition, poor health care, and inadequate sanitation. We expand access to quality care, so mothers and their children can live and grow stronger.
Supporting education
More than 775 million people over the age of 15 are illiterate. Our goal is to strengthen the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy, reduce gender disparity in education, and increase adult literacy.
Growing local economies
We carry out service projects that enhance economic and community development and create opportunities for decent and productive work for young and old. We also strengthen local entrepreneurs and community leaders, particularly women, in impoverished communities.
Protecting the environment
Rotary members are tackling environmental issues the way they always do: coming up with projects, using their connections to change policy and planning for the future.
THE ROTARY FOUNDATION IN DISTRICT 5330
Doing good in the world, both locally and abroad, is the most well-recognized aspect of The Rotary Foundation (TRF). Through the cultural bridges and understandings built, TRF can deliver both efficiently and effectively.
The unique position of Rotarians in numerous countries and communities, coupled with unparalleled integrity embodied in The Four Way Test, makes TRF able to solve big problems while demonstrating sincere care and a vision of sustainability.
District 5330 has always been a top donor worldwide and continues to lead. Funding for programs above is largely tied to District 5330 contributions over time, making generosity a priority.
The Rotary Foundation is comprised of three Funds working together in providing for programs: Annual Fund, Endowment Fund and PolioPlus.
WE CAN DO THIS
WE CAN DO THIS
Annual Fund
Your gift to the Annual Fund helps Rotary clubs take action today to create positive change in communities at home and around the world. Your contributions help us strengthen peace efforts, provide clean water and sanitation, support education, grow local economies, save mothers and children, and fight disease.
Every Rotarian Every Year
The Every Rotarian Every Year (EREY) initiative asks every Rotarian to support The Rotary Foundation every year. Rotary Direct Canada. In addition to contributing to the Annual Fund on a regular basis, members are encouraged to get involved in a Foundation project or program. EREY aims to engage every Rotary club member by:
- Encouraging every Rotarian to contribute to the Annual Fund every year
- Encouraging every Rotarian to participate in a Foundation grant or program every year
Share System
Through the SHARE system, contributions to The Rotary Foundation are transformed into grants that change lives. At the end of every Rotary year, contributions to the Annual Fund-SHARE from all Rotary clubs in a district are directed into two funds:
- Fifty percent is credited to the World Fund.
- Fifty percent is credited to the District Designated Fund.
The Foundation uses the World Fund portion to pay for the worldwide grant and program opportunities available to all Rotary districts. The Rotary Foundation’s funding cycle makes district contributions available for use three years after they are received. The three-year cycle gives districts time to plan projects.
Endowment Fund
The purpose of the Endowment Fund is to ensure the long-term viability of The Rotary Foundation and its programs. Contributions made to the Endowment Fund are invested in perpetuity with no erosion of the contribution itself. Many might view the Endowment Fund as the foundation’s “savings account” whose interest supports the Annual Fund, our foundations “checking account.” Unlike the Annual Fund whose money is distributed after four years after contribution, the Endowment Fund’s principal is never spent and is structured to maintain value against inflation. Read more in Endowment Fund Simplified.
Contributions are invested in perpetuity. A percentage of the total value of the fund is directed annually to Foundation grants and programs. Types of contributions:
- Outright gifts of cash, investments, or other property
- Life income gifts (e.g., charitable remainder trusts, charitable gift annuities, pooled-income funds)
- Testamentary gifts through wills or estate plans
- Beneficiary of life insurance, retirement plan accounts, or other financial accounts
OUR FOUNDATION GRANTS
The district provides both community and global grants.
Using Rotary Foundation grants, our 34,000 clubs worldwide develop and carry out sustainable humanitarian projects, and provide scholarships and professional training to promote peace, fight disease, provide clean water, sustain mothers and children, improve education, and strengthen local economies.
District community grants fund small-scale, short-term activities that address needs in your community and communities abroad.
Global grants support large international activities with sustainable, measurable outcomes in Rotary’s areas of focus.
Grant sponsors form international partnerships that respond to real community needs. Find out more:
OUR FOUNDATION PROGRAMS
As well as awarding grants around the world, district and global grants totaling in the hundreds of millions each year, the Rotary Foundation runs three targeted programs:
POLIO PLUS
Rotary, along with our partners, has reduced polio cases by 99.9 percent worldwide since our first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in 1979. We are close to eradicating polio, but we need your help. Whether you have a few minutes or a few hours, here are some ways to make a global impact and protect children against polio forever.
PEACE SCHOLARSHIPS
Each year, Rotary selects individuals from around the world to receive fully funded academic fellowships at one of our peace centers. In just over a decade, the Rotary Peace Centers have trained more than 900 fellows for careers in peace building. Many of them go on to serve as leaders in national governments, NGOs and international organizations.
VOCATIONAL TRAINING TEAMS
Vocational training teams are groups of professionals who travel abroad either to teach local professionals about a particular field or to learn more about their own. The can be funded through district and global grants, continues to greatly help host communities solve problems and improve the quality of life.
SCHOLARSHIP
Scholarship funding is provided through the Rotary Foundation Global Grant. It funds graduate-level coursework or research covering anywhere from one to four academic years. Clubs and districts can create their own scholarships funded by district grants for any form of studies or with global grants for graduate studies in an area of focus.
FOUNDATION RESOURCES
D5330 FOUNDATION COMMITTEE CHAIR
 | Douglas W. Baker La Quinta of the Desert District 5330 District Foundation Chair Contact |
FOUNDATION SUB-COMMITTEE CHAIRS
 | Rudy G. Westervelt E-Club of World Peace, D5330 District 5330 District Grants Chair Contact |
 | Rod Hendry Indian Wells District 5330 District Global Scholarship Chair Contact |
 | Robert LeRoy Traister Riverside East District 5330 Member Contact |
 | Evelyn L. Massey San Bernardino Crossroads District 5330 Endowment & Major Gifts Chair Contact |
 | Helene A. Kalfuss Ph.D. Cathedral City District 5330 Global Grants Chair Contact |
 | Bill Orr San Bernardino District 5330 Annual Fund Chair Contact |