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The Rotary Foundation
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Rotary Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation that supports the efforts of
Rotary International to achieve world understanding and peace through international
humanitarian, educational, and cultural exchange programs. It is supported solely
by voluntary contributions from Rotarians and friends of the Foundation who share
its vision of a better world.
The
Foundation was created in 1917 by Rotary International's sixth president, Arch
C. Klumph, as an endowment fund for Rotary "to do good in the world."
It has grown from an initial contribution of US$26.50 to more than US$55 million
contributed in 2002-03. Its event-filled history is a story of Rotarians learning
the value of service to humanity.
he
Foundation's Humanitarian Programs fund international Rotary club and district
projects to improve the quality of life, providing health care, clean water, food,
education, and other essential needs primarily in the developing world. One of
the major Humanitarian Programs is PolioPlus, which seeks to eradicate the poliovirus
worldwide.
Through
its Educational Programs, the Foundation provides funding for some 1,200 students
to study abroad each year. Grants are also awarded to university teachers to teach
in developing countries and for exchanges of business and professional people.
Former participants in the Foundation's programs have the opportunity to continue
their affiliation with Rotary as Foundation Alumni.
For
more information on current Foundation program awards and financial status see
the Rotary Foundation Fact Card and the Rotary Foundation Annual Report, both
of which are available for download.
Here
is a sampling of what some Rotarians, Foundation alumni, and others who have worked
with the Foundation have said about the international work of The Rotary Foundation:
"Rotary
set me on a course that I am still continuing. If I had not gone to the United
States as an Ambassadorial Scholar, I don't think I would have pursued the study
of International Relations."
Sadako Ogata
Former United Nations High
Commissioner of Refugees
Foundation Scholar, 1951-52
"Rotary
International's masterpiece is The Rotary Foundation. It transforms our dreams
into splendid realities . . . it is the most generous expression of Rotarian generosity
— a generosity that not only brings benefits but also brings help and cooperation
to solve the problems that affect mankind. The Rotary Foundation achieves the
best that mankind can possibly achieve."
Paulo V.C. Costa
President,
Rotary International, 1990-91
"We always wanted to do something
through Rotary. Our decision was based on six years' involvement with Matching
Grant projects in Haiti, Mexico, India, and South Africa. We were extremely impressed
with the way the program reaches and touches people with much less administrative
problems and costs than any other international humanitarian organization."
Frank and Mildred Branscombe
Rotary Club of Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
donors
of an endowed fund to support the Matching Grants program
"From
Seattle to Santiago, from Bogota to Bombay, and everywhere in between, the children
of the world are waiting. They are the hope of the future, and you are their hope
that the future will be bright. I thank you, Rotary, for alleviating the suffering
of children."
Audrey Hepburn
discussing the PolioPlus program on behalf
of UNICEF
"In Warsaw, Woijeich Sierpinski, a Rotary club president,
took me on a tour I will never forget. We visited his parent's house — where
they lived during World War II. There in the kitchen, under a dusty stack of crates
was a secret wooden panel in the floor. Woijeich removed the panel to reveal a
tiny room underneath the kitchen floor where his parents hid their neighbors —
a Jewish family — during the war. As I stood speechless, listening to Woijeich
describe how they evaded the Nazis, I realized the full value of the Group Study
Exchange program."
Ian Oxman
Group Study Exchange team member from
California, USA
describing part of his trip to Warsaw, Poland
"The
Rotary Foundation's programs are all the more important because we live in a world
of sharp contrasts: fear and hope, illness and good health, poverty and wealth.
Worse, we live in a world in which inequalities of income, unemployment —
and presumably exclusion from well-being — have sensibly increased in the
last fifteen years, not so much between countries, but within countries, developed
and developing alike. In such a situation, the role of The Rotary Foundation is
of the utmost importance."
Bertrand Rene Munier
Professor of Economics
Ecole
Normal Superieure, Cachan, France
Ambassadorial Scholar 1967-68 |
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Major Donors: 7,152
Bequest Society Members:
4,726
Benefactors: 69,629
Paul Harris Fellows: 985,424
DATA AS OF
28 FEBRUARY 2006
Rotary
at a glance
At a glance
ROTARY
members: 1,218,801
clubs: 32,693
districts: 530
ROTARACT
members: 167,187*
clubs: 7,269
INTERACT
members: 251,965*
clubs: 10,955
ROTARY COMMUNITY CORPS
members: 148,051*
corps: 6,437
As of 30 April ; *estimated
Down Under there are 34,070 Rotarians in 1183 clubs in Australia and 10,253 Rotarians in 269 clubs in New Zealand. Aust & NZ Districts
include American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga and
Vanuatu, where there are 783 Rotarians in 40 clubs. |
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History
of The Rotary Foundation
Arch C. Klumph,
1916-17 president of Rotary
International
and founder of
The Rotary Foundation
In 1917, Arch C. Klumph, Rotary's
sixth president, proposed to the Rotary International Convention in Atlanta, Georgia,
USA, the creation of an "endowment fund for Rotary . . . for the purpose
of doing good in the world in charitable, educational, and other avenues of community
service." A few months later, the endowment received its first contribution
of $26.50 from the Rotary Club of Kansas City, Missouri, USA.
In
1928, when the endowment fund had grown to more than US$5,000, the fund was renamed
The Rotary Foundation, and it became a distinct entity within Rotary International.
Five Trustees, including Klumph, were appointed to "hold, invest, manage,
and administer all of its property. . . as a single trust, for the furtherance
of the purposes of RI."
Two
years later, the Foundation made its first grant of US$500 to the International
Society for Crippled Children. The ISCC — created by Rotarian Edgar F. "Daddy"
Allen — later grew into the Easter Seals organization.
The
Great Depression and World War II both impeded significant growth for the Foundation,
but the need for promoting a lasting world peace generated great post-war interest
in developing the Foundation. After Rotary founder Paul P. Harris died in 1947,
contributions began pouring into Rotary International, and the Paul Harris Memorial
Fund was created for the purpose of building the Foundation.
That
same year, the first Foundation program was established — Fellowships for
Advanced Study, which was the forerunner of the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarships
program. Then in 1965-66, three new programs were launched — Group Study
Exchange, Awards for Technical Training, and Grants for Activities in Keeping
with the Objective of The Rotary Foundation, which was later called Matching Grants.
The
Health, Hunger and Humanity (3-H) program was launched in 1978, with the Rotary
Volunteers program being created as a part of 3-H in 1980. The PolioPlus program
was announced in 1984-85, and the following year saw the introduction of Rotary
Grants for University Teachers. The first Peace Forums were held in 1987-88, leading
to the establishment of Rotary Peace Programs. Then in 1989, 1963-64 RI President
Carl P. Miller and his wife, Ruth, donated US$1 million to establish the Discovery
Grants program.
Throughout
this time, support of the Foundation grew tremendously. Since that first $26.50
donation in 1917, the Foundation has received contributions totaling more than
US$1 billion. More than US$70 million was contributed in 2003-04 alone. To date,
some 914,792 individuals have been recognized as Paul Harris Fellows — that
is, someone who has contributed US$1000 or has had that amount contributed in
his or her name.
Such
strong support and involvement of Rotarians worldwide ensures a secure future
for The Rotary Foundation as it continues its vital work for international understanding
and world peace. |
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