Annual Goals of Our Rotary Foundation
The lifeblood of our Rotary Foundation is the Annual Fund. It is giving to the Annual Fund that supports virtually every facet of our Foundation’s work around the world.
Through the SHARE system, 50% of every dollar a District 6060 Rotarian donates to the Annual Fund is spent under the direct control of our own district. The remaining 50% is controlled by the trustees of our Rotary Foundation to fund the matching portion of global Grants.
With this SHARE system, all donations to the Annual Fund made during this current year are invested. The earnings are used to pay the overhead expenses of our Rotary Foundation. Three years after the donation, all of the money is released and put into service, with our district directing the 50% under our control. This portion is known as District Designated Funds or DDF. It should be emphasized that the district does not actually receive these funds, but merely the ability to direct how they are spent. The other 50% that remains under the Trustees control is known as the World Fund. By being active in nearly every Rotary Foundation program, District 6060 manages often to completely control that 50%, too.
With DDF:
For several years, District 6060 has funded one International Scholarship annually. ($25,000)
We also have been donating DDF to fund the Rotary World Peace Fellow program since its inception in 2002. (~$25,000 per year)
We have been donating $2,500 DDF per year to the Heart of America Peace Fellow Endowment, a combined effort of the 26 Districts of Rotary Zones 30 and 31. This endowment became fully funded in 2013-14, so will not need additional funds for a few years.
We have been asking for approximately $30,000 of our DDF to come back to our District through the District Grant program to award to our clubs in the form of Community Assistance Program grants which can be used for small local or international projects to be done quickly with hands-on Rotary work. They are usually $1,000. (~$30,000 total for the district)
We use the rest of our District Designated Funds to assist our clubs with their Global Grant projects.
Since these District Designated Funds are just 50% of our Annual Programs Fund giving, it is clear that we must continue strong support of the Annual Fund.
From the WORLD FUND:
The World Fund supplies the matching portion of our Global Grants. This could be $50,000 – $100,000 each year.
Where do we get the money ?
Beginning 10+ years ago, our Rotary Foundation began encouraging all Rotarians worldwide to give $100 per year to The Annual Fund. The theme Every Rotarian – Every Year was developed and began to appear regularly in correspondence from our Foundation and in The Rotarian.
District 6060 has used this goal in developing expected minimum goals for each club according to club size. These minimum amounts are for giving to The Annual Fund only. They do NOT include any amounts individual clubs may give to The Endowment Fund or to any of the Restricted Funds, such as PolioPlus.
We are asking our clubs to make a special effort to reach half their goal by December 31 and to achieve their goal and have all funds mailed in by May 31.
We also ask that all funds and contribution forms are sent in via District Stewardship Chair Shirlene Hecht. The checks are payable to The Rotary Foundation.
Rotary District 6060 Foundation
P O Box 248
Jackson MO 63755
This helps our district keep track of donations on a real time basis, compared to receiving reports back from The Rotary Foundation approximately two months later.
Checks and Foundation Transmittal forms can also be sent directly to Rotary Headquarters. The checks are payable to The Rotary Foundation and are mailed to:
14280 Collections Center Drive
Chicago IL 60693
Methods of Achieving Your Club’s Goal:
Each club should appoint a Foundation Chairperson. We recommend that this position does not change annually to help the Foundation Chair to develop system of record keeping and an effective method of working with the club.
District 6060 wants EVERY club to establish a Sustaining Member program as part of the club’s regular billing cycle. This involves adding a line to the club’s statements reading something like “voluntary donation to the Annual Fund of The Rotary Foundation.” The amount in the dollars column would vary with your billing cycle. Perhaps $9 for monthly billing and $25 for quarterly billing. However, we also recommend putting several other amounts on a second line below, such as $50, $100, $250, $1000, and _______other. You will be pleasantly surprised that fairly often members will be ready to give a little extra and suggesting a larger amount will be all it takes to generate a larger donation.
We want to be sure to say thank you to every donor, and make sure they receive all the right kinds of recognition that they deserved, if they wish.
During the 2005-2006 Rotary year we began a Paul Harris Society in District 6060. During the same year, the Trustees of our Rotary Foundation approved the Paul Harris Society as an official recognition program of our Rotary Foundation, to be administered by each individual district.
Anyone can join the Paul Harris Society by donating or pledging to give $1,000 each Rotary year. The visible recognition is an enameled metal ribbon that fits behind the regular Paul Harris Fellowship pin.
Another tool that many club’s adopt is for the club to be an example for the membership. The board of directors can decide to devote a certain percentage of EVERY FUNDRAISER, 10% for example, to the Annual Fund. In April or early May, when the proceeds of all the fund raising events has been accumulated, 10% is sent as a club donation to the Annual Fund. This creates a pool of Recognition Points your club can use to match contributions from your membership.
To illustrate this, if your club raised $5,000 during the year, then $500 would be sent to the Annual Fund. This creates 500 Recognition Points in your club’s account at The Rotary Foundation. The board can decide to announce a donation drive for two weeks. “We will match all Annual Fund donations made between May 1 and May 15. The match will be dollar for dollar as long as our 500 matching points hold out.” As you complete the Contribution/Recognition form, mark how many recognition points you are transferring this donor’s account in the lower left corner and have the club president sign the correct line.
Many clubs begin a special fund raising event specifically for the Annual Fund of The Rotary Foundation. This can be an excellent way to help your club achieve its goal as well.
DISTRICT FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT PLAN
