By: Sarah MacGillivray, Secretary, and Public Image Coordinator, District Foundation Committee, RC of Bath SunriseThere really is no better way to Connect the Dots than to show how your money comes back, in part, to our District than to share in more detail the information on this year’s District Grants. We were able to fund projects from 15 of our District Clubs, plus an outreach project for the District, for a total of $61,455. The checks went out on August 1, which is impressive! Our grants review committee is to be commended and thanked for their hard work. Our Foundation Committee approved and got all of the paperwork through to TRF quickly, and in turn we were approved quickly. It is amazing to me each year that the projects are so diverse and that there is such breadth and depth of District grant projects. This year the projects included local playspace, reading programs and a playground to international initiatives in Cambodia, Zambia, and the Dominican Republic. Click at Read More below to be taken to the full story and a brief summary of each Club’s project:
Your Rotary Moments for this month can be reached by reading the full story (Click at Read More below to be taken to the full story) Last month, we only gave you one moment to share, and thought that just wasn’t enough! There is so much to share about all the good that is done with donations that are made to OUR Rotary Foundation. If you ever need something more, please remember to visit our District website and click on the Foundation tab. (https://rotary7780.org/page/resources-for-club-foundation-chairs-1)
Please welcome the new District 7780 Rotary Foundation Area Representatives: To better support D-7780 Rotarians charitable goals with the Rotary Foundation, nine Rotary Foundation Area Representative (FAR’s) positions have recently been named and approved by District Governor Marion Cheney. This group of leaders are highly knowledgeable about all aspects of The Rotary Foundation, are members of our District, and will work alongside the nine Assistant Governors (AG’s), the clubs and their members as a resource to help answer questions about TRF. Click at Read More below to be taken to the full story.
1. District Grant Projects:
Here are the exciting projects that our District Clubs will be working on this year. We hope you might find a project that might inspire your Club. Don’t hesitate to reach out to a Club to hear how their project is going.
- Rotary Club of Bath: A Community development project in Cambodia - $3,908. Water, sanitation, hygiene benefitting resident families. The project plans to install 120 BioSand filters in the Angkor Thom District of Siem Reap Province to bring clean water to over 600 people and to provide hygiene training. All will reduce the negative impacts of living in poor sanitary conditions.
- Bath Sunrise Rotary Club: A Community development project with an environmental impact - $3,908. The project will construct raised garden/food beds at Morse High School in Bath ME to not only support the culinary and science curricula but also mental health and life skills programs.
- Rotary Club of Biddeford-Saco: A Peacebuilding project benefitting the general public - $3,908. The Club plans to celebrate Earl Goodwin Kindness Day with activities to bring individuals and non-profits together to make tangible impact.
- Rotary Club of Brunswick: A Community development project for New Mainers - $3,908. This project will offer support assistance and education for New Mainers to set-up household properties.
- Rotary Club of Dover: A Disease Prevention & Treatment project benefitting the general public - $3,908. This project will provide classes and train first responders in the Seacoast area in Individual and Group Crisis Intervention.
- Rotary Club of Exeter: A Community needs assessment project that focuses on Maternal and Child Health - $3,420. The project will cover travel expenses for representatives to do equipment assessment for a future Global Grant application.
- Freeport Rotary Club: A Community development project focusing on Renovation & construction - $3,908. The project will offer home repair services for eligible residents over 60 years of age in the Freeport/Pownal area.
- Rotary Club of the Fryeburg Area: A Basic Education and Literacy project for K-6 students - $1,466. This project plans to create a volunteer reading program and build a guided reading library for Fryeburg K-6 school.
- Rotary Club of Portland: A Water, Sanitation, Hygiene project in the Dominican Republic - $3,908. The project is going to provide clean water and lighting to the general public of the La Romana DR Village/Batey area.
- Rotary Club of Rochester: A Child Health and Disease Prevention project - $3,352. This Health and safety project focuses on women and children and plans to construct safe play and gathering space for children 6-months – 5 years at the Center for Hope and Wellness.
- Rotary Club of Saco Bay: A Community Development project focusing on the environment - $642. This club plans to focus on safety and sustainability with plans to refurbish and refresh past Club projects.
- Rotary Club of Saco Bay Sunrise: A Disease Prevention and Community Development project - $3,908. This project will include Construction Site preparation at the Sweetser Residential Services, and will remove and dispose of the old playground and prep the site for a new one.
- Rotary Club of South Berwick - Eliot: A Basic Education and Literacy project in Zambia -$3,495. This Education and nutrition project will benefit children and provide a refrigerator and computer tablets for a School of the Deaf near Livingstone, Zambia.
- Rotary Club of Westbrook-Gorham: An Environment project - $3,908. This Solar/renewable energy project will work with community partners to purchase and install a solar charging station in a community space.
- Rotary Club of Yarmouth: A Child Health and Education project in Colombia - $3,908. The project is focused on disease and health and will provide an eye screening program and holistic solution to the children in the Medellin area of Colombia.
2. Rotary Moments - please share at your weekly or bi-weekly Rotary meetings:
WHAT IS THE ROTARY FOUNDATION’S ANNUAL FUND?
The Annual Fund is the funding source for a broad range of local and international Foundation programs. Rotary members volunteer their time and expertise to work with communities on meaningful projects that use contributions to the Annual Fund wisely. In 2020-21, donors gave US$139.4 million to the Annual Fund. These contributions come from members, other people who support Rotary’s goals, corporations, and workplace giving programs (some of which can be matched by employers to increase your donation).
Find out if your company has a Charitable Matching Program.
WHAT DID ARCH KLUMPH SAY ABOUT THE FOUNDATION’S IMPACT?
“The Rotary Foundation is not to build monuments of brick and stone. If we work upon marble, it will perish; if we work on brass, time will efface it; if we rear temples, they will crumble into dust; but if we work upon immortal minds, if we imbue them with the full meaning of the spirit of Rotary ... we are engraving on those tablets something that will brighten all eternity.”
— Arch Klumph, 1916-17 Rotary president
How do these words resonate now as we think about increasing our impact?
Learn more about Arch Klumph here: https://www.rotary.org/en/history-father-rotary-foundation-arch-klumph
WHAT IS THE ROTARY FOUNDATION’S ENDOWMENT FUND?
Gifts to the Endowment ensure that Rotary members will have the resources they need to design and implement sustainable projects year after year. Donations to the Endowment can be made as an outright gift or a planned gift, such as a bequest in your estate. As of 2021-22, Rotary’s Endowment totals US$617.5 million and has further commitments of $908.2 million. Contributions to this fund are invested for the future. Only current earnings from the investments are used to support Foundation programs. This approach means that people’s generosity does good in the world in perpetuity.
OUR LAST ROTARY MOMENT FOR THIS MONTH:
“Our Foundation is characterized by efficient, continuous, and dynamic action. Every day of the year there is not an hour that goes by without a hand being extended by The Rotary Foundation to efficiently help, aid, construct, vaccinate, and even save lives."
– Paulo Costa, 1990-1991 Past President of Rotary International
3. Please welcome the new District 7780 Rotary Foundation Area Representatives
To better support D-7780 Rotarians charitable goals with the Rotary Foundation, nine Rotary Foundation Area Representative (FAR’s) positions have recently been named and approved by District Governor Marion Cheney. This group of leaders are highly knowledgeable about all aspects of The Rotary Foundation, are members of our District, and will work alongside the nine Assistant Governors (AG’s), the clubs and their members as a resource to help answer questions about TRF.
In addition, our club leaders, including their Rotary Foundation Chairs, can rely on the FAR’s to assist in many different ways. For example, they can help answer Rotary Foundation questions, present recognition items, such as Paul Harris Fellows, PolioPlus and Paul Harris Society awards etc. They are also happy to assist clubs with goal setting, provide foundation information or offer different club program presentations focused on all aspects of the Rotary Foundation and its giving programs.
FAR’s are familiar with Rotary Foundation goals and programs and the various “ways to give” including Polio Plus, Annual Fund, Endowment Fund, Disaster Relief and how to use Rotary Direct. Each is experienced and comfortable listening to our Clubs and its members.
We are excited to implement Foundation Area Reps as they are truly a “one stop” assistant. Most of all, Rotarians will benefit by reaching out to the FAR’s or others serving on the District Fund Development Team. We encourage each Rotarian to consider charting a path to their own personal Rotary Legacy. Be it through Every Rotarian Every Year, Rotary Direct, Major Donor, Major Gifts, PolioPlus, or the Endowment Fund – our team is here to help.
Listed below you will find names and contact information of those serving on your D-7780 Fund Development Committee. If you have an interest in serving in any capacity or have questions please contact Brenda Cressey at rotarybrenda@gmail.com or call her at 805-674-1846. The FAR Lead is PDG Peter Johnson and the names and contact info for the full team will be released soon.
David Underhill – District Foundation Chair and Past Governor
Brenda Cressey – District Fund Development Chair/Past Rotary Foundation Trustee Chair and Past Governor
Ron Smith – PolioPlus Chair and Past Governor
4. Dollars Raised in District 7780:
Our Foundation Committee Chair, Dave Underhill shared some very impressive data with me, and I of course wanted to share it with all of you. After the Rotary Foundation books were closed (unaudited numbers), they showed our Rotarians and Clubs donated a total of $344,559 in Annual Giving, a new record for our district. Of this amount, $305,534 went to the SHARE fund (which returns almost half its dollars to the district as DDF after three years, in Rotary year 2025-2026). That projected amount will be $145,128 and is a significant increase over the prior year. This SHARE increase reflects the contributions of many individual donors, both large and small, in our district.
The remaining $39,024 went to other named funds, including donations to the disaster response fund donations totaling $28,295. The remaining contributions were specifically made to seven Area of Focus (AOF) funds and the World Fund.
In addition to the Annual Fund giving, our district Clubs and Rotarians donated $86,403 to PolioPlus. This PolioPlus giving reflects a very significant increase in club contributions, spearheaded by the Imagine initiative our district Clubs embraced this past year, the relaunch of the PolioPlus Society and a fundraising event for the Flight to End Polio in May. The district’s PolioPlus contributions were then eligible for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation 2:1 match, bringing our “impact” amount to $259,409.
Endowment giving:
This fiscal year reflects the continued endowment giving from the Otto and Fran Walter Foundation as part of its multiple-year commitment to fund a new Rotary Peace Center in Istanbul, Turkey. Another new endowed fund in our district will provide additional SHARE dollars to the district every year in perpetuity. Our members have stepped up with other gifts that brought our endowment giving total this fiscal year to $1,236,180.
Total giving:
The total giving this year from our district (annual, polio, other and endowment funds) was $1,723,293.