Sharing our Foundation Good News May 2025

Sharing Our Foundation Good News
District 7780 Making an Impact
 
By:  Nancy Hawes, South Portland - Cape Elizabeth RC
 
Among the definitions of the verb “share”  is “to give some of what you have to somebody else.” For the past 18 months you’ve been hearing about our District’s “ShareForever” campaign. And that’s exactly what it is – dozens of Rotarians in our district have made plans to “give some of what they have” to the Endowment Fund of The Rotary Foundation so that the earnings will be used to help “somebody else” FOREVER.  You’ll get a final report at the end of the summer with the final campaign numbers –  suffice it to say in the meantime that our district is knocking it out of the park when it comes to allowing the endowment fund to “share” what we have with people who need that sharing.
 
At a projected 5% rate of return, the gifts our fellow D7780 Rotarians are making will generate $225,000 every year FOREVER. Since Rotary’s SHARE system allows half of donations to the Annual Fund that are not earmarked for one of the Areas of Focus to come back to our district, we will benefit right here in our district; the current gifts are already increasing the funds that our district has control over by $10,000 every year. This amount will continue to grow to over $65,000 EVERY YEAR when the expectancies are realized.
 
In addition to what will come back to our district in the form of SHARE funds, eventually our gifts to the Endowment Fund will generate:
  • $17,000 per year for Peace programs
  • $73,000 per year for the World Fund
  • $62,000 for other designated funds
The ShareForever campaign started last year while Marion Cheney was our District Governor. She and Harry, along with Dave & Linda Underhill have been co-chairs of the campaign. All the co-chairs have put their money where their mouths are: Marion & Harry were recently recognized for their generosity in achieving “Bequest Society Level 6” status. Thank you, Marion & Harry, and everyone else who has participated in this campaign.
 
Here is how Celeste Herbert, the Foundation’s Major Gifts Officer for our region, summed up our campaign: “Rotarians in District 7780 have a long-established culture of giving generously each year to ensure that Rotary’s work helps people across the globe. Through their outstanding response to the ShareForever challenge, these remarkable service-minded members are building a firm foundation to ensure that Rotary will always be there to meet whatever challenges may arise tomorrow and for generations to come. They may never meet the people whose lives are made better through this effort, but they can trust that their actions today will be felt forever in all the best ways.”