Sharing Our Foundation Good News
By: Nancy Hawes, District Foundation Treasurer/Secretary, South Portland/Cape Elizabeth RC
Happy New Year! Calendar, that is – in the Rotary World we’re halfway through the year. So that seems like a good time to take stock of where your club is so far this year. And since I can’t live without checklists, here’s a suggested checklist for your club:- How much have we donated to The Rotary Foundation this year?
- Has our club itself donated as well as some of our members? Have we encouraged every member to donate, no matter the amount?
- Have we been educating our members about the great work that our Foundation does? Through “Rotary Foundation Minutes” at club meetings as well as programs dedicated to various aspects of the Foundation?
- Have we recognized our members who have received pins for various levels of giving (assuming they are willing to be publicly recognized)?
- (For clubs with current year district grants): Have we made progress on our grant? Are we prepared to submit a progress report by February 1? Will we be able to complete the grant this year?
- Have we thought about applying for a district grant for Rotary year 2025-26? It’s not too early to think about:
- What is it that we want to accomplish with our district grant – start fleshing out the details (see the application form for specific information that will be required).
- What is our club’s Annual Fund giving goal for 2025-26?
- Who will our club Rotary Foundation chair be for 2025-26?
- Who will be completing the required Foundation training (minimum 2 members), in order to apply for a grant?
- Do we want to undertake a particular project that would be suitable for a global grant? OR is there a global grant project that one of our fellow clubs is applying for that we would like to participate in?
- What are we doing to help fulfill Rotary’s promise to eradicate polio? (Fundraiser like Pints for Polio? Awareness activities like a bridge walk? Outright donations?)
Congratulations on all that your club has achieved so far this year, and on all that you will achieve in the second half of the year!