As we are approaching the first in person Rotary District Conference in Victoria, BC on October 13 to 15, for District 5030 in 3 years, this is the time to celebrate Rotary foundation that has been serving globally since 1917. Initiated by RI President Arch Klumph, an endorsement was formed “for the purpose of doing good in the world”. The first initial contribution was only $26.50, and it turned into a motion of a power force that has transformed millions of lives around the globe. The mission of the Rotary Foundation is to enable Rotary members to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace by improving health, providing quality education, improving the environment and the alleviation of poverty. The biggest initiative has been Polio Eradication.
Rotary District 5030 Foundation this year starts by recognizing our major donors at our conference in October. A recognition reception is being organized on Oct 14, 4:30 to 5:30 pm. It will be a private event by invitation only. Every Rotarian who has contributed or officially committed donating $10,000 or more to Rotary Foundation is a major donor and will be on the invite list. If somehow, we miss you, please let us know. We are fortunate to have Rotary International President’s Representative, former Rotary International Director, Jeffry Cadorette from Pennsylvania and Jeff Cochran, Rotary Foundation Officer from Evanston, Illinois to join us.
November is our Rotary Foundation month. It will be a good start to visit clubs in our district to share our goals and plans this year. Let me know if you want to schedule a foundation program meeting for your club. Besides the basic of promoting EREY (Every Rotarian, Every Year) giving. District 5030 plans to initiate a new foundation giving program, “Rotary Awaken Society” that Rotarian would give $5K every year to be a member of this society. We will have more details about the program in time.
Your donations to TRF (The Rotary Foundation) are invested for three years. After 3 years, 50% comes back to the district in the form of DDF (District Designated Funds) and 50% goes to the World Fund.
Hope to see you all in Victoria BC in two weeks. The current balance of TRF is over $1 billion as of the early part of 2023. The fund returns to District into two separate funds for grants, the Global Grant and District Matching Grants. The minimum of Global grant is $30K to a maximum of $400K. The other is District Matching Grant, with smaller amount and shorter-term activities benefiting local communities, with maximum amount of $30K.
Look forward to seeing you at your club meeting or at the conference in two weeks.
Sincerely yours,
Jesse Tam
Rotary District 5030 Foundation Chair
