November is the month Rotarians around the world celebrate our Rotary Foundation – the charitable arm of Rotary that provides funding for us to continue to positively impact lives in our communities.

 

It was at the 1917 Rotary International convention that outgoing Rotary President Arch Klumph proposed setting up an endowment “for the purpose of doing good in the world.” That one idea, and an initial contribution of $26.50, set in motion a powerful force that has spent more than $4 billion on life-changing, sustainable projects, transforming millions of lives around the globe. The Rotary Foundation helps Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill and peace by improving health, providing quality education, improving the environment and alleviating poverty.

 

 

Despite the pandemic and all of the challenges that brought, Rotarians continued to donate to the Rotary Foundation and we continued to do good in the world.  We adapted, pivoted and changed things up to continue doing service in the community, locally and globally.  For a quick glimpse of the work done by Rotarians during this past year, click here.

 

For the 13th consecutive year, the Rotary Foundation has received the highest rating — four stars — from Charity Navigator, an independent evaluator of charities in the U.S.  The Foundation earned the recognition for executing its mission in a financially efficient way, demonstrating both strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency. Only one percent of the organizations Charity Navigator evaluates have received 13 consecutive 4-star evaluations.

 

Rotarians and their generous donations over the years have helped us provide education, diminish the number of polio cases in the world, support peace efforts, work on the environment, enhance economies in underdeveloped countries and so much more.

 

With your generosity, we can continue to make lives better in our communities and around the world.