John Dehnel

Rotary Foundation TEAM LEAD

During the year, The Rotary Foundation continued to support Rotarians and their clubs in carrying out sustainable projects to benefit our communities at home and across the globe.

GRANTS

The Rotary Foundation provided Global Grants to clubs in Great Britain and Ireland for 148 projects, with $5,183,266 of funding.

32% of these projects were related to Peace and Conflict Prevention, 29% to Disease Prevention and Treatment, 11% to Supporting the Environment, 9% to Basic Education and Literacy, 8% to Economic and Community Development, 6% to Maternal and Child Health, and 6% to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene.

A wide variety of projects, all under one of our seven Areas of Focus, were supported by 144 District Grants to a value of $481,279.

Rotary Foundation Global Grants can support substantial humanitarian projects, both in Great Britain and Ireland, and around the world.

Humanitarian Projects

24 of these Global Grants, with a total value of $1.71 million, supported substantial humanitarian projects. Among a wide variety of projects, the grants supported:

• Improving the health and wellbeing of people in Pokot, Kenya, by building the capacity of a clinic
  
• Significantly reducing water use throughout Ipswich, USA
  
• Providing equipment and training for menstruation hygiene in Nepal
  
• Providing restoration and re-wilding for environmentally damaged and deprived communities in southern Scotland
  

District Grants supported a wide variety of projects in all Areas of Focus, including ‘Supporting the Environment’.

Awarding scholarships for further education, often in areas connected to Rotary’s Seven Areas of Focus, is a key area of support for The Rotary Foundation.

Scholarships

The Rotary Foundation supports post-graduate students to pursue their studies in any one of our seven Areas of Focus. 88 Global Grants, with a total value $3.47 million, were for scholarships either in GB&I or overseas. Some examples are:

• MPhil in Criminology at the University of Cambridge
  
• Master’s in Theory and Practice of Human Rights at the University of Essex
  
• Master’s in Environment, Development and Policy at the University of Sussex in Brighton
  
• Master of Science in Migration Studies at the University of Oxford
  
• MPhil in Medical Science (Clinical Neurosciences) at the University of Cambridge
  

We held our annual UK Scholars’ Orientation Day in October online, allowing students to participate from their university locations across GB&I or from their homes abroad. Garth Arnold, Chair of the Rotary GB&I Board and Amanda Watkin, Rotary GB&I General Secretary, introduced the students to Rotary in Great Britain and Ireland, to Rotaract, and to Rotary Foundation funding. Keith Paver, End Polio Now Coordinator, spoke about our priority of completing the eradication of polio. To help them all settle in, we discussed some of the differences that they might find living in the UK and Ireland.

FUNDRAISING

We thank the many Rotarians and clubs who continued to donate generously to our own charity, The Rotary Foundation, during the year.

We seek donations in three broad categories: for the Annual Fund, for Polio Eradication, and as major gifts and endowments. The Annual Fund is a primary source of funds for club and district projects, with the use of that fund being determined entirely by districts with the approval of their members. A total of $2,066,391 was donated by members, clubs, and districts in Great Britain and Ireland over the year. However, that total was 25% lower than the previous year. A large contributor to that was possibly the generosity shown by clubs across the country to The Rotary Foundation Disaster Relief Fund, amounting to $603,459. This accounted for around 21% out of the 25% decline. A further contributor would have been the 6% decline in membership year-on-year.

During the year, we asked for members to consider The Rotary Foundation as their charity of choice. It was unfortunate, therefore, to see that personal giving, as measured by the numbers of ‘Sustaining Members’ (those donating $100 or more personally to the Annual Fund) fell from 2,978 in June 2022 to 2,495 in 2023. This was partly mitigated by the number of Rotarians giving some amount to our own charity (EREY - Every Rotarian Every Year) rose to 4,436, up from 4,296.

The Endowment and Major Gifts Adviser (EMGA) spread the word about supporting our own charity in 8 districts at various events. Donations and pledges of around $2 million were raised. Hopes to have been invited to the remaining 17 districts lacked the support of their District Rotary Foundation Chairs (DRFCs), District Governors (DGs) and District Governor Elects (DGEs). Efforts to recruit Assistant EMGAs in each cluster were unsuccessful.

Polio eradication remains Rotary’s number one humanitarian goal, with Pakistan and Afghanistan being the final two polio-endemic countries remaining.

POLIO ERADICATION

In the year 2023, there were 12 reported cases of acute flaccid paralysis caused by wild poliovirus, compared to 30 in the previous year. 6 of the 2023 cases were in Pakistan and the other 6 were in Afghanistan. No cases of wild poliovirus derived polio were reported elsewhere. Cases of polio derived from circulating vaccine derived poliovirus remain a continuing concern, with focused plans being implemented by the GPEI (Global Polio Eradication Initiative) partners, including Rotary.

Total donations in 2022-23 to End Polio Now by clubs and members were $826,547, 2% down on the previous year. This was, again, partly explained by the decrease in membership numbers. Donations to finish the job of eradicating polio from the world remain our number one humanitarian priority.

CONCLUSION

The Rotary Foundation’s mission is to help Rotary members to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace by improving health, providing quality education, improving the environment, and alleviating poverty. We do this by working with Rotarians and clubs across the world. We work closely with our Humanitarian Service Specialist Adviser Team. Our Public Image teams help publicise the good work we all do as Rotarians. Our membership thrives when our members and others benefit from the good work that Rotary does. Together as a team we serve our communities.