When you donate to a local, national or international charity, what happens to your money?
Much of it may go on administration expenses (sometimes more than 50%) and you hope that the rest benefits the headline cause the charity represents. You don’t expect to have any further involvement with your contribution. You probably have little idea where and how the money will be used.
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The Rotary Foundation is different. You will be aware that the administration costs are very small (generally 8-10%) and that the large proportion supports projects being undertaken by Rotarians with the same ethos as yourself.
A diagram on how a donation to the Annual Fund is shared out.
Your gift to the Annual Fund helps Rotary and Rotaract clubs take action today to create positive change in communities close to home and around the world. Your contributions help us strengthen peace efforts, fight disease, provide clean water and sanitation, save mothers and children, support education, grow local economies, and protect the environment.
For many Rotarians the fact that your contribution will be sensibly used is enough. However, The Rotary Foundation supports Rotarians undertaking these projects and your district and your club can have a direct say on how some of the monies are utilised if you want to be involved.
Through the SHARE system, contributions to The Rotary Foundation are transformed into Grants that fund local and international humanitarian projects, scholarships, vocational training teams, and more. At the end of every Rotary year, contributions directed to the Annual Fund-SHARE from all the clubs in the district are divided between the World Fund and the District Designated Fund (DDF), after 5% is deducted for operating expenses.
At the end of three years, your district can use the DDF to support club and district projects that your club and mothers in the district choose. Districts may use up to half of their DDF to fund District Grants. The remaining DDF may be used for Global Grants or donated to PolioPlus, the Rotary Peace Centres, or another district.
District officers are encouraged to monitor their district’s DDF availability and activity by viewing the SHARE Contribution Detail Report and Available DDF by District Report through the Reports page of My Rotary.
All projects being supported by The Rotary Foundation have Rotarians actively involved.
District Grants are usually small scale and can be local or international. These might be installing play mequipment at a local community centre or perhaps providing mosquito nets working with Rotarians abroad.
