Future Vision FAQ
What is Future Vision?
The Future Vision Plan is The Rotary Foundation’s new grant model to support district and club humanitarian and educational projects. Under Future Vision, the Foundation offers only two types of grants: district grants and global grants. District grants are block grants that allow clubs and districts to address immediate needs in their communities and abroad. Global grants fund large international humanitarian projects, vocational training teams, and scholarships that have sustainable, measurable outcomes in one or more of the areas of focus.
How will the new grant model benefit clubs and districts?
The Rotary Foundation’s new grant model offers clubs and districts the opportunity to carry out projects and activities that create greater impact, build stronger clubs, increase membership and donor base, enhance public image, and generate enthusiasm to support local service efforts.
In addition, clubs and districts will benefit from the following features:
- Grants have been reduced from twelve types to two— global grants and district grants —while maintaining a variety of activities within the grant types.
- Grant payments are processed more quickly and the application and approval process is transparent, allowing clubs and districts to see the status of their grants throughout.
- Districts can now access 50 percent of their District Designated Funds for district grants, which gives them more funding for projects and more control over their DDF.
- District grants can be used to sponsor a wide range of activities locally and abroad, including traditional Group Study Exchange teams, scholarships, and any projects that align with the Foundation’s mission.
- Monitoring and evaluation of grants will provide important information to grant sponsors and to the Foundation. For example, knowing the number of people who benefit from their projects can help clubs and districts promote the value of their work to the general public.
- Clubs and districts can determine their level of involvement in global grants. They can develop their own project with an international partner or they can apply for packaged global grants, which are pre-structured with strategic partners and supported entirely by the World Fund.
- The timeline for global grant scholar selection is shorter, so clubs and districts do not have to plan as far ahead.
- Global grant scholarships receive a World Fund match, thereby lowering the annual cost of a scholarship for the sponsors.
- Vocational training teams, which travel to meet vital humanitarian needs, offer service opportunities far beyond the GSE experience. For example, during the first year of the pilot, a team of cardiac professionals from Indiana, USA, traveled to Uganda, where they performed pediatric heart surgeries on children while training their Ugandan counterparts on the techniques they used. They saved many lives, but also ensured that local doctors would be able to save even more lives in the future.
What are the areas of focus and how were they selected?
The six areas of focus are:
- Peace and conflict prevention/resolution
- Disease prevention and treatment
- Water and sanitation
- Maternal and child health
- Basic education and literacy
- Economic and community development
These areas were identified as critical humanitarian issues that Rotarians were already addressing worldwide. The Trustees agreed that previous Rotarian experience and interest in these areas would promote greater member engagement and project success.
What is sustainability and why is it important?
The Rotary Foundation defines sustainability as the capacity for maintaining outcomes long-term to serve the ongoing need of a community after grant funds have been expended. A sustainable project typically involves local community leaders in planning so that they are invested in the project’s long-term success. Training and the exchange of information prepare communities to maintain results and solve problems on their own, after the Rotary club’s involvement has ended. Sustainable projects offer enduring value and a greater return on Rotary’s investment of money and volunteer hours.
What are strategic partnerships and how do they work?
A strategic partnership is a relationship between The Rotary Foundation and another international organization that has a unique or specialized knowledge or expertise in one or more of the areas of focus. Strategic partnerships are large-scale, multi-year relationships. Rotary’s strategic partners provide financial resources, technical expertise, advocacy, or a combination thereof. These relationships will produce mutually beneficial project portfolios that fulfill the goals of the partners and enhance service opportunities for Rotarians through packaged global grants .
What is the timeline for the Future Vision global launch?
All districts will begin using only the new grant model on 1 July 2013. However, nonpilot districts should begin preparing for the transition much earlier. District governors-elect will receive training at the 2012 International Assembly, and DGEs and district Foundation chairs will be trained at the 2013 assembly. This training will prepare them to complete the online qualification process, train and qualify clubs, and apply for district grants before the launch. More information can be found in Transition to Future Vision and the Future Vision newsletter.
How is Rotarian input and feedback being used to improve the new grant model for the worldwide launch?
Pilot districts have already provided the Foundation with recommendations for improvement. For example, major improvements are being made to the online application to make it easier to use.
Surveys of pilot districts indicate that most are happy with many aspects of the plan. For example:
- 85% of respondents strongly or somewhat agree that the district MOU requirements improved their district’s stewardship practices.
- Districts are generally satisfied with the transition to the online system and the elimination of paper applications and feel that this process is easier.
- The sense of ownership has increased at the district and club levels
- One district reports: “We have found better participation by clubs in our district. We have used our grant funds for a great variety of local and international projects and some clubs have combined with others for larger projects.”
- Another district reports that their vocational training team had a much higher impact on their communities than GSEs.
- More clubs are participating in international projects and starting multi-club projects.
Why did The Rotary Foundation develop this new grant model?
The Foundation recognized the need to use its limited resources more effectively. In 2007, the Foundation was spending 20 percent of its annual program budget on large grants with high impact and 80 percent on short-term activities with minimal impact. The new grant model will flip these percentages so that 80 percent will support high-impact, sustainable projects.
The Foundation also identified a growing need to streamline its operations for improved efficiency and focus its efforts to make greater impact. For example, the increasing demand for small Matching Grants was driving up administrative costs without a corresponding return in terms of impact or public recognition.
The Trustees based the many of the plan’s key elements on survey results from Rotary leaders and grassroots Rotarians. Rotarian input continues to be a key factor as pilot districts report back on their successes and challenges. In April 2012, the Trustees will incorporate this feedback into the final plan.
The ultimate goal is to use Foundation resources more strategically by supporting projects that will make a greater impact on communities worldwide, affect a significantly larger number of beneficiaries, and enhance Rotary’s public image. Greater recognition of Rotary’s work will, in turn, lead to increased interest in joining Rotary and supporting its civic and humanitarian efforts.
How will the Foundation know if Future Vision is a success?
Several factors can help the Foundation measure the success of the new grant model over time—among them, increased Rotarian participation in grant activities, increased giving to the Foundation from both members and non-Rotarians, and more media coverage of Foundation-sponsored projects. But the real success indicators will come through the evaluation process, which will provide data on the actual number of people who benefit from Foundation grants and demonstrate how the sustainability factor will ensure the continuation of those benefits.
What will Future Vision be called after its launch?
The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International