Q: Why doesn’t Rotary offer postgraduate educational scholarship opportunities specifically designed for Rotarians? Nearly all educational opportunities prohibit Rotarians from participating. What is the philosophy behind this?

The primary reason for prohibiting Rotarians from applying for Rotary Foundation scholarships is to exemplify Rotary’s ideal of service. The Trustees agreed many years ago that the Foundation exists to benefit non-Rotarians. Selecting Rotarians to receive the awards wouldn’t be in harmony with The Four-Way Test. Given a pool of applicants from the community, selecting candidates who are Rotarians could be perceived as favoritism — that is, not fair or beneficial to all concerned — and would contradict Rotary’s motto of Service Above Self. A few other groups, such as Rotary International employees, are also excluded. (The others are mentioned in The Rotary Foundation Code of Policies, section 7.030.)

Legal concerns are another reason. A tax-exempt organization can’t be operated for the benefit of its members. If the Foundation awarded scholarships to Rotarians, it could jeopardize its tax-exempt status.