Highlights from the 2004-05 Rotary Foundation Trustees meetings
June 2005
The Trustees of The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International met on 23-24 June 2005 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The following are highlights of actions taken by the Trustees.
Programs
The Trustees agreed to conduct stewardship seminars for governors, governors-elect, district Rotary Foundation committee chairs, and district grants subcommittee chairs for many districts in Zones 10 and 21 during 2005 06. They also encourage all districts worldwide to include stewardship training for club officers as a part of a Foundation seminar.
Following the scheduled end of the International Polio Eradication Fundraising campaign on 30 June 2005, any contribution received will be assigned to the PolioPlus Fund or PolioPlus Partners, as appropriate.
The Trustees approved PolioPlus Grants for Afghanistan, Central African Republic, India, Nigeria, and Sudan.
Finance
The Trustees authorized a modification to the 2005-06 District Simplified Grants program budget of US$1 million, bringing the total District Simplified Grants budget to US$5,750,000.
Foundation Facts
Paul Harris Fellows: 960,246
Foundation Benefactors: 68,076
Major Donors: 6,593
30 June 2005
April 2005
The Trustees of The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International met from 23-27 April 2005 in Evanston, Illinois, U.S.A. The following are highlights of actions taken.
Administration
The Trustees have initiated a planning process for the future of The Rotary Foundation. The 2005-06 chairman will appoint a TRF Future Vision Committee that will study all aspects of the Foundation and begin to develop a comprehensive plan for a second century of service.
The Trustees encourage past Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinators (RRFCs) to continue their volunteer efforts and to remain knowledgeable on all aspects of The Rotary Foundation and encourage current RRFCs to involve past RRFCs in service to The Rotary Foundation.
Fund Development and Recognition
To more accurately reflect their role and responsibilities, Permanent Fund National Advisors shall be known as Major Gifts Advisors, effective 1 July 2005.
The Trustees will eliminate the Top Three Highest Annual Giving club banners effective 1 July 2005. The Top Three Per Capita Annual Giving club banners shall only be awarded to clubs with annual per capita giving of US$50 or more, effective 1 July 2005.
Programs
Effective 1 July 2005, the minimum Matching Grant award shall be US$5,000 and Individual Grants will be placed on moratorium. All applications submitted during 2004-05 with requests of less than US$5,000 for Matching Grants and all applications for Individual Grants that are not funded before 1 July 2005, may be funded if the application is complete by 31 October 2005.
Recognizing the positive impact that stewardship seminars have had on fulfilling established expectations for grant reports, the Trustees requested the general secretary to make appropriate arrangements to conduct three seminars in 2005-06 in regions and zones where there is substantial participation in humanitarian grants. The Trustees also amended humanitarian grant criteria, including grants deadlines, reporting requirements, and communications with grants participants and district leaders. Details of these amendments can be found on the RI website.
The Trustees took several decisions during a preliminary review of the Rotary Centers for International Studies in peace and conflict resolution program:
- Reaffirmed their interest in securing endowed gifts to provide Rotary World Peace Fellowships for the long term.
- Due to the slower than anticipated pace in securing endowed gifts, reduced the number of new fellowships awarded annually to 60, effective with those fellows whose study begins in 2007.
- Requested a progress report on ways to integrate the Rotary Centers for International Studies program and the Rotary Peace and Conflict Studies pilot program, for consideration at their October 2005 meeting.
The Trustees:
- Approved 15 Matching Grants involving Rotary clubs and districts in Afghanistan, Australia, Austria, Bosnia, China, East Timor, Egypt, England, Ethiopia, Germany, Haiti, Honduras, India, Mali, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and the United States.
- Confirmed that no monies from the Solidarity in South Asia fund (tsunami relief efforts) are available for Matching Grants.
- Encouraged Rotary districts to support Rotary efforts in China by donating their District Designated Funds for Rotary Grants for University Teachers, Ambassadorial Scholarships, and Group Study Exchange teams in collaboration with District 3450.
- Adopted a statement for the prevention of sexual harassment in Rotary Foundation programs.
- Affirmed the value of Regional Scholar Orientation Seminars in helping to meeting the objectives of the Foundation’s educational program. Continue to encourage such seminars through the availability of Regional Scholar Orientation Seminar grants, at a maximum amount of US$350 per program participant.
- Districts in Japan interested in sponsoring international students for intensive Japanese language training and short-term internships in Japan may utilize the donated Cultural Ambassadorial Scholarships.
Finance
The Trustees approved a budget for total program award expenditures of US$83,718,100 in 2005 -06. They also adopted a budget of US$38,714,700 for program operations, fund development, general administration, and PolioPlus program operations of The Rotary Foundation during 2005 -06 .
Foundation Facts
Paul Harris Fellows: 944,988
Foundation Benefactors: 67,476
Major Donors: 6,385
30 April 2005
February 2005
The Trustees of The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International met on 16-18 February 2005 in Anaheim, California, U.S.A. The following are highlights of actions taken.
Administration
The Trustees elected Trustee Ray Klinginsmith to serve as the vice-chairman in 2005-06, and amended The Rotary Foundation bylaws to provide that, in the event of a vacancy in the office of chairman, the vice-chairman shall succeed to the office of chairman.
Fund Development and Recognition
To encourage contributions to the Annual Programs Fund through the Every Rotarian, Every Year program, the Trustees established banner recognition for clubs that have fulfilled the challenge of 100 percent participation and US$100 per capita contribution totals, effective in 2004-05.
Fifty-three Rotarians were chosen to receive the Distinguished Service Award for their outstanding service to The Rotary Foundation.
Programs
The Trustees thanked Rotarians worldwide for their generous response to the Solidarity in South Asia Fund for recovery efforts following the 26 December 2004 tsunami. Details on how Rotarians can continue to contribute to the affected countries are available on the RI website, but general guidelines are as follows:
- Cash contributions and District Designated Fund donations will be accepted through 15 May 2005;
- A prorated distribution will be made among the four countries principally affected, as follows:
- 35% of funds for use in recovery efforts in Indonesia (District 3400);
- 35% of funds for use in recovery efforts in Sri Lanka (District 3220);
- 20% of funds for use in recovery efforts in India (Districts 2980, 3210, 3230, and 3290);
- 10% of funds for use in recovery efforts in Thailand (District 3330);
- National committees, including governors of the above districts, will oversee the use of funds for the most pressing tsunami recovery needs;
- Basic stewardship procedures that ensure timely release of funds and appropriate accounting for their use will be implemented.
The Trustees require all Rotary clubs and districts, as part of their outbound orientation of TRF program participants (including awardees, counselors, and homestay families), to include information regarding the prevention and reporting of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior, specifically within the cross-cultural context of the international nature of the program involved.
Changes to the Rotary Centers for International Studies program were approved as follows:
- Award/awardee will now be known as the “Rotary World Peace Fellowship/Fellow,” effective immediately and retroactively.
- Each Rotary district or non-districted club may submit a candidate’s application for either an Ambassadorial Scholarship or a Rotary World Peace Fellowship annually, but not for both scholarship types in the same program year, effective in 2006-07.
- Rotary World Peace Fellowship applicants must submit all language and academic exam scores required by partner universities in order to be considered as candidates.
- Discretionary funding to each Rotary Center partner university will be available in 2005-06 to assist Rotary World Peace Fellows in meeting various expenses.
- All governors are requested to appoint a district-level Rotary World Peace Fellowships Subcommittee Chair within the District Rotary Foundation Committee structure so as to better distinguish the Rotary Centers for International Studies program from the Ambassadorial Scholarships program, effective with the 2006-07 program year.
While recognizing that the Rotary Centers for International Studies in peace and conflict resolution program offers one approach for students to increase their skills in conflict resolution, the Trustees also agreed to establish a short-term lower cost conflict resolution studies program on a three-year pilot basis. Chulalongkorn University will host a Rotary Center for Peace and Conflict Studies in Bangkok, Thailand. The general secretary will complete contractual arrangements as soon as possible so that the first group of students can enroll in July 2006. Details regarding the selection process are available on the RI website.
The Trustees also:
- Approved a Matching Grant sponsored by the Rotary Club of Hermosillo Pitic (District 4100, Mexico) and the Rotary Club of Park City (District 5420, USA) to help provide a mobile medical clinic.
- Approved PolioPlus Grants for Afghanistan, Central Africa, Egypt, India, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, and West Africa.
Foundation Facts
Paul Harris Fellows: 934,378
Foundation Benefactors: 66,864
Major Donors: 6,188
28 February 2005
October 2004
The Trustees of The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International met from 23-28 October 2004 in Evanston, Illinois, U.S.A. The following are highlights of actions taken.
Administration
The Trustees elected Trustee Vice-Chairman Frank J. Devlyn as chairman and Trustee Luis Vicente Giay as vice-chairman during 2005-06. The annual Trustees meeting will be held 24-29 April 2006 in Evanston. The chairman will decide the dates of all other meetings in 2005-06.
The Trustees considered seven resolutions from the 2004 Council on Legislation referred to them by the RI Board. Responses to each of the proposers will be provided in a timely manner.
Fund Development and Recognition
To honor major donors to The Rotary Foundation, the founder of The Rotary Foundation, the Trustees established The Arch C. Klumph Society, in recognition of the founder of The Rotary Foundation.
Programs
With great pleasure, the Trustees announce the reinstatement of the 3-H Program, effective 1 January 2005, and the annual Group Study Exchange (GSE) awards funded by the World Fund, effective immediately. Details on these programs may be found on the RI website. The Trustees also continue to encourage districts to utilize District Designated Funds to send GSE teams, which helps preserve the World Fund for other educational and humanitarian grant programs of the Foundation.
With appropriate stewardship training, Rotary districts and their member clubs are better able to fulfill their reporting responsibilities. The Trustees received a report on recently concluded stewardship seminars in 28 districts, and authorized future seminars in 38 districts. All districts and Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinators will receive a status report on grants awarded to the district and are expected to facilitate full compliance with TRF reporting requirements. All districts are encouraged to include stewardship training for club officers as a part of a Foundation seminar.
Recent developments emphasize the need to continue the International PolioPlus Committee (IPPC) past 2005. The Trustees agreed that the IPPC will continue until the global certification of the eradication of polio. The Trustees also extended the PolioPlus Partners program to 30 June 2006.
The Trustees:
- Approved 17 Matching Grants involving Rotary clubs and districts in Algeria, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Fiji, France, Germany, India, Korea, Lebanon, Mexico, Mongolia, Nepal, Nigeria, the Philippines, Tanzania, and the United States.
- Approved PolioPlus Grants for Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Central Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, India, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, West Africa, and the World Health Organization (WHO).
- Agreed in principle to establish a short-term conflict resolution program as a three-year pilot program followed by an evaluation for possible extension as a program of The Rotary Foundation.
- Recognized that now is a critical time for securing funding for the Rotary Centers for International Studies program and approved a World Fund match of US$500,000 to the Paul and Jean Elder endowment gift to provide Rotary World Peace Scholarships for 2005-07.
Finance
The Trustees received the Foundation’s 2003-04 audited financial results as submitted by Deloitte & Touche. The results will be published in the Foundation’s annual report.
The Trustees also:
- Appointed Deloitte & Touche to audit the books of The Rotary Foundation for the fiscal year 2004-05.
- Adopted a budget of US$39,967,993 for program operations, fund development, general administration, and PolioPlus program operations in 2004-05. The Trustees had previously adopted a programs budget of US$93,281,959 for 2004-05.
Foundation Facts
Paul Harris Fellows: 917,538
Foundation Benefactors: 65,250
Major Donors: 5,860
31 October 2004