Frequently asked questions
Administration
Q. How many staff members are employed by Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation?
A. As of 30 June 2011, RI employed 759 staff members, of which 150 supported the activities of the Foundation. There are 544 staff members located at the world headquarters , 124 at the seven international offices , and 91 at the software development center in Pune, India.
Q. Are the president and president-elect compensated for their services to RI?
A. No. The president and president-elect do not receive any compensation.
The RI Bylaws state: “The general secretary shall be the only officer to receive compensation. The board shall fix such compensation. There shall be no payments, including any expressions of appreciation, honoraria or similar payments, to any other officer or the president-nominee, other than reimbursement of reasonable, documented expenditures as authorized pursuant to the expense reimbursement policy established by the board.”
(RI Bylaws 6.130., “Compensation of Officers”) See Rotary Code of Policies 68.040, “General Officer’s Expenses,” for expense reimbursement policy.
Q. What are RI’s costs to support the activities of the president, president-elect, and president-nominee?
A. RI must report all reimbursed expenses paid to the president, president-elect, and president-nominee and the office of the president, as well as payments made on their behalf, per RI Bylaws 17.080. See a detailed list of presidential expenses (PDF).
Q. Are the trustees compensated for their service?
A. No. The Foundation trustees do not receive compensation for their service. Learn more .
Q. What are program operations expenses, fund development expenses, and general administrative expenses?
A. Program operations expenses include the costs associated with planning, managing, evaluating, and reporting on the Foundation’s programs and with supporting the Rotarians who implement the specific service activities. These costs include personnel, services, publications, postage, and supplies.
Fund development expenses include the cost of personnel, services, communications, publications, public relations, supplies, computer support, legal counsel, and recognition items involved in acknowledging the generosity of donors to the Foundation.
General administrative expenses include the cost of personnel, services, communications, computer support, supplies, legal counsel, audit fees, and staff support to the Trustees.
Q. How do charity rating services rate The Rotary Foundation?
A: As of 2008, there were more than 1.5 million charitable organizations registered in the United States doing work in a variety of religious, educational, and humanitarian disciplines. As the number of charitable organizations continues to grow, so does the potential for some of those charities to misappropriate funds solicited from a well-meaning public. Several charity watchdog organizations have formed as a service to the general public to evaluate charitable organizations and help donors make informed giving decisions.
Some of those charitable watchdog ratings and ranking organizations include the following:
The Rotary Foundation is consistently recognized as one of the premier charities in the United States. The Rotary Foundation does not pay any fees to watchdog organizations for their services. Rather, these organizations are independently funded or receive support from the licensing of their logos as a seal of approval.
While The Rotary Foundation is honored to be ranked among the best charities in the United States, we believe that our most important goal is to fulfill our mission to enable Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty.
For more information about the Foundation, call the Foundation's Contact Center at 1-866-9ROTARY (1-866-976-8279), or e-mail contact.center@rotary.org . A team of Foundation specialists will answer calls Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time.
You also may contact your international office .