The Rotary Foundation transforms your gifts into service projects that change lives both close to home and around the world.
Since it was founded more than 100 years ago, the Foundation has spent more than $4 billion on life-changing, sustainable projects.
Together, we can make an impact in your community and around the world.
Our mission
The Rotary Foundation helps Rotary members to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace by improving health, providing quality education, improving the environment, and alleviating poverty.
What impact can one donation have?
- $3 is the average cost to fully protect a child against polio.
- $50 can maintain water filters to help fight waterborne illness.
- $200 to develop work opportunities by replacing livestock for people impacted by disasters.
How the Foundation makes help happen
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Rising from the ruins
After two powerful earthquakes in Turkey, Rotary’s relief efforts remain a path out of the wreckage.
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A labor of love
With a US$2 million Rotary Programs of Scale award, a project makes high-quality care available to pregnant women, mothers, and newborns in Nigeria.
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Classrooms wired for success
To close the digital divide in Panama, they started with the teachers.
Foundation history
At the 1917 convention, outgoing Rotary president Arch Klumph proposed setting up an endowment “for the purpose of doing good in the world.” That one idea, and an initial contribution of $26.50, set in motion a powerful force that has transformed millions of lives around the globe.
Financial structure
The Rotary Foundation is organized as a public charity operated exclusively for charitable purposes and governed by a Board of Trustees. The operations of Rotary International, a member organization, are overseen by its Board of Directors.
The headquarters of Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation are in Evanston, Illinois, USA. We have associate foundations in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, and the United Kingdom.
Read highlights from the past year in our annual report
Learn about Rotary's investments
Your generous contributions to The Rotary Foundation are essential to securing and growing Rotary programs throughout the world.
