The Rotary Foundation is the charitable arm of Rotary International and using Foundation Grants, Rotarians are able to advance world understanding, goodwill and peace through the improvement of health, supporting education, and the alleviation of poverty. The Rotary Foundation is supported solely by voluntary contributions from Rotarians and Friends of the Foundation.

 

I wish to acknowledge and thank all members of the Foundation Committee for their contribution to Rotary International and our club throughout the year. As requested by the Board, each Committee was asked to nominate a Deputy Director, and Mike Bellamy, the most recently retired Foundation Director filled this role. In the coming Rotary year, the Deputy Director will be Stephen Timms.

 

During the Rotary themed November “Foundation” month, our club shared a Zoom meeting with the Rotary Club of Maryborough at which our guest speaker was Rotary District 9780 Foundation Chair, PDG Anthony Ohlsen.

 

The Rotary Foundation committee assessed the criteria of the Rotary Foundation humanitarian and vocation training project guidelines and eligibility criteria including timelines but no club projects were identified which met the very stringent criteria.

 

Throughout the year, the committee continued to raise the awareness of Foundation opportunities and projects at club, district and international level. The committee promoted one off and ongoing contributions to the Centurion Program, the Annual Programs Fund, and the Polio Plus Fund.

 

The Centurion Program is a program to recognise donations of AUD $100 to The Rotary Foundation. The donation can be made as a single payment or accumulate over the period of the Rotary year.  The committee continues to encourage members to become a Rotary Centurion by making their own personnel donation to the program. I thank and commend our members who contributed to or made ongoing financial commitments to these funds.

 

The club made an additional $2,400 contribution to the Polio Plus Fund in recognition of the fundraising efforts of Rotarian Ken Hutt from the Rotary Club of Berry, who intended paragliding off Mt Everest to continue to raise awareness of the importance of polio eradication. These funds were made available via a contingency allowance in the budget of the International Committee.

 

Following our Club Assembly in April, additional funds were made available to the Multi-Donor Club Contribution with an additional $US500 contribution to the Australian Rotary Foundation Trust “Annual Giving” fund equally disbursed in the individual name of each club member. This will continue to grow our club’s foundation legacy.

 

As has been the custom of the club, funds were allocated to support the humanitarian and educational programs of the Rotary Foundation by sponsoring Paul Harris Fellow Recognitions. This year, the Foundation Committee has chosen four persons to be recognized in this way. In addition to the usual two awards, due to accumulated contributions over an extended period, the committee has now exhausted additional funds due to accumulated contributions to recognise an additional two Paul Harris Fellow Recognitions per year.

 

These prestigious awards acknowledge the outstanding contribution these recipients have made supporting the values of Rotary within our community, and we congratulate the recipients for 2022.

 

Tim McLeod

Director