Our speaker at our meeting on 31 January 2024 was this year’s District Rotary Foundation Chair, Christine Wong who was visiting us from the Rotary Club of Canary Wharf. With visitors from the Rotary Club of Pinner, the Rotary Club of Harrow, and the Rotary Club of Edgware and Stanmore, this was something of an occasion in North West London.
Christine took us through the mission and the motto of the Rotary Foundation, explaining the years in which the Rotary Foundation has achieved four star rating with Charity Navigator (their highest rating). The stars are awarded for Impact and Results, Accountability and Finance, Leadership and Adaptability, and Culture and Community.
There are currently four types of grant being offered by the Rotary Foundation to Rotary Clubs and other organisations: District Grants (typically for smaller projects). Global Grants (for bigger projects spanning two or more countries/geographical areas), Disaster Grants (for dealing with repairs after disasters), and Grants of Scale – where the minimum grant is set at $2m. Christine talked about the two Grants of Scale issued so far. One was for malaria eradication in Zambia, the other was for cervical cancer detection and treatment in Egypt.
Christine described how the funding model works, and demonstrated this with a number of projects undertaken by Rotary Clubs around London.
Christine finished with an explanation of the recognition for Rotarians making donations, and the ways to donate for Rotarians in the UK who wish to contribute Gift Aid on their donations.
The talk led to many questions. Our speaker next week will be our Global Grant Scholar who is currently studying in London.
