RFPD AND HUMANITARIAN PROJECTS

I received an email from a member of RFPD  proposing a particular area of service for our interest and best of all, this person got right to the heart of the matter and volunteered to raise funds from many clubs to fund the project.Certainly a role that we can do well is to bring clubs and people together. And, we want to do that – bring together a club that want to meet a need where they are and a club that wants to participate in an international project. Within Rotary, the most effective, efficient and financially supportive method to accomplish this is through a humanitarian grant – District and/or Global. I want to review each type and then review the ways you can find specific help through RFPD.

The purpose of both District and Global grants is to support club service projects. Financial support for humanitarian services are allocated to Rotary Districts by the Rotary Foundation (TRF) and the amount is dependent upon the contributions given to the Annual Fund by all clubs in the district. These funds donated are held by the foundation for three years and the interest earned by these funds is used to support the operation of Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation – staffing and all other administrative costs. Following, each year 50% of funds donated to the Annual Fund within each district are set aside for each district to use for service projects that meet the guidelines for the Rotary Service Six Focus Areas: Peace and Conflict Prevention/Resolution, Disease Prevention and Treatment, Water and Sanitation, Maternal and Child Health, Basic Education and Literacy, and finally Economic and Community Development. 

District Grants can be used for both local (meaning anywhere in your own country) and international projects. Each district applies for these grants prior to the year in which they will be used and may apply for up to 50% of the funds eligible for that district. The funds remaining after the allocation of funds for District Grants (50% or more) will be allocated for other eligible projects, including Global Grants for humanitarian projects. One major difference is that global grants require a host and an international partner. These can be Rotary clubs, Rotary districts or both. And the project host and partner must come from different countries. Normally, but not required, the host is from the country where the project is to take place and the host is expected to manage the implementation of the project; the partner is often providing the majority of funds. Sometimes the partner club will provide professional help such as management skills, producing graphics for education – handouts, posters, etc. or maybe a medical person who will provide medical services for a specific period of time. However, both host and partner clubs are totally responsible for the correct use of the grant funds, filing of required reports and the successful management of the project. Any misuse of funds must be repaid.

The most successful projects are those proposed by the host. Sometimes a Rotarian, while visiting a country, will attend a club meeting and in talking with the members, discover a service need the club wants to help. By working together to develop a project and obtain a global grant, they will have a very successful project and personally rewarding for both Rotarians and their clubs.

Most projects will be working with a Cooperating Organization. This is an organization near the host club such as school or not-for-profit organization that would staff and manage the day to day operation of the project and would own any items purchased for the grant.
There is a matching formula for clubs obtaining and using funds for humanitarian grants. If you want to get involved with grant, your first call should be to your DG or District Foundation Chair to find out what the district matching formula is. For instance, in my district 6560 the club wanting a district grant match can request up to $5000 match of club money going to the grant. For a global grant they will match dollar for dollar if funds are available. So it is important to find out if and when funds would be available for your project.

Using For a global grant, TRF will match district monies going to support the grant at 100% and club (including money from outside the club for a project) will be match by TRF at 50%. Using this formula, the grant must apply for a minimum of $15,000 which means that the minimum grant size would be $30,000 if the grant is totally funded by district designated funds (DDF). If club money is used, the minimum grant would be larger.

So, in answer to the request I received, we can bring people and clubs interested in international service together. The area of need explained in the email needs to become a written proposal. While the proposal is being developed, our member can be searching for a host and partner club, determine what total income is needed and write an outline of the project. Once a host has the outline and the income needed, the project can go on the “Project Corner” of our Fragile Earth newsletter to seek a partner from our members. And such a listing in the newsletter can bring friends to the project who don’t have much to spend for international service but who want to participate in a small way. Many clubs donating even $1000 can add much to the funding since within the grant this money could be match from their district and TRF.

And finally, there are several members of RFPD who are interested in helping a club prepare a proposal for global grant funding. To get connected with these members, contact our office and Melissa Willis who will direct your request to the right person. And start by visiting www.rotary.org/grants.

In Service with Rotary I Am, 
Barbara Maves, RIFPD Board, Projects Chair RC of Muncie Sunrise, IN; PP and Founder