The Rotary Foundation

Arch Klumph founded the Rotary Foundation in 1917 using $26.50 left over from the international convention. 

Bob Nida talked about his personal connections with the foundation.

• He went to Germany as a participant in a Group Study Exchange (GSE). GSE programs brought young professionals from one country to another to develop connections. Bob later was the leader of GSE trips.
• Next, he was involved in the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards programs.
• Bob was also involved in Rotary Youth Exchange.
• Currently, Bob is involved in VOSH (Voluntary Optometric Services to Humanity). This is a Rotary program in Dominica that runs an optical clinic in an underserved area.

All of these programs are supported through financial assistance from The Rotary Foundation. These are programs that directly affect people around the world.

The Rotary Foundation has 3 sources of funding.

1. Polio Plus - this fund supports the elimination of Polio and other disease-fighting programs. When Rotary committed to eliminating polio, 1,000 children each day were being paralyzed or dying from Polio. Currently, there are about 4 polio cases a year. Rotarians have contributed $2.8 billion to this effort. These funds have been matched by governments and foundations, most notably the Gates Foundation.
2. Endowment - This contains more than $2 billion that is invested, and only the returns are used to fund projects.
3. Annual Fund - Money donated to this fund is invested for 3 years, and the returns are used to cover the operating expenses of the foundation. After 3 years, the money is available to districts to award matching grants for global and local projects.