Enhancing donations through global grants
The Rotary Foundation (TRF), an endowment fund created in 1917, has been funded since inception by members of Rotary Clubs throughout the world. Its assets currently exceed US$1billion.
TRF provides Rotarians with financial backing through a system of global grants that helps them support humanitarian or other sustainable worldwide projects that have a minimum budget of $30,000. Over $1million a day is currently expended on qualifying projects.
Rotary in Harpenden raise money from the public on our own account by running events such as Classics on the Common (www.classicsononthecommon.com). Some of that money is used to support projects that attract global grants, predominantly humanitarian causes overseas. Where we do not have sufficient financial resources to fund projects on our own we have successfully persuaded friends from within the greater Harpenden community to add their financial support. Here are some examples:
- Two cataract projects in India, funded with the help of another Rotary Club and a global grant.
- Three water and sanitation projects at children’s schools in Malawi. Each was supported with money raised by our local schools, both state and private, and increased overall through the global grant process by a factor of between 2.8 and 3.
- Two projects in Uganda to help refurbish hospitals. With support from our local schools the funds raised were again increased, though the global grant process, by a factor of 3.
- Now completed is a third Ugandan project for equipping an operating theatre at Kyengera Women’s Hospital. We had the task of finding US$5,000 to get the $30,000+ project off the ground, spurred by the promise of a TRF global grant of $25,000 if we achieved that target. This we did. Almost half of that initial sum was raised with the support of our schools and a local charity. The balance was generously donated by The Developing World Group (DWG) of our Lady of Lourdes Church in Harpenden. Given the importance of this project, TRF has granted a further $9,000, enhancing our $5,000 “seed corn” to $39,000, a staggering 780% increase on the ground in Uganda, where it really counts. That is not all. DWG asked for further specific proposals so they could consider offering more finance to help equip the hospital theatre. With the Global Grant monies and input from Rotary Clubs and other organisations worldwide the £39,000 was eventually turned into £133,000 – enough to see that much needed operating theatre become a reality.
Aside from the charitable funds raised by our annual classic car show, Classics on the Common, over the past 11 years the funds we and our many valued supporters have raised have amounted to £41,000.
TRF also helps us fund smaller projects up to £1,000, This has enabled us to reciprocate, in some small way, the support the schools have given us for over 20 years through the Rotary Shoebox Scheme (www.rotaryshoebox.org), buying them dictionaries, helping them to restock their libraries and, in the case of a senior school, providing advice on mental health issues (One Life Lost Is Enough “OLLIE” (www.theolliefoundation.org).
Find out more on the Rotary Foundation website.
Latest news
Raising £130,000 for a Ugandan women’s hospital
How do you raise more than £130,000 to equip a Ugandan women’s medical centre with an operating theatre, transforming the centre into a fully-fledged hospital?
That was the task begun by Rotary in Harpenden under the leadership of Dr Jim McWhirter of the Reading Matins Rotary Club.
Donation for the President’s cause
Terry Heritage marks the end of her year as Rotary in Harpenden President by presenting a cheque for £5,000 to the staff of Harpenden Plus Partnership, her special cause during her presidential year.
Terry said: ’Our donation will be used to support the work of family counsellors and the purchase of training courses for families and children around behaviour and trauma. During my visit I heard the challenges that children and families are facing especially around socialisation following the Covid pandemic.’
‘The best ideas we have seen’
Pitching their business ideas to three Dragons, Year 6 at High Beeches Junior School excelled themselves.
All 60 children were invited to form teams to create businesses to be operated at an upcoming school event with parents. Rotary in Harpenden provided training together with seed corn money to get the teams started. We then arranged for the Dragons to put the children through their paces.