District Grant Updates April 15, 2019

Dear district Rotary Foundation chairs and grants subcommittee chairs:

Here are some updates to help you and your district with grants.

Disaster response grants
On 1 April, The Rotary Foundation introduced a new type of grant: Rotary disaster response grants. These grants, funded by contributions to the Rotary Disaster Response Fund, support relief and recovery efforts in areas affected by disaster. Qualified districts in the affected area or country may apply for a maximum grant of $25,000, pending availability of funds. They may apply for additional grants after they report on any previous disaster response grants. To apply, the district governor and district Rotary Foundation chair complete the Rotary Disaster Response Grant Application and send it to grants@rotary.org.

IHE Delft scholarships
The Rotary Foundation no longer offers a packaged grant for scholarships for water and sanitation professionals at IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, but Dutch Rotarians are still sending students to study there through global grants. Clubs and districts that are interested in partnering with them to support scholars at IHE Delft may apply for global grant scholarships. For more information, write to ihe2019rotary@gmail.com.

Regional grants officers can help with your grant applications
Are you considering a global grant project or scholarship? Before you start your application, ask your regional grants officer to review your project idea or scholarship nominee. Your grants officer can tell you whether your project or scholarship is eligible for a global grant, offer suggestions on what to include in your application, and even work with you to design your project.

Global grant changes
The Trustees of The Rotary Foundation agreed in January to increase the maximum global grant award by doubling the maximum amount of World Fund money available for a global grant to $400,000. The Trustees also raised the threshold at which they review a global grant application. They will now review an application if the grant would use more than $200,000 in World Fund money. These changes will take effect 1 July.

Changes to grant terms and conditions
The Foundation periodically updates its grant terms and conditions to clarify them and to make them reflect policy changes. We’ve recently made these changes:

In section II, the Foundation:
  • Updated references to section numbers in The Rotary Foundation Code of Policies and the Rotary Code of Policies
  • Added information about Rotary’s Privacy Statement for Personal Data
  • Deleted the mention of the date when community assessments began to be required in certain grant applications
  • Clarified that the cost of completing a hydrogeological survey may be included in the grant budget

In section IV, the Foundation:
  • Added endowed and directed gifts to the category of grant applications that receive additional review by the Trustees and Cadre of Technical Advisers, based on the amount of money requested

In section VI, the Foundation:
  • Changed Annual Programs Fund to Annual Fund

In section VIII, the Foundation:
  • Clarified that all cash contributions to global grants must include an additional 5 percent to offset processing and administrative costs

In section IX, the Foundation:
  • Clarified that international sponsors of humanitarian global grants will not be restricted from receiving new grants if a report is overdue and the international sponsors did not receive the funds

In section X, the Foundation:
  • Clarified that microcredit funds must be tracked separately in the microfinance institution’s accounting system

In section XII, the Foundation:
  • Added special considerations for grants paid to the Philippines

In section XIII, the Foundation:
  • Updated the Conflict of Interest Policy for Program Participants in accordance with The Rotary Foundation Code of Policies

Send any questions to rotarysupportcenter@rotary.org. Thank you for all your work to support Rotarians who are Doing Good in the World.

Sincerely,

Abby McNear
Rotary Grants Manager
+1-847-425-5656
Rotary.org