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Mission Statement:
The Rotary Foundation helps Rotary members to advance world understanding, goodwill,
and peace by improving health, providing quality education, improving the environment, and
alleviating poverty worldwide.

HISTORY OF THE ROTARY FOUNDATION

At the 1917 convention, outgoing Rotary President Arch Klumph proposed to set up an
endowment "for the purpose of doing good in the world." With an initial donation of
US$26.50. In 1928, it was renamed The Rotary Foundation, and it became a distinct entity
within Rotary International.
When Rotary founder Paul Harris died in 1947, contributions began pouring in to Rotary

International, and the Paul Harris Memorial Fund was created to build the Foundation.

EVOLUTION OF FOUNDATION PROGRAMS
1947: The Foundation established its first program, Fellowships for Advance Study, later
known as Ambassadorial Scholarships.

1965-66: Three programs were launched: Group Study Exchange, Awards for Technical
Training, and Grants for Activities in Keeping with the Objective of The Rotary Foundation,
which was later called Matching Grants.

1978: Rotary introduced the Health, Hunger and Humanity (3-H) Grants. The first 3-H Grant
funded a project to immunize

6 million Philippine children against polio.
1985: The Polio Plus Program was launched to eradicate polio worldwide.

1987-88: The first peace forums were held, leading to Rotary Peace Fellowships.

2013: New district, global and packaged grants enable Rotarians around the world to respond
to the world's greatest needs.

TRF Today: Key Programs and Initiatives
PolioPlus Program: Launched in 1985, this initiative has helped immunize nearly 3 billion
children against polio, significantly reducing the incidence of the disease globally. In 2023-
24, program awards, including PolioPlus Partners grants were US$146.3 million.

District and Global Grants: The foundation supports large scale international humanitarian
projects that have sustainable and measurable outcomes. Grants focus on various areas
including health, education and community development. In 2023-24, the Foundation
approved 485 district grants, and program awards worth US$29.2 million, plus 1,287 global
grants, and program awards worth US$72.1 million.

Disaster response grants: Rotary's disaster response grants support relief and recovery
efforts in areas that have been affected by natural disasters within the past six months. In
2023-24, the Foundation approved 106 disaster response grants, and program awards
worthUS$3.8 million.
Rotary Peace Centres: Each year, the Foundation supports the training of peace fellows at

Rotary Peace Centres, where they earn master's degrees or professional development
certificates. Since 2002-03, 1,800 fellows from more than 140 countries have participated. In