I am honoured to start my 3-year term serving as your District Rotary Foundation Chair for 2026-29.
At this year's Foundation Workshop on 20th June, I put a simple question to the room: what if the Foundation isn't just a charity our clubs donate to — but also the engine that multiplies what our clubs can actually deliver? The recent workshop tackled three persistent myths head-on.
The numbers back it up. Over the last 10 years, District 9685 clubs have run 17 Rotary Foundation projects across Australia, delivering $1.5 million in project value — even though our clubs direct only about 8.5% of their annual charity giving to TRF. More recently, in a single Rotary year, roughly $1 million was contributed against $3 million in projects delivered. Every dollar donated returned the ability to spend three. The Foundation, rated in the global top 100 for efficiency with just 9% admin cost, is a net giver to our district.
First: "the money all goes overseas." Not true — 100% of Annual Fund donations to TRF's Annual Fund stay within Australia while invested, and 50% returns to District 9685 after three years as District Designated Funds (DDF). Over half of recent District Grants have funded Australian community projects.
Second: "it's easier to fundraise independently." In reality, a one-page District Grant application delivers a guaranteed dollar-for-dollar match — turning $2,500 into $5,000 — often within weeks.
Third: "other charities are easier to support." However, when compared with the 15–30% overhead typical of major charities, our Foundation’s mere 9% cost, paired with grant multipliers of up to 10×, means we can be doing good under the Rotary name rather than simply writing a cheque to support another organisation.
Real club examples brought this to life: Hills-Kellyville leveraged a $10,000 contribution into a $116,557 Global Grant for a mobile diagnostic imaging platform at Westmead Children's Hospital; West Pennant Hills & Cherrybrook turned $5,000 into a $50,000 water and sanitation project in Indonesia — a 10× return.
The session's centrepiece was a reframe: what feels like grant paperwork really boils down to two questions. Is the community need real — described in the community's own words, not Rotary's? And what happens when we leave — who owns and sustains the outcome afterward? Answer those honestly, the workshop argued, and the funding is there to be had.
Clubs were also reminded that Global Grants aren't only for projects overseas — an inbound Global Grant can bring international partner funding to a local Australian project, with our district's multicultural communities (Indonesian, Indian, Filipino, Sri Lankan and more) offering natural, reciprocal partnerships already within reach.
The workshop closed with three commitments for every club: put Foundation giving on the next board agenda, identify one genuine community need to test against the two questions, and consider personal giving — even a $100 Centurion contribution. With roughly $148,000 US in DDF available next year, to be split between District and Global Grants, the opportunity is real and immediate.
As the session put it: TRF isn't just where our donations go — it's how our members can shape, own and drive the project, and tell a story no cheque alone ever could. For those clubs that missed the training session, an on-line catch up will be hosted on Sunday the 19th of July on Zoom from 3 to 4.30 pm.
Please write to Niranjan at niranjan.rotary@gmail.com for Zoom link details.
District Rotary Foundation Chair
Rotary District 9685