Celebrating Foundation Successes

CONGRATULATIONS!! The 2019-2020 Rotary year was fantastic – and it is all because of YOU and your generosity! Despite the pandemic – or maybe because of it – you all opened your hearts and your hands and your wallets to truly provide Service Above Self.   
 
POLIO - As Rotarians and friends worldwide pitched in, we met the $50 million goal and as a result we received the full $100 million match from the Gates Foundation.    The true value in that achievement lies not only in the lives we are saving from the devastation of polio,  but it also showed the world that the infrastructure we have in place to fight polio has also been vital in tracking and preventing the spread of Covid-19.    Kudos to all of you!
 
ANNUAL FUND AND ENDOWMENT - We experienced a record year in contributions to the Annual Fund, and in commitments to the Endowment Fund.   Generous donations from all of you, and especially from new major donors, benefactors, and bequest society members, help secure our future and guarantee that we will have funding in the future for all the wonderful humanitarian projects we accomplish.  
 
LOCAL BENEFITS - Too often we think of our Service Above Self as taking place in other parts of the world and benefitting people we will never meet.   We contribute to the Foundation, and don’t pay attention to where our money goes.   This year has reminded us that our contributions truly do come home.  In addition to the $61,000+ in district grants, most of which was for projects in your own communities, we also received a $25,000 grant from the foundation for local Covid-19 related projects.   You all stepped up and provided PPE’s to health care workers and first responders, you provided food to those in need,  protective equipment for a free clinic, and you filled many other COVID related needs in your own communities. 
 
MILLION DOLLAR JOURNEY - Remember that we are on our Million Dollar Journey to raise funds for the future.  Contributions to the Annual Fund will provide us with working dollars in the near future, and commitments to the Endowment fund will provide us with support in years to come.  Please think about what you want your Rotary Legacy to be and contact a member of the Foundation committee for more information.
 
PAT YOURSELVES ON THE BACK! - So, let’s take time to celebrate 2019-2020 and everything that we accomplished.  It was a difficult year, and many of us had hard times, but we came through it with flying colors.   Now on to 2020-2021!  We can’t lose sight of our goal of Service Above Self.    Let’s continue to share what we have with those who have less – with those who are struggling – with those who are hopeless.   There is so much need, locally and around the world, and we have so much to share.   It may be our time – our talents – or our treasures – but we all have something to give. THANK YOU!