Most of you are aware of the club’s 5 areas of service:
- Club
- Vocational
- Community
- New Generation
- International
Large or small, all clubs need to have at least some participation in all these areas. It doesn’t have to be much. Perhaps, every month, or some part of the year, will work as a well-balanced approached to “Service above Self”.
I want to bring your attention to the International Area, my motivation. My Rotary International background: 2016 as International Chair in the Rotary Club of Marble Falls. and recently as District 5870 as Global Grant Coordinator. International has been my primary focus in Rotary, after my year as club president. I met a club president from District 4130 in 2015. 5 years later we completed a new Global Grant Project, serving 5 different central Mexican communities, along with a perpetual youth training program. I was also fortunate to have owned an international business which allowed me to develop business relationships worldwide. But you don’t have to travel around the world to play a key role in International Service.
The key areas of focusing on the international are:
- Peace Building
- Disease Prevention
- Water and Sanitation
- Maternal and Child Health
- Basic Education
- Economic Development
- Supporting the Environment
Each of these means something different to all. If every club could focus on one project and one area, what a difference 5870 could make in the world. Usually “participation” means being involved in a Global Grant in some way.
Your club can easily start to participate. It is as simple as helping another club with a project in or out of the district. While most think of this as developing a Global Grant itself, your club can be involved with a Global Grant project or by becoming:
- Host Partner
- International Partner
- Participating Club
Most clubs are participating clubs. Global Grant projects are for $30,000 or more, most of the funding is done by the supporting Districts of the Host and International Partner and matching funds from the Foundation.
As a participating club you can invest in a project or projects for perhaps $100 to start. So, how do you get started? Several different but not exclusive ways are available:
- Networking through fellow members of others at a Rotary event, such as district meetings or conventions
- Using the websites of the 25 plus Rotary Action Groups
- What’s App-Rotary Global Grant Partners
- Helping another District club. District 5870 requires clubs that are Host or International Partners to have 4 other 5870 district Clubs to participate financially.
MatchingGrants.org is one of the simplest ways to get stated. It offers hundreds of projects already started that need funding all over the world in every area of focus. Contained in each entry is a full description of the project, funding, budget, years in effect and information on who to contact. I must warn you once you get started looking you can’t stop. I have attached a simple guide as to how to use it.
The most comprehensive guide to Rotary Global Grants may be found at:
Any additional questions do not hesitate to contact me at jmatera@zfhllc.com