RotARy BASICS www.rotary.org/rotarybasics

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RotARy BASICS www.rotary.org/rotarybasics
Rotary                    BASICS
   www.rotary.org/rotarybasics
RotARy BASICS www.rotary.org/rotarybasics
R
        otary International, the           “Thanks to Rotary, my                     and president-elect, meets quarterly
        world’s first service club orga-                                              to establish policies. Traditionally,
        nization, is made up of 33,000       efforts to make the                      the RI president, who is elected an-
clubs in more than 200 countries             world a better place                     nually, develops a theme and service
and geographical areas. Its members                                                   emphases for the year.
                                             are multiplied. I’m no
form a global network of business,
                                             longer alone.”                           The Secretariat
professional, and community leaders
                                                                                      Rotary International is headquar-
who volunteer their time and talents                       — Fernando Aguirre tered in the Chicago suburb of
to serve their communities and
the world.
                                                             Palacios, Ecuador Evanston, Illinois, USA, with seven
                                                                                      international offices in Argentina,
   Rotary’s motto, Service Above Self,     level. The district and international      Australia, Brazil, India, Japan, Korea,
exemplifies the humanitarian spirit        structure is designed to support the       and Switzerland. The office for RI
of the organization’s more than 1.2        clubs and help them provide more           in Great Britain and Ireland (RIBI),
million members.                           service in their local communities         located in England, serves clubs and
   Strong fellowship among Rotar-          and abroad.                                districts in that region. The Secre-
ians and meaningful community and
                                                                                      tariat’s chief operating officer is the
international service projects charac-     Clubs
                                           Rotarians are members of Rotary            RI general secretary, who heads a
terize Rotary worldwide.
                                           clubs, which belong to the global          740-member staff working to serve
   Rotary enjoys a rich and some-
                                           association Rotary International (RI).     Rotarians worldwide.
times complex tradition and or-
ganizational structure, with many          Each club elects its own officers and
programs that can be confusing to          enjoys considerable autonomy within        Benefits and
new and even not-so-new members.           the framework of Rotary’s constitu-        Responsibilities of
The following pages offer a basic          tion and bylaws.
                                                                                      Club Membership
Rotary education — the fundamen-
tal knowledge that will make every
                                           Districts                                  The club is the cornerstone of Rotary,
                                           Clubs are grouped into 530 RI dis-         where the most meaningful work is
member better informed about
                                           tricts, each led by a district governor,   carried out. All effective Rotary clubs
Rotary and proud to be a Rotarian.
                                           who is an officer of RI. The district      are responsible for four key elements:
                                           administration, including assistant        sustaining or increasing their mem-
The Organization                           governors and various committees,          bership base, participating in service
of Rotary                                  guides and supports the clubs.             projects that benefit their own com-
                                                                                      munity and those in other countries,
Rotary is essentially a grassroots         RI Board
                                                                                      supporting The Rotary Foundation
organization, with most of its service     The 19-member RI Board of Direc-
                                                                                      of RI financially and through pro-
efforts being carried out at the club      tors, which includes the RI president
                                                                                      gram participation, and developing
                                                                                      leaders capable of serving in Rotary
                                                                                      beyond the club level.
                                                                                         What Rotarians get out of Rotary
                                                                                      depends largely on what they put
                                                                                      into it. Many membership require-
                                                                                      ments are designed to help members
                                                                                      become and remain active partici-
                                                                                      pants in their clubs, and enjoy their
                                                                                      Rotary experience.
                                                                                      Service
                                                                                      All Rotary clubs share a key mission:
                                                                                      to serve their community and those
                                                                                      in need throughout the world. By
                                                                                      participating in club service projects,
                                                                                      members learn about their club’s in-
                                                                                      volvement in local and international
                                                                                      projects and can volunteer their
RotARy BASICS www.rotary.org/rotarybasics
time and talents where they are
most needed.
Membership recruitment
and retention
To keep clubs strong, every Rotar-
ian must share the responsibility of
bringing new people into Rotary.
Even new members can bring guests
to meetings or invite them to partici-
pate in a service project. The value of
Rotary speaks for itself, and the best
way to engage the interest of potential
members is by letting them experi-
ence fellowship and service firsthand.
   Keeping members interested in
Rotary is another responsibility.
Good club fellowship, early involve-
ment in service projects, and involve-       Rotarians can also make up meet-       of the worthiness of all useful
ment in club operations are some          ings by participating in a club service   occupations; and the dignifying of
of the best ways to sustain the club’s    project or by attending a club board      each Rotarian’s occupation as an
membership.                               meeting, a Rotaract or Interact club      opportunity to serve society;
   The ideal composition of a Rotary      meeting, or an online meeting at one
club reflects the community’s demo-       of several Rotary e-clubs.                 THIRD
graphics, including professions, gen-                                               The application of the ideal of
der, age, and ethnicity. Such diversity                                             service in each Rotarian’s personal,
enriches every aspect of the club’s
                                          Rotary’s Guiding                          business, and community life;
fellowship and service.                   Principles
                                          Throughout Rotary’s history, several       FOURTH
Attendance                                basic principles have been developed      The advancement of international
Attending club meetings allows            to guide Rotarians in achieving the       understanding, goodwill, and peace
members to enjoy their club’s fellow-     ideal of service and high ethical
ship, enrich their professional and       standards.
personal knowledge, and meet other                                                   The Four-Way Test
business leaders in their community.      Object of Rotary                           Followed by Rotarians
Club meeting times vary to accom-         First formulated in 1910 and adapted       worldwide in their business
modate members’ family and profes-        through the years as Rotary’s mis-         and professional lives, The
sional commitments. Some clubs            sion expanded, the Object of Rotary
                                                                                     Four-Way Test was created
meet at lunchtime, while others meet                                                 by Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor
                                          provides a succinct definition of the      in 1932. It has since been
in the early morning, after work, or      organization’s purpose as well as the
in the evening.                                                                      translated into more than 100
                                          club member’s responsibilities.            languages and is used by
   Rotary policy requires members
                                                                                     organizations and individuals
to attend at least 50 percent of club     The Object of Rotary is to encour-
                                                                                     throughout the world.
meetings in each half of the year. If     age and foster the ideal of service as
members miss their own club’s meet-       a basis of worthy enterprise and, in       Of the things we think,
                                                                                     say or do
ing, they’re encouraged to expand         particular, to encourage and foster:
their Rotary horizons by attending                                                   1) Is it the TRUTH?
make-up meetings at any Rotary club          FIRST                                  2) Is it FAIR to all concerned?
in the world — a practice that guar-        The development of acquaintance
                                            as an opportunity for service;           3) Will it build GOODWILL and
antees Rotarians a warm welcome
                                                                                         BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
in communities around the globe.
Find meeting places and times in the         SECOND                                 4) W
                                                                                         ill it be BENEFICIAL to all
Official Directory or through the Club      High ethical standards in business          concerned?
Locator at www.rotary.org.                  and professions; the recognition
RotARy BASICS www.rotary.org/rotarybasics
Did you know?
	Rotary Foundation
  Ambassadorial
  Scholarships is the world’s
  largest, privately funded
  scholarship program.

	The Rotary Foundation
  has contributed more than
  US$2.3 billion in program
  awards and operations
  since 1947.

	Rotarians have established
  a host of organizations
  dedicated to various
  humanitarian causes,
                                  through a world fellowship of                 undertakes to improve life in its
  including ShelterBox,
  HungerPlus, and Gift            business and professional persons             community.
  of Life.                        united in the ideal of service.
                                                                             I nternational Service
	Providing vitamin A           Classification principle                      encompasses actions taken to
  supplements during polio       By assigning each member a classifi-          expand Rotary’s humanitarian
  National Immunization          cation based on his or her business or        reach around the globe and to
  Days has averted an            profession, this system ensures that          promote world understanding
  estimated 1.5 million          the club’s membership reflects the            and peace.
  childhood deaths since         business and professional composi-
  1998 — testimony to the                                                   N
                                                                              ew Generations Service
                                 tion of its community. The number
  “plus” in PolioPlus.                                                       recognizes the positive change
                                 of members holding a particular
                                                                             implemented by youth and
	RI representatives            classification is limited according
                                                                             young adults through leadership
  work with many major           to the size of the club. The goal is
                                                                             development activities,
  international organizations,   professional diversity, which enlivens
                                                                             service projects, and exchange
  including the UN and           the club’s social atmosphere and pro-
                                                                             programs.
  several of its agencies,       vides a rich resource of occupational
  the Organization of            expertise to carry out service projects
  American States, the           and provide club leadership.              RI Programs
  Council of Europe,                                                       RI’s programs and service opportuni-
  and the African Union.         Avenues of Service
                                                                           ties are designed to help Rotarians
                                 Based on the Object of Rotary, the
                                                                           meet needs in their own communi-
                                 Avenues of Service are Rotary’s
                                                                           ties and reach out to assist people in
                                 philosophical cornerstone and the
                                                                           need worldwide.
                                 foundation on which club activity
                                 is based:                                 Interact
“Rotary molded                                                            Rotary clubs organize and sponsor
                                  C
                                    lub Service focuses on
                                                                           this service organization for youth
  me from a shy                    strengthening fellowship
                                                                           ages 12-18; more than 12,300 clubs in
                                   and ensuring the effective
  homemaker to a                   functioning of the club.
                                                                           133 countries and geographical areas.
  district governor.”             	Vocational Service encourages         Rotaract
                                     Rotarians to serve others             Rotary clubs organize and sponsor
           — Victoria Garcia,
                                     through their vocations and to        this leadership, professional develop-
                 Philippines                                               ment, and service organization for
                                     practice high ethical standards.
                                                                           young adults ages 18-30; more than
                                  C
                                    ommunity Service covers the           8,000 clubs in 167 countries and
                                   projects and activities the club        geographical areas.
RotARy BASICS www.rotary.org/rotarybasics
Rotary Community Corps (RCC)                                                      Every dollar contributed to the
Rotary clubs organize and sponsor                                                 Foundation funds the humanitarian,
these groups of non-Rotarians who                                                 educational, and cultural programs
work to improve their communities;                                                and program operations. Clubs and
more than 6,800 RCCs in 78 coun-                                                  districts apply for and receive Foun-
tries and geographical areas.                                                     dation grants to carry out many
                                                                                  worthy projects worldwide. The
Rotary Fellowships and                                                            Every Rotarian, Every Year initiative,
Rotarian Action Groups                                                            designed to encourage worldwide
Rotary Fellowships (groups geared to                                              annual per capita giving of $100 or
vocational and recreational inter-                                                more, supports vital Foundation
ests) and Rotarian Action Groups                                                  programs.
(focused on humanitarian service
activities) compose Global Network-                                               Educational Programs
ing Groups, which are open to all                                                 These programs promote interna-
Rotarians, spouses of Rotarians, and                                              tional understanding by bringing
Rotaractors; about 70 groups.                                                     together people from different coun-
Rotary Friendship Exchange                                                        tries and cultures.
Rotarian teams or individuals, who                                                Ambassadorial Scholarships, an
may be accompanied by their fami-        The Rotary
                                                                                  international program for university-
lies, make reciprocal visits to other    Foundation                               level studies, sends about 500 stu-
countries, staying in each other’s       The Rotary Foundation of RI is a         dents each year to serve as ambassa-
homes and learning about different       not-for-profit corporation whose         dors of goodwill while abroad.
cultures firsthand.                      mission is to enable Rotarians to
                                         advance world understanding, good-       Rotary Peace Fellowships are
Rotary Volunteers                                                                 awarded to individuals for study in
                                         will, and peace through the improve-
Rotarians and other skilled profes-                                               master’s degree and professional cer-
                                         ment of health, the support of educa-
sionals are provided opportunities to                                             tificate programs at one of the six Ro-
                                         tion, and the alleviation of poverty.
offer their services and experience to                                            tary Centers for International Studies
local and international humanitarian                                              in peace and conflict resolution.
                                         Financial Support
projects.
                                         In the year ended 30 June 2009, The
                                                                                  Group Study Exchange is a short-
Rotary Youth Exchange                    Rotary Foundation received contri-
                                                                                  term cultural and vocational ex-
Clubs and districts send and host stu-   butions totaling US$223.8 million
                                                                                  change program between districts in
dents ages 15-19 who travel abroad       and spent $187.8 million in support
                                                                                  different countries for non-Rotarian
for cultural exchanges of one week to    of humanitarian and educational
                                                                                  professionals ages 25-40.
a full year; more than 8,000 a year.     programs implemented by clubs and
                                         districts and global polio eradication
Rotary Youth Leadership Awards           activities. Contributions go into one
(RYLA)                                   of three main funds:                     “I find a quiet
Clubs and districts sponsor seminars                                                satisfaction in lighting
to encourage and recognize leader-        	Annual Programs Fund, which
ship abilities of youth and young            provides grants and awards             up someone else’s
                                             through Foundation programs
adults ages 14-30.                                                                  life, in being part of
                                           Permanent Fund, an                     building a park, funding
World Community Service (WCS)
                                            endowment from which only
Rotary clubs and districts from two                                                 a medical clinic,
                                            a portion of the earnings are
different countries form partnerships
                                            spent in support of Foundation          or helping reforest
to implement community service
                                            programs, ensuring the long-
projects. ProjectLINK at www.rotary
                                            term viability of the Foundation        thousands of acres
.org is a searchable database of club
and district community service proj-      	PolioPlus Fund, which
                                                                                    with trees.”
ects in need of volunteers, funding,         supports Rotary’s goal of a                    — George M. Yeiter, USA
and donated goods.                           polio-free world
RotARy BASICS www.rotary.org/rotarybasics
Humanitarian Grants                       Rotarians have raised funds that will
                                      Program                                   amount to more than $1.2 billion

ROTARY                                Humanitarian grants enable Rotar-
                                      ians to increase their support of
                                                                                in support by the time the world is
                                                                                certified polio-free and have pro-
TIMELINE                              international service
                                      projects that
                                                                                         vided hundreds of thousands
                                                                                                of volunteer hours.
                                      provide                                                         Rotary is a spear-
1905 | Chicago attorney Paul          water wells,                                                           heading
Harris organizes first Rotary         medical care,                                                           partner
meeting on 23 February, leading       literacy classes,                                                       with the
to formation of the Rotary Club of                                                                          World
                                      and other essen-
Chicago.
                                      tials to people in                                                  Health Or-
1907 | Rotary Club of Chicago         need. Rotarian                                             ganization, UNICEF,
helps to organize installation of     participation                                             and U.S. Centers for
public toilets, one of the club’s
                                      is key to the                                             Disease Control and
first acts of community service.
                                      success of                                                Prevention in this
1910 | Paul Harris elected first      these projects.                                           initiative. As a result of
president of National Association                                                              their efforts, over two
of Rotary Clubs at the first          Matching Grants assist Rotary
                                                                                billion children under age five have
convention.                           clubs and districts in carrying out
                                                                                received the polio vaccine, five mil-
1911-13 | Clubs formed in             humanitarian projects with clubs and
                                                                                lion people who might otherwise be
Canada, Great Britain, and Ireland;   districts in other countries.
                                                                                paralyzed are walking today, 500,000
organization name changes to
International Association of Rotary
                                      District Simplified Grants enable         new cases of polio are prevented each
Clubs.                                districts to support service activities   year, and the number of polio cases
                                      or humanitarian endeavors that            has declined by 99 percent worldwide.
1916 | Club chartered in Cuba,        ben-efit local or international
the first non-English-speaking                                                  Rotary’s US$200 Million
Rotary country.                       communities.
                                                                                Challenge
        1917 | President Arch                                                   In 2007 and 2009, the Bill & Melinda
        Klumph proposes               PolioPlus                                 Gates Foundation recognized Ro-
establishing an endowment fund,       Eradicating polio is Rotary’s top         tary’s leadership in the polio eradica-
precursor of The Rotary               priority. The PolioPlus program           tion effort with challenge grants of
Foundation.
                                      provides funding for mass immu-           $100 million and $255 million. Grant
1945 | Forty-nine Rotarians help      nization campaigns and support for        funds are spent on immunization
draft the UN Charter.                 social mobilization, surveillance, and    and other polio eradication activities.
1947 | Founder Paul Harris dies       laboratories to help carry out the fi-    Rotary’s challenge aims to raise $200
in Chicago; outpouring of funds       nal stages of global polio eradication.   million in matching funds by 30 June
from Rotarians used to establish
fellowship program.

1947-48 | First 18 Rotary Fellows
study abroad, a precursor of
Ambassadorial Scholars.

       1962 | First Interact club
       formed in Melbourne,
       Florida, USA. World
Community Service program
launched.

1965 | Special Grants (now
Matching Grants) and Group Study
Exchange programs begin.
RotARy BASICS www.rotary.org/rotarybasics
2012, and every Rotary club is asked        	Enhance public image and
                                                                                    1968 | First Rotaract club formed in
to help by organizing an annual pub-           awareness.                           Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.
lic fundraising event. The $555 mil-
                                          The plan reflects research gathered
lion generated will be a vital catalyst                                             1979 | Foundation grant to
                                          from a worldwide survey of Rotar-         immunize six million Philippine
to help achieve Rotary’s top priority.
                                          ians about the organization’s pri-        children against polio sets stage for
                                          orities and from focus groups on          PolioPlus.
Key Meetings                              Rotary’s image in different countries.    1985 | Rotary launches PolioPlus
Several key meetings bring Rotarians      It also unifies the strategic direction   program and campaigns to raise
together to share ideas, celebrate suc-   of RI and The Rotary Foundation by        US$120 million to immunize all the
                                          emphasizing the connection between        children of the world.
cesses, enjoy fellowship, and plan for
the future.                               clubs’ most effective service areas       1987 | First women join Rotary.
                                          and the areas of focus in the Future
RI Convention                             Vision Plan.                              1988 | Through the PolioPlus
The RI Convention, the largest                                                      campaign, Rotarians raise US$247
                                                                                    million.
Rotary meeting, is held in May or
June in a different part of the Rotary    “The RI Convention                       1989 | Rotary returns to Hungary
world each year. This lively, four-day                                              and Poland.
event features speeches by world and        put the Rotary in this
                                                                                    1994 | Western Hemisphere
Rotary leaders, spectacular entertain-      Rotarian.”                              declared polio-free.
ment reflecting the local culture, and
                                                                                            1999 | Rotary Centers for
unparalleled opportunities to expe-                                                         International Studies in
rience the true breadth of Rotary’s                       — Eric Marcus, USA                peace and conflict resolution
international fellowship.                                                           established.

District conferences                      Future Vision Plan                        2000 | Western Pacific region
Rotarians are encouraged to attend        The Rotary Foundation Future Vi-          declared polio-free.
their district conference, an annual      sion Plan aims to increase efficiency     2002 | Europe declared polio-free.
motivational meeting that showcases       and develop a more strategic focus        Rotary launches a second polio
club and district activities. A family    for the Foundation. A three-year          eradication fundraising campaign
event, the district conference mixes      pilot of the plan’s new grant structure   to help fill a critical funding need.
                                                                                    Rotarians raise over US$129 million.
fellowship with learning and allows       began July 2010 and involves about
Rotarians to become more directly         100 Rotary districts worldwide.                  2005 | Clubs around the
involved with charting their district’s      Clubs in pilot districts do not               world celebrate Rotary’s
                                          participate in current Foundation                centennial.
future.
                                          programs (except for PolioPlus and        2006 | Polio reduced to four
                                          Rotary Peace Fellowships). Instead,       countries: Afghanistan, India, Nigeria,
The Future                                these districts may apply for district    and Pakistan.
With more than 100 years of experi-       grants, which will enable them to         2007 | The Rotary Foundation
ence in providing service to com-         carry out local and international         recognizes the millionth Paul Harris
munities worldwide, Rotary stands         projects of their choice, and global      Fellow.
ready to respond to the needs of an       grants, which support projects and             2007-09 | Rotary receives
ever-changing world.                      activities in six areas of focus: peace        US$355 million in challenge
RI Strategic Plan                         and conflict prevention/resolution,            grants from the Gates
The RI Strategic Plan focuses Ro-         disease prevention and treatment,         Foundation to help eradicate polio.

tary’s efforts on clubs, helping them     water and sanitation, maternal and        2010 | Rotary Foundation launches
expand their service and publicize        child health, basic education and lit-    three-year pilot of Future Vision Plan.
their accomplishments. The plan’s         eracy, and economic and community
three priorities are equally important    development.
to Rotary’s future:                          During the pilot, the Foundation
                                          will phase out current educational
   Support and strengthen clubs.         and humanitarian grants and refine
  	Focus and increase                   the plan for participation by all
     humanitarian service.                Rotary districts in July 2013.
RotARy BASICS www.rotary.org/rotarybasics
“Rotary is the one place where it does not matter who
  you are, other than in how you can use your skills,
  knowledge, and abilities to be of service to others.”
                                       — Andre Brandmuller, South Africa

Rotary Basics continues online at www.rotary.org/rotarybasics.
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it means to be a Rotarian.

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