The Rotary Foundation


The Rotary Foundation logoThe mission of The Rotary Foundation is to enable Rotary members to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of Poverty.  The Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation supported solely by voluntary contributions from Rotary members and friends of the Foundation who share its vision of a better world.  This support is essential to make possible projects, funded with Foundation grants, that bring sustainable improvement to communities in need. 

Polio eradication is Rotary’s top philanthropic priority.  When Rotary launched the PolioPlus program in 1985, there were more than 350,000 polio cases in over 125 countries.  Since 1988, when Rotary began working with its partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative to immunize more than 2.5 billion children, the incidence of polio has decreased 99.9 percent.  As of 2015, Rotary’s contributions to the global polio eradication effort totaled.$1.5 billion. 

The Rotary Foundation…Doing Good in the World.

Many members of the Derby-Shelton Rotary are members of The Rotary Foundation’s Paul Harris Fellow program for individuals who contribute, or who have contributions made in their name, of US$1,000 to The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. You can see them highlighted on the Member page.

One example of the work of the Rotary Foundation that Derby-Shelton Rotary participates in is a unique program in Ethiopia called “Bees for Development”. Click here to learn more. In Kenya, we participated in a project that provides clean water, access to healthcare and food security to the people of Ntalabany. Click here to learn more.