Foundation Note - September 26, 2016

Club Qualification Status for Foundation Grants

By Sanjay Deshpande

District 7910 adopted three qualification criteria that its clubs must satisfy in Rotary Year 2016-2017 for being eligible for participation in Foundation grants, which include District Grants (DG) and Global Grants (GG).

Per Capita Contribution to Foundation Funds in ‘15-16: Clubs are required to have met or exceeded the threshold of $100 in per-capita contributions to all Foundation funds by June 30, 2016. Thirty-seven clubs did comply with this eligibility criterion while 14 clubs did not. Those 14 clubs will not be eligible to undertake either DGs or GGs on their own in Rotary Year ‘16-‘17.
Memorandum of Understanding: Clubs are required to submit the fully executed ‘16-‘17 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) wherein clubs agree to comply with The Rotary Foundation’s requirements for participation in DGs and GGs. Only 20 clubs had done so as of September 25 per Stewardship Chair Ed King. The other 17 clubs that have met the per-capita contribution criterion are urged to do so ASAP so that they retain their eligibility to undertake DGs and GGs.
Grant Management Training: Clubs are required to have at least one member (preferably two) receive Grant Management Training. Two training sessions were conducted last April and May. Twenty-seven clubs did get at least one member trained. Ten more clubs can avail of a future training session to be arranged when they do submit their fully executed ‘16-‘17 MOU.

Based on the eligibility criteria met, District 7910 clubs can be sorted into several groups:

Group	Eligibility Criteria Met	Clubs in Group	Remarks
I-A	All Three	Athol-Orange, Bedford, Billerica, Brookline, Concord, Framingham, Leominster, Lowell, Marlborough, Montachusett Area, Nashoba Valley, Natick, Needham, Neponset Valley Sunrise, Northborough, Sturbridge, Wachusett Area, and Westborough	Qualified for all Foundation Grants – DGs and GGs. Are engaged in DGs. Seven are engaged in GGs.
I-B	All Three	Worcester	Not engaged in DG or GG
II	1 and 2	Newton	Must receive Grant Management Training
III-A	1 and 3	Auburn, Ayer, Gardner, Milford, Shrewsbury, and Wellesley	Must sign MOU and then proceed with DG or engage in GG
III-B	1 and 3	Fitchburg, and Hudson	Must sign MOU and engage in DG or GG
IV	1 only	Acton-Boxborough, Charles River, Fitchburg East, Franklin, Littleton, Merrimack Valley, Newton, Southborough, Westford, and Westwood	Must sign MOU and receive Grant Management Training
V	None	Brookfields, Chelmsford, Clinton, Dedham, Dracut, Groton Pepperell, Maynard, Southbridge, Tewksbury, Tyngsboro-Dunstable, Uxbridge, Waltham, Watertown and Weston & Wayland	Not eligible for DGs and GGs on their own. Can participate in other clubs’ DGs or GGs.

D7910 has $45,000 available for District Grants. Only four grants have been awarded so far and there are seven applications in the approval queue. If the clubs in groups I-B through IV above do not complete their qualification and/or engage in DGs, the district could elect to allocate DG funds to GGs and PolioPlus. Interest is strong in GGs this year and the seven GG proposals already are sure to exhaust the $46,436 available for GGs.

The District Foundation Committee will consider reallocation of DG funds for GGs at this November’s quarterly meeting. Reallocation to PolioPlus will be considered in next February’s quarterly meeting.

If you have any questions, please contact either District Grants Subcommittee Chair Jorge Yarzebski at yj.rotary@gmail.com or me, District Foundation Committee Chair Sanjay Deshpande, sanjdesh51@aol.com.