Global Grant Overview President & President Elect

Step 1 of 2: Submit

The Global Grants Overview document must be read by the President and President Elect with the subsequent Quiz completed and submitted. If the club President completed this requirement as the President Elect then there is no need to repeat.

This document is intended to provide a general overview of the Global Grant program offered through The Rotary Foundation (TRF) and District 5130. In order for our District to continue to qualify to receive the grant funding from The Rotary Foundation, it’s imperative that you understand and comply with the strict rules surrounding the grant process. Please note - this is a BRIEF overview of the Rotary grant process. For a comprehensive explanation please refer to the Terms and Conditions of Rotary Foundation Grants found on the Rotary International Website linked here.

What is the difference between a District Grant and a Global Grant?

Global Grants support large international projects with long-term, sustainable outcomes in one or more of Rotary’s areas of focus. While it is possible for it to be completed within a single Rotary year, typically a Global Grant spans over several years depending on the size and the scope. The Rotary Foundation World Fund matches can go up to $400,000, but your club as the lead club is responsible for garnering a minimum level of funding to access the Global Grant program. You gather up a minimum $10,000 of seed money and with district and Rotary Foundation matches, that will turn into $35,200 to spend on your international project! Global Grants are administered by Rotary International. For more information on Global Grants and the process of application, please refer to the Global Grant section on the www.rotary5130.org/grants website.

District Grants, on the other hand, fund smaller-scale, short-term projects that address immediate needs in your community or abroad. These grants must be completed within a Rotary year and are easier to obtain than Global Grants with fewer restrictions and requirements. The District Grant matches typically range between $2,000 and $3,000 depending on the available District allocation for that year and are reimbursed on a 1:1 basis. District Grants are administered by the District committee. For more information on Global Grants, proceed with this document.

What is a Global Grant?

Global Grants support large international activities with sustainable, measurable outcomes in Rotary's Seven Areas of Focus:
  1. Peace Building and Conflict Prevention
  2. Disease Prevention and Treatment
  3. Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
  4. Basic Education and Literacy
  5. Maternal and Child Health
  6. Community Economic Development
  7. Protecting our Environment

They respond to needs identified by the host community. They can support humanitarian projects, scholarships for graduate level academic studies, and/or vocational training teams, which are groups of professionals who travel abroad either to teach local professionals about a particular field or to learn more about their own.

What are some of the types of projects Global Grants can fund?

Global Grants must be sustainable and measurable and align with at least one of Rotary's Seven Areas of Focus listed above. There also has to be active Rotarian involvement and oversight. They can fund humanitarian and educational projects, provide international scholarships to fund graduate level coursework, support vocational training teams, and new this year, may also support construction of low-cost shelters and simple schools as long as the construction is part of a comprehensive project related to an Area of Focus. For more details, read the Terms and Conditions for Rotary Foundation Grants.

What are a few of the common prohibited projects?

Global Grants are fairly strict in their scope of what they can fund. A few of the more common restrictions are listed below:

Cannot fund the purchase of land or buildings (exceptions apply)
Cannot pay for fundraising activities
Cannot be used to establish a Foundation
Cannot be used for expenses related to a Rotary function or event
Cannot fund project signage in excess of $1,000
Cannot be made as unrestricted donation to another entity
Cannot fund transportation or travel to National Immunization Days
Cannot fund RYLA, Youth Exchange, Rotary Friendship Exchange, Rotaract, Interact

For the complete list of restrictions, refer to the Global Grant Reference page

How are Global Grants funded?

Every year, Rotarians throughout our District 5130 donate money to The Rotary Foundation (TRF). Three years after it is received, half of the total amount contributed by our district in that year goes into TRF’s World Fund. The other half is held in a District 5130 account at TRF where it is to be distributed, subject to certain guidelines, by the district itself. Called District Designated Funds (DDF), these district-controlled monies can be used for either local or international projects. So when a Global Grant is a approved the funding is partially from the clubs, partially from the District DDF and partially from the TRF World Fund.

The minimum budget for a global grant project is $30,000. The Foundation’s World Fund provides an 80% match of DDF up to maximum of $400,000. Clubs contribute cash, districts match club funds at 120% with District Designated Funds (DDF) and the World Fund matches DDF at 80% percent.

See below for an example of how a minimum budget Global Grant is funded...

Club(s) Funds - $10,000
District DDF Match - $14,000
TRF World Fund Match of District DDF Funds at 80% - $11,200
for a project funding of $35,200.

Can multiple clubs participate in providing funding for a Global Grant?

Yes! It is quite common to have multiple clubs not only across our District 5130 participate in funding a Global Grant but clubs from other Districts around the country and even from around the world are able to participate in funding your project. And it will lead to additional District DDF matching funds and TRF World fund matching!

What are the main points my club needs to remember before even starting a Global Grant?

Number 1 - do your research! There are a lot of tools on the Rotary International Website and linked to our District 5130 Website. Your club will want to review those to make sure that your project idea will fit within the Rotary Foundation grant rules. Review the Terms and Conditions for Rotary Foundation Grants document.

Number 2 - make sure that you have a qualified partner Rotary club in another country. You are going to be working closely with that club and the documentation and reporting is incredibly important so you want to make sure that it's a club that buys in to the process. The Rotary Foundation Grant Coordinator for your partner country can verify club qualification and share any issues that have occurred.

Number 3 - make sure that upcoming leadership in your club is supportive of the Global Grant as most grants carry over through multiple Rotary years and there are annual certification requirements that must be met.

How does my club qualify to do a Global Grant?

Step 1 - Global Grants Overview document & Quiz: You're doing that step of the qualification process right now by reading this Global Grants Overview! Both the club President and the President Elect need to read this Overview document and take the short quiz at the end. If the President completed this during his/her tenure as President-Elect then it is not required again.

Step 2 MOU: Both the President and the President Elect need to read and sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). This must be done annually.

*Step 3 - The Primary Contact on the grant must complete the all nine modules of the Grant Management Training program in the Rotary Learning Center at rotary.org. This must be done for every new grant or by a new Primary Contact on an existing grant and every year as long as the grant is open.

While the requirement is for 1 member from each club to attend annually, all members interested in grants and club President/President-Elects are encouraged to attend. This must be done annually.

So our club wants to do a global grant - in general, what are the steps?

1. Research your project idea and make sure it complies with The Rotary Foundation Rules. Your best resource for that information is at the RI Grants webpage. Also, make sure you have a qualified partner club in the host country. Do your homework!

2. Get qualified by following the steps above.

3. Begin completing the online Grant Application in the Grant section of the RI website.

Now you're ready to take the short quiz. Click on the link below

CLICK HERE to take the short quiz. Your answers will be electronically sent to the Distict Foundation Chair and District Grant Subcommittee Chair for review. You will hear back from one of them with your results and clarification on any questions you answered incorrectly.

Both the President and the President-Elect need to read, understand and sign the MOU annually. This document can be signed electronically online and will be submitted to the certification officer listed above.