District grants

D istrict grants offer clubs and districts flexibility in carrying out activities that support the Foundation's mission . Districts are encouraged to distribute these grant funds for relatively short-term activities, either local or international. 

Districts can request up to 50 percent of their District Designated Fund (DDF) in one annual block grant. Districts are responsible for administering the activities undertaken with these funds, with minimal involvement from the Foundation. The district may disperse these grant funds at their discretion for district- or club-sponsored activities. In addition:  

• All activities funded with district grant funds must adhere to the eligibility requirements set forth in the terms and conditions for Rotary Foundation grants .
• Districts must be qualified by the Foundation to receive district grant funds.
• Clubs do not need to be qualified by the district to receive district grant funds.
• District grants may be used within pilot or nonpilot districts.
• Activities are not required to support the areas of focus . 

Funding

District grants are funded solely by DDF generated from a district’s Annual Programs Fund giving from three years prior, including Permanent Fund SHARE earnings. Districts can request up to 50 percent of their DDF each year. Any unused district grant funds are returned to the Foundation and credited back to the district's DDF balance. DDF will continue to rollover to a district's balance for the following year. Rollover DDF will not be used in the calculation of the district grant amount.

Business cycle

Application
Districts may apply for one district grant per Rotary year. A spending plan (PDF) is required with the application, so before submitting an application, districts should decide what activities they plan to support with district grant funds.  

The district governor, district Rotary Foundation committee chair, and district grants subcommittee chair will submit the application online (available April 2010). Applications may be submitted to the Foundation at any time, but districts are encouraged to submit their applications before the start of the Rotary year, so that payment can be made immediately at the beginning of the year.

Payment
Districts will receive one block payment for the approved amount of the district grant. District grant payments can only be made from 1 July to 15 May during the Rotary year for which the payment is intended. All previous district grants must be closed before a new payment will be made.

Final report
Districts must submit a final report to the Foundation within 12 months of payment of the grant. This report must include a final list of funded activities and be submitted in the same format as the district’s spending plan.  

Some changes in project funding may occur between when a district submits its original spending plan and when it submits the final report. Districts must note these changes on the report. Districts may submit their final report once they have fully distributed their district grant funds to the individual projects. These projects do not need to be complete before a district reports to the Foundation. 

Types of activities

Districts have flexibility in identifying the types of activities it will support with a district grant. Examples of activities include:  

• Local or international service projects as well as service travel or disaster recovery efforts 
• Vocational training flexibility includes: 
  • No partnership or international requirements
  • No restrictions on team size or length of training
  • Teams travel to either conduct or receive training  
• Scholarships flexibility includes:
  • No restrictions on the level (secondary, university, or graduate), length, location (local or international), or area of study
  • No restrictions on the dollar amount for the scholarships

Districts may wish to develop their own standards for vocational training teams and scholars because of the grant's flexibility.