A person-to-person global grant resource
Need help with a grant? Your district Rotary Foundation chair has the answer.
Peace Geoffrey Taremwa has more than 20 years’ experience implementing grants through his work for an overseas development agency. So during some of his visits to Rotary club projects, he noticed a problem.
“Clubs would receive their money but would end up doing something else that they thought was good,” says Taremwa, a past governor of District 9214 in Tanzania and parts of Uganda. “At the end of the day, this becomes a stewardship issue because it was not what was discussed in the grant application.
“The biggest problem we had was a lack of knowledge,” he adds. “Many Rotarians do not have sufficient knowledge of how to complete a global grant application.”
Consult your district Foundation chair
District Rotary Foundation chairs can bridge that gap. These advisers help clubs by explaining grant eligibility and procedures, building relationships with districts around the world as potential project partners, securing funding, and creating connections with mentors who can help with grant applications and reports. By working with their district Rotary Foundation chair, clubs can have a smoother global grant experience and ultimately support more communities in a more effective, sustainable way.
Taremwa, now the district Foundation chair, is working to streamline the grant process in his district, implementing changes he launched as governor in 2022-23. The new process clusters clubs together for grant applications, activities, and training events. The district’s outgoing Foundation chair and grants team conduct the training rather than incoming leaders. And grant support officers (a new role) mentor the club clusters on all grant applications, making sure money is spent according to plan and reports are filed on time.
The new process is working. “We have many more global grant applications,” Taremwa says. “And many clubs have been inviting our teams to go to them and do a training at the club level. Our stewardship teams are busier than before.
“Fundraising is also becoming easier,” he says. “We have told members, this is your money. Please contribute, and your money is available. If you don’t contribute, your money is not there.”
Consider a review committee
District 3292 in Nepal and Bhutan modified its grant process to address a different problem: Within clubs involved in global grant projects, many members lacked critical information about the grant.
M.K. Jha, a past district Foundation chair from Nepal, recalls an example from when two Rotary club presidents, from Nepal and India, met at a conference and decided to pursue a global grant together. But after it had been approved, the Nepalese Rotarian moved on, and no one else in his club knew anything about the grant.
To prevent issues like this, the district created a review committee, which includes the district Foundation chair, to screen all grant applications. To be considered, clubs complete a community assessment and fill out an authorization form and District Designated Fund request form. Projects must have been selected by the club’s service project committee and approved by both its Rotary Foundation committee (which identifies funding) and board. The club is then required to hold an assembly to discuss the project with all its members.
The district review committee pores over minutes of the club’s meetings and verifies the data in the community assessment. If it all looks good, the team then helps the club through the rest of the application and reporting process.
“By doing this, each and every member comes to know what is going on,” says Jha, now an assistant regional Rotary Foundation coordinator. “If members know what is being done in the community, it helps with reporting and avoids many issues.”
Additional resources
Between administering grant applications, overseeing fundraising efforts, and managing district grant funds, district Rotary Foundation chairs have a lot on their plate. Rotary International has created many resources, including online learning courses and downloadable guides, to help district Rotary Foundation chairs understand and relay information about the grant application process. These resources help the leaders serving in this role to work with clubs to produce projects that have an even greater impact.
RI’s regional grants officers are also available to help districts with their grant processes. These Rotary staff members can provide guidance on project eligibility, address common problems, and offer tips for success. Clubs are strongly encouraged to contact their regional grants officers in the early stages of project planning.
This story originally appeared in the April 2025 issue of Rotary magazine.