Iowa Great Lakes Rotarian Jeff Knapp, also District Treasurer, spoke about the Rotary International Foundation at the regular noon meeting on October 28, 2009.
 

Jeff started his program with an informational video about the programs that the Foundation supports:

  • Ambassadorial Scholarships
  • Group Study Exchanges
  • Rotary Centers for Internationla Studies
  • Humanitarian Grants
  • District Simplified Grants
  • Matching Grants
  • Polio Plus (launched in 1985)

Jeff then shared statistics about our local support to the Foundation. To date, over $116,000 has been given to the Foundation. The club also has 34 Paul Harris Fellows, including 6 Paul Harris +1 Fellows. Neil Christensen is the most current receive that distinction. The club currently has 82 members.

An additional current campaign for Rotary International is the End Polio Now campaign which started from a macthing grant offer from Bill Gates. The Gates Foundation will contribute $350 million as a matching grant if Rotary raises $200 million by June 30, 2012. This challenge equates to a $72 donation per Rotarian worldwide. More info can be found at rotary.org/endpolio