12 Days Of Charitable Giving (2015): The Rotary Foundation Of Rotary International

It’s the final day of my 12 Days of Charitable Giving. Readers have suggested deserving charities over the past few weeks and I’ve posted one a day for – well, 12 days (I’m clever that way). Today’s charity is The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International.

Rotary International began in 1905 with Chicago attorney Paul P. Harris. Harris began the Rotary Club of Chicago, on 23 February 1905, as a place where professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas and form meaningful, lifelong friendships. The name, Rotary, came from the tradition of rotating meeting places among each member. Sixteen years later, Rotary had clubs on six continents. Today, the clubs have 1.2 million members.

Rotary is made up of three parts: Rotary clubs, Rotary International and Rotary Foundation. The Rotary Foundation is a nonprofit organization that uses donations to fund projects by Rotarians and partners in communities around the world. Projects funded by Rotary Foundation include:

$1 million spent on rapid-response grants to fight polio outbreaks in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East.
$98,500 spent to provide clean drinking water, irrigate crops, and establish fish farms in rural Kenya.
$25,550 spent to provide 600 indigent women in Honduras with business training and access to small loans, in partnership with microlender the Adelante Foundation.

Rotary has also partnered with a number of other charitable organizations, including:

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Global FoodBanking Network
ShelterBox (Charitable Giving nomination 2012)
UNESCO-IHE
UNICEF
United Nations
World Health Organization

So how can you help?
To make a one-time or recurring donation via credit card to the general fund, you can click over to the website. To make a gift to the Endowment Fund, click here.

You can also opt to support a specific goal like fighting disease or providing clean water or a specific project in your community. To choose your project, click here.

Volunteer opportunities exist in Rotary Clubs across the world. Check out the Rotary Showcase to see if you can help. Remember that you can’t deduct the cost of your time or services but you can deduct out-of-pocket expenses – including travel – related to your volunteer service.

You can also join a Rotary Club near you. Rotary clubs do require the payment of dues. Dues are not deductible as a charitable donation. However, they may be deductible as a business expense. Dues paid for memberships in professional and service organizations are generally deductible while dues paid to social organizations are generally not deductible. Individuals will claim these dues only if they itemize deductions and only to the extent total miscellaneous expenses exceed 2% of adjusted gross income (AGI). Remember, however, that if your employer reimburses you for dues, you may not claim the deduction.

As always, you want to make sure that your donation is going to a qualified charitable organization. A search using the IRS’ Exempt Organizations Select Check reveals that The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International is on the list.

To find out more about The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, check out their website or like them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter.

Remember: submissions to the 12 Days of Charitable Giving are made by readers and in most cases, I can’t personally vouch for the good work that these folks do. So be generous. But be smart. Do your homework.

For more on making charitable donations, check out this post.

For other charities in the series: