For 100 years, The Rotary Foundation has been the charity of choice for Rotarians all over the globe. Why? Because your gifts to the Foundation change lives. Without your support, Rotarians wouldn’t have been able to help a hospital in Brazil purchase the equipment it needed to care for tiny newborns. Nor would Rotarians have had the funds they needed to tile bathtubs in Indonesiain an effort to fight dengue fever. We have accomplished so much during our first 100 years, and I am excited to see what the future holds as we embark on The Rotary Foundation’s second century.

Everything The Rotary Foundation has achieved is a result of your support. We’ve invested more than $4 billion in life-changing, sustainable projects that have made a real impact in communities near and far, like our ongoing campaign to eradicate polio. For more than three decades, members like you have worked tirelessly to host fundraisers for that campaign, vaccinate children, and raise awareness of polio.

As of this writing, only eight polio cases have been reported around the world in 2017. Last year, there were 37 — the year before that, 74. Our hard work is paying off. But we need your continued support to get us across that finish line, so keep raising awareness and keep raising funds. Your efforts will help us continue to protect the world’s children from polio. The countdown to history is on.

The centennial year of The Rotary Foundation ended on a high note, and it’s one worth celebrating. Thanks to the support of Rotarians around the world, the Foundation broke records last year, surpassing our fundraising goal by raising $304 million in contributions! Your support makes a lasting impact on our communities because it empowers Rotary members to continue promoting peace, fighting disease, providing clean water, saving mothers and children, supporting education, and growing local economies all over the world.

It’s been a memorable centennial, and one that has prepared The Rotary Foundation to keep Doing Good in the World for another century. With your continued support, we will.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about the future of The Rotary Foundation. Send me a note at paul.netzel@rotary.org.

Paul A. Netzel
Chair, The Rotary Foundation 2017-18