GLOBAL GRANTS

Global Grants fund substantial international humanitarian projects, vocational training teams, and scholarships that deliver sustainable, measurable outcomes in one or more of the Rotary areas of focus listed below:

• Peace and conflict prevention/resolution
• Disease prevention and treatment
• Water and sanitation
• Maternal and child health
• Basic education and literacy
• Economic and community development
• Environment

SIZE OF GRANTS AND FUNDING

The minimum size for a Global Grant project is $30,000 which may be funded almost exclusively from 6920's District Designated Funds of up to $15,000 and a similar amount of matching funds from the Rotary Foundation (TRF); some support from clubs is expected. Grants larger than $30,000 will require support from other districts. Global grants applications are accepted by TRF on a rolling basis throughout the year; however, applications involving travel expenses should be submitted 90 days prior to the travel dates.  Larger grants are considered on a fixed schedule, however, and will likely need to involve Rotarians with experience on such grants

HOW CLUBS REQUEST FUNDS

In-Country Rotarian Leader is Essential

While there are forms to complete and details to develop the process beings with building a relationship with a Rotary Club or District in the target county and with the specific community because the project must have enthusiastic support and responsible execution from Rotarians in that country - because they will administer the project and will disburse and account for every dollar of the Grant.  A Rotarian leader in-country who communicates promptly and with a sense of responsibility is a prerequisite to a successful project.

The Need Must Be Identified by the Host Country

Too often we in the US may believe that we have a solution to a need in the target country but the recognition of the need and the desire for the proposed solution must come from not from us but from the Rotarians and the community served in the target country!  And this must be confirmed in writing in a case statement from the target country – this being the second prerequisite.

Criteria That Must Be Met

Applying for a global grant starts with determining if the project can respond positively to each of the following requirements; responses to each of these will be used later in the D-6920 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), and D-6920 Global Grant Application. Your project must meet each of the following global grant requirements:

• Align with one or more areas of focus
• Respond with credibility to a need the benefitting community has identified
• Include the active participation of the benefitting community so that ongoing ownership of the project is clear and confirmed
• Strengthen local knowledge, skills, and resources
• Provide a sustainable, long-term benefit to the community for years after the Rotary club or district has concluded the project by including all elements (e.g. parts, training, supplies, maintenance) need for continuity
• Have actual quantitative, measurable results that can be tracked and reported
• Involve active Rotarian participation, especially in-country

Detailed Budget of All Qualified Costs

Global grant applications require an itemized budget for all qualified expenses consistent with Rotary Foundation policies; salaries, overhead, buildings, and land are generally not qualified expenses. Working with Rotarians in-country the primary sponsoring Club in D-6920 is expected to produce a list the estimated costs of all budget items and identify, if available the vendors/suppliers that have been selected. The total budget must be exactly equal to the total grant requested.

Start by Calling the District Global Grants Chair

Early on when a Sponsoring Club begins to consider a project with all of the above requirements they should contact the 6920 Global Grants Chair to discuss the project envisioned and how it expects to develop convincing responses to the above requirement in the project application.  The district can provide guidance and support and can be actively involved with the entry of the grant application on the Foundation website.  An individual club need not become an expert on the application and approval process but should rely on district expertise as needed.

When the in-country contacts are established, when the responses to the above criteria are known, when the overall budget is developed then the Sponsoring Club should prepare the district application for review by the D-6920 Global Grants Committee which approves the requested DDF.  After approval of the commitment for DDF funds by the District, the District Global Grants Chair will start the application online and the primary Club and the host country Club contacts will then complete the Global Grant application TRF's web site.

Each participating club will be required to complete the brief MOU before the grant will be moved into the evaluation stage with The Rotary Foundation.  There may be multiple clubs and districts involved in funding a Global Grant so a grant need not involve only 6920 participants.

The Formal TRF Application Process & Operations

Each a global grant's committee will consist of six Rotarians; a host committee of three Rotarians from the country where the project will take place and a committee of three Rotarians from D- 6920.

As explained above, the single most critical element for successful project implementation is the development of a relationship with Rotarians in the host country who can communicate in English on a timely basis, execute the project exactly as planned, and provide a timely final report on the project; this primary contact person may not be easy to find and a period of time may be needed to cultivate and test the relationship.

Global grant projects are financed with cash contributions from Rotary Clubs in D-6920 and in the host country; funds from D-6920 and host country District Designated Funds; and by a match by TRF World Fund.  Cash contributions from clubs are matched by TRF $.50 per $1.00 of cash.  DDF is matched dollar for dollar by TRF.

The primary host or international sponsor will maintain the bank account used solely for receiving and disbursing grant funds. The application, execution and final reporting, often covering multi-year periods, require careful documentation all along the way.  Until the project is completed, all funds have been either spent and documented or have been returned, and the final report is accepted by the staff of TRF, then the matching grant is not completed.  Late interim reporting and unacceptable final reports will result in non-approval of future applications from all of the clubs and districts whose signature was on the application.

During the operation of an open grant, the sponsoring club should track the progress and obtain photos and information for sharing with others in 6920.  Progress reports are required annually and a final report must be submitted and approved by TRF.  Delays in submission or approval of these reports have consequences for the lead clubs involved in the project.

Feasibility Discuss Up Front

Rotarian grant project leaders should have a preliminary discussion with the District Global Grants Chair; if not obvious barriers are identified when considering the above requirements, then work should proceed in cooperation with in-country Rotarians to develop the content for the grant application using the structure of the application form on TRF's web site.  The DGGC can assist with reviewing the content to try in anticipating the questions that TRF may have.

Clubs should utilize learn.rotary.org to view courses on global grants.  And they must refer to the TRF's Grant Management Manual for a detailed breakdown of the grant process.