By David Gore"A Paul Harris Fellow is the recognition applied to the contribution of $1,000 or more by, or on behalf of, any person to The Rotary Foundation ("TRF")." Many such contributions help fund projects in the donor's community, and frequently these projects are funded through District Grants. It's part of human nature to contribute to projects done in our own backyard. The need is easily evident to us by virtue of getting to know our neighbors and the daily struggles they face as they work to improve their situation. Paradoxically, however, humanitarian needs are often greater in far-flung corners of our world that attract little outside attention.
Many Rotarians are unaware that District Grant projects - funded by their annual fund contributions which garner Paul Harris Fellow recognition - may also be used for overseas projects. Rotarian of Action Kay Bliss and the Rotary Club she belongs to, RC Ojai, are firm believers in using district grant funded projects to accomplish humanitarian goals across the globe. In the most recently completed Rotary year of 2018-19, the Ojai club frequently worked with its overseas partners to complete projects in four different continents. Project sites were in Europe (Bosnia, economic development), Asia (India, water and sanitation), Africa (Niger, peace and conflict resolution), and North America (USA, education).
True, global grants are the funding vehicles of choice for accomplishing large-scale humanitarian benefits on a world-wide basis. But district grants also can be used to relieve human suffering and reverse misfortune in a manner that is both simple and highly cost-effective. Please consider these benefits of your investment in TRF's annual fund. Your contributions to the annual fund are the lifeblood of funding for District (and Global) Grants. The icing on the cake is that all of your contributions to TRF's annual fund qualify you for Paul Harris Fellow recognition when they sum to $1,000 or more."