Many of us regularly support a charity. Very few charities, such as our Wheelchair Trust, have almost zero overheads. However, were you to inspect the books of some big charities, you might find that a very sizeable portion of their income is spent on anything but what you had in mind, when you got that glowing, tingling feeling of “doing good”, as you put in the verification code of your Credit Card.What about if there was a MAJOR, world-wide charity, which has such a low overhead ratio that Charitynavigator.com not only gives it the highest of 4 stars, but also a 100% efficiency rating? What about a charity that not only spends some serious funds on international projects, but also channels a huge proportion of funds back to where they were donated from?
Yes, we are talking about The Rotary Foundation (TRF). Oh, you didn’t know that, in addition to major world projects such as the eradication of Polio, Polio Plus, they also spend money on… us, over here? Yes, our District receives money from TRF grants. Our X-Ray and Blood Analysis project for Pentecost Island is a perfect example. I won’t outline the process. (Mario Fairlie, who would have spent hours… nay, days… nay, weeks clouting the keys of his computer to satisfy their stringent application and approval processes, can tell you all about it).
There is a good article about “our” Foundation in this month’s Rotary Down Under magazine. But, irrespective of whether you read it or not, you can be assured that your donation money will not be wasted. And, even though they are an international charity, all donations in Australia are fully tax deductible. Speak to our club’s Foundation Director Gerald East about the process).