History of the Rotary Foundation:

1917 - RI President Arch Klumph told the delegates to the Atlanta Convention that "it seems eminently proper that we should accept endowments for the purpose of doing good in the world". Thus the "Rotary Endowment Fund" was born.

1918 The Fund received its first contribution of $26.50 from the Rotary Club of Kansas City.

1923 - The Endowment Fund had only reached $700.

1928 - The Rotary Foundation was formally established at the 1928 Minneapolis Convention.

1932 - The Rotary Foundation fund grew to $50,000.

1937 - A goal of $2 million was announced, but World War II caused these plans to be cut short

1947 - Upon the death of Paul Harris, memorial gifts poured in to honor the founder of Rotary.

18 young men from 11 countries were awarded the first Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarships.

1954 - The Rotary Foundation received for the first time a half million dollars in a single year.

1965 - $1 million dollars was received.

The first Group Study Exchange between California and LTapan took place.

The first Matching Grants were awarded.

1978 - The 3-H program was launched with the first project being the immunization of 6 million children in the Philippines against polio.

1985 - The PolioPlus program was launched, with fundraising as the primary focus. The original goal was $120 million.

1988 - Rotarians had raised more than $219 Million in cash and pledges for the PolioPlus program

1990 - Cumulative contributions reached $500 million.

1996 - 1997 The Rotary Foundation received more than $60 million for educational and humanitarian work around the world.

Rotarians have contributed $41.6 million to the Endowment Fund.

Finances:

... Administered by a 13-member board of trustees (Bill Sergeant completed a 3-year term 7/1/94)

... Three-year funding cycle (contributions in a given Rotary year are used three years later). This allows time for planning. The investment income supports operations and development, while all contributions are used for programs