Many Rotarians will be familiar with the late Stephen R. Covey, the influential author and speaker and one of the world’s foremost authorities on leadership. In his seminal work, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", he pointed out that one of the habits of successful people and organizations was that they “Begin with the End in Mind”.

Article by PDG Murray Verso, End Polio Now Coordinator

When you begin with the end in mind, you set yourself up for success. There’s no better way to identify what you actually want, why it’s important to you, and how to get it. Successful Rotary Clubs “begin with the end in mind” by setting annual goals and then working to achieve them. However, at the time of writing only 181 of the 1,251 clubs in our zone have documented their Polio Plus fund raising goals.

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative, of which Rotary International is a member, currently has two goals:

Goal One: To permanently interrupt the transmission of all polioviruses in Afghanistan and Pakistan by end of 2023 and for those countries to be certified polio free by the end of 2026.

Goal Two: To stop transmission of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 by the end of 2023 and to prevent outbreaks in polio-free regions.

With declining cases of wild polio virus in the two endemic countries and the introduction of the new oral polio vaccine (nOPV2) to combat vaccine derived polio, it is possible that these goals may still be achieved. However, over the next few years it will cost an estimated $4.6 billion dollars to do so.

Rotary International has committed $150 million per year to help the GPEI achieve these goals with $50 million coming from district, club and private fundraising efforts matched by $100 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

To raise $50 million per year is quite a challenge for us but it can be done if every district and club sets goals and plans accordingly. Here are some suggestions:

District: Goals:

• Appoint a PolioPlus Chair
• Establish a PolioPlus Society
• Organize at least one district PolioPlus fundraiser per year.
• Promote PolioPlus at district assemblies and conferences.
• Encourage clubs to undertake activities around World Polio Day.
• Donate district designated funds (DDF) to Polio Plus. (RI recommends 20% of DDF)

Club Goals

• Set PolioPlus fundraising target for the year (RI recommends $1,500 per club)
• Encourage members to join the PolioPlus Society. ($100 per year)
• Encourage friends, family, work colleagues to donate to Rotary’s PolioPlus Fund. Donate to End Polio | End Polio
• Dedicate a club meeting to World Polio Day with a guest speaker.
• Promote your polio eradication activities on your club website and social media.
• Participate in a district fundraising events such as train rides, walks, cycling events.

Setting goals such as these, and working towards achieving them, will go a long way to helping Rotary reach the historic goal of a polio free world.