Thanks to your wonderful support for our charity of choice, The Rotary Foundation, in 2022-23 we have exceeded the contributions made during 2021-22. Well done everyone!

Article by PDG Peter Garnett, Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinator

I was delighted to receive the information below from Mark Anderson, RISPPO, on 7 July. While it is interim information, as a few contributions received dated 30 June were still being processed, it shows an excellent result for Zone 8.

I must admit at the end of May and even well into June, while I was unsure we could do it, Mark was quietly confident we would exceed the last year’s totals and we did! The result is excellent. Particularly given we had a number of factors affecting 2022-23, including the adverse exchange rate, declining membership numbers and a number of districts affected by disasters.

It is a challenge trying to predict the year’s result when over 33% of contributions to both the Annual Fund and Polio Fund were received in June!

If I have one earnest appeal, it would be for clubs and Rotarians to make their contributions earlier in the year. An important reason is that the year of giving is the first of three years that the Rotary Foundation holds the funds before sharing to District’s Designated Funds and the World Fund. These are the 3 years during which the Foundation invests the funds to provide interest to offset the Foundation’s administration costs. So giving at the very end of the year deprives the Foundation of one year of those important interest earnings!

Big thanks go to all of our regular contributors; the Centurions and Paul Harris Society members in our Region; those who have joined the new PolioPlus Society; the loyal Clubs which contribute to the Foundation Annual and Polio Funds annually. Thanks must also go to those who chose to become Major Donors or made endowments to the Foundation during the past year.

THANK YOU ALL.