Thanks to your generous donations to The Rotary Foundation, our district had a banner year in 2024-25 across several metrics, including donations to The Annual Fund ($491,064), fundraising for End Polio Now ($161,264), total giving ($759,611), and per capita giving ($217.57).
Nineteen Rotarians in D6250 reached Major Donor status. Almost half of our members donated at least $100 to TRF, with 149 members donating at least $1000. Your donations go directly to funding the projects that Rotarians take on as we work to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace.
Twenty-one clubs in D6250 achieved over $150 per capita in giving to The Annual Fund last year. The top three clubs were Madison South ($1,770 per capita), Madison West Middleton ($860 per capita), and Menomonee Sunrise ($552 per capita). Those are truly outstanding numbers!
The Rotary Foundation invests our donations to The Annual Fund-SHARE for three years, then makes 47.5% of the donated amount available as District Designated Funds (DDF) for our clubs to use on District and Global Grants. On July 1, we received an influx of $162,608 of new DDF for RY2025-26. Our District Grants Committee reviewed and approved 16 district grant applications that we funded with a total of $81,000, immediately exhausting our district grant DDF for the year. The committee had received requests totaling $97,000, so this high demand and enthusiasm present for district grants really underscores how important it is to continue donating to The Annual Fund-SHARE.
We still have a substantial amount of DDF available to spend on Global Grants- about $275,000. This is the first year that TRF will not let us keep rolling over used DDF forever. We must spend our “new” DDF first, then we can dip into the “old” money. We need to spend another $159,000 on Global Grants before June 30, 2026, to avoid having any DDF expire. (If we do have expiring DDF, then the District Rotary Foundation Committee will decide which TRF funds to send the excess money towards at the end of the year.) We have implemented a double-matching special to encourage clubs to get involved with Global Grants and help spend this large amount of DDF. Keep an eye on our spending thermometer as the year progresses and get your double-match request fulfilled before time runs out!
Are you interested in joining the District Rotary Foundation team? We have current and soon-to-be open positions, including District Rotary Foundation Chair, Grants Vice Chair, and Major Gifts Chair. Contact DRFC Erin Luken erinmluken@gmail.com to nominate yourself or someone else.
Need support or help finding a global grant to participate in? Contact International Service Chair Edwin Bos edwin@bosdesignbuilders.com. For assistance and support with the details of Global Grants, please contact Global Grants Chair Karen Hebert karenrotarian@gmail.com.
Double-match details: For all Global Grants that are submitted to The Rotary Foundation for approval before March 1st, 2026, District 6250 will match each dollar of club money with 2 dollars of District Designated Funds within the following limits: One club on each global grant may receive the double match for up to $5000 of club money ($10,000 DDF). Each of the next nine clubs to join that grant may receive the double match for up to $2500 of club money ($5000 DDF). All other club money will continue to receive the 1:1 match.