Submitted by: Jim McDonald, Annual Fund Chair
Your gift to the Annual Fund helps Rotary clubs create positive change in communities at home in District 5580 and around the world. With just one third of the year left (4 months) it is not too late to make your important contribution towards making a difference in our communities. Please review your clubs Monthly Contribution Report, and contact those members who have not yet made a donation to the Annual Fund. We encourage all members to make even a small donation to this important cause.Many hands make light work. Increasing membership in our clubs makes supporting the Annual Fund easy. Many clubs, however; battle with declining membership and lack of engagement. As a result, our year to date donations to the Annual Fund are down from last year. However, our dedicated Rotarians have given where it counts with our current District per capita donations up to $50.12 compared to $49.52 this time last year.
Rotary Direct makes it easy to set up recurring gifts to the Rotary Foundation, and eliminates the hassle of club treasurers collecting donations and reporting contributions so that Rotarians earn Paul Harris recognition points. Visit https://www.rotary.org/en/donate to contribute with ease. For clubs that collect contributions as part of dues, please make sure those contributions are sent to The Rotary Foundation well before the end of the Rotary year.
Our desire: take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves unites us all as Rotarians. Our membership in this great organization comes with an obligation to make that vision a reality, an obligation to support the many great community and international projects that are made possible because of matching funds from The Rotary Foundation.
For those who have yet to give, or even refuse to give, remember why we joined, why we belong, and why even small contributions are important to fuel the economic engine that makes lasting change around the world possible. Simply, your contribution makes the world a better place. I believe in that, do you?