Saturday 14 March 2009

Matching Grant Budget - Update

Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation have had to make important decisions in light of the current financial environment. At the January Trustees meeting, a decision was made to reduce the 2008-09 Matching Grant budget in order to conserve The Rotary Foundation's World Fund. As of 2 March, the Matching Grant budget has been fully committed, and the Trustees are unable to approve any additional grant applications.

As a result of the budget reductions, no new Matching Grant applications will be accepted in the 2008-09 Rotary year. New applications received by the Foundation will be returned to the sponsors without processing. Applications that were received by the Foundation before the commitment of the available budget will remain at the Foundation and can move forward for processing in the 2009-10 Rotary year. Humanitarian Grants staff are in the process of notifying the sponsors of these applications, and their district leadership, of these updates.

If you have in the meantime sent a MG application you will receive a letter from TRF stating that you have a MG application that was completed after the budget was fully committed and is unable to be approved at this time. The primary sponsors of the application have 3 options to consider in moving forward with their application:
Option 1) Your application is complete and may be forwarded for approval after 1 August 2009 contingent upon any decisions by the Trustees at their April 2009 meeting with regard to the MG budget.
Option 2) Should you no longer wish to pursue this application, please inform your Grant Coordinator as soon as possible, and your application will be withdrawn.
Option 3) There is one other funding option available, should you and your partners wish to move forward with your project in the 2008-09 Rotary year. Sponsors may request that DDF be used in place of the requested award amount from the Foundation. If you wish to pursue this option please complete the DDF substitution form stating the DDF contributions from the district(s) and the required authorizations needed to fund the project award. This information must be provided and the application must be completed by 30 April 2009 in order to move the grant forward for approval this Rotary year. Please note that only DDF can be used in lieu of the TRF award amount.<>

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact Ms. Jennifer Kordell - Supervisor Humanitarian Grants Program at TRF - Phone: 847-866-3104, Fax: 847-866-9759, Email: jennifer.kordell@rotary.org

At their April meeting, the Trustees will evaluate the current financial situation and approve a budget for 2009-10. Detailed information about Matching Grant funding will be available after the meeting, and the Rotary International Web site will be updated with all pertinent information. Please visit/ click on http://www.rotary.org/ for further updates. Thank you for your patience and understanding during these difficult financial times.

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