Rotary supports activities and training to improve education for all children and literacy for both children and adults.
THE ROTARY FOUNDATION AREAS OF FOCUS STATEMENT OF GOALS AND PURPOSE
The Rotary Foundation (TRF) enables Rotarians to ensure that all people have sustainable access to basic education and literacy by:
1. Involving the community to support programs that strengthen the capacity of communities to
provide basic education and literacy to all;
2. Increasing adult literacy in communities;
3. Working to reduce gender disparity in education;
4. Supporting studies for career-minded professionals related to basic education and literacy.
Parameters for Eligibility
TRF considers activities targeting the following to be within the scope of the basic education and literacy area of focus:
1. Enhancing quality basic primary and secondary education, seeking to involve local school officials when possible;
2. Educating adults in literacy;
3. Providing teacher training in curriculum implementation, effective instructional methodologies and/or student assessment;
4. Strengthening educational experience through improved materials and facilities that complement curriculum and/or teacher training;
5. School desk purchases, when accompanied by a detailed and verifiable plan to improve basic education and literacy;
6. Vocational training teams supporting the above activities;
7. Scholarships for graduate-level study in programs related to basic education and literacy.
TRF considers activities targeting the following to be outside the scope of the basic education and literacy area of focus and as such are not eligible for Rotary Global grant funding:
1. Projects that consist exclusively of equipment purchases;
2. Projects that provide tuition or school supplies without the means for the community to provide these in the future.
3. Projects that the community is not able to continue after grant funding ends.
Elements of Successful Humanitarian Projects and Vocational Training Teams
eligible Rotary Global grants are:
1. Sustainable – communities are able to address their basic education and literacy needs after the
Rotary club or district has completed its work;
2. Measurable – sponsors can select standard measures for their area of focus from the Monitoring
and Evaluation Toolkit or use their own measures to show the good results of their work;
3. Community driven – designed by the host community based upon the needs they have identified;
4. Aligned with an area of focus – as defined in the policy documents.
Elements of Successful Scholarships
Rotary Global grants support graduate-level scholarships for career-minded professionals where the scholarship applications meet the following criteria:
1. The applicant’s previous work experience in the field of basic education and literacy;
2. The application is for an academic program alignment with basic education and literacy. Examples of such academic programs include education, literacy, curriculum development, special education, and school administration;
3. The applicant’s future career plans as they relate to basic education and literacy.