Where Does $100 to the Rotary Foundation Go?
The Rotary Foundation is literally the foundation of the Rotary clubs across the world. Although Rotarians conduct meetings, go to conferences, do community service projects, and collect funds from each other to support Rotary International and the Rotary Foundation, the Rotary Foundation is the entity that awards almost all the grants, most of which ($207 million out of $230 million) are to overseas organizations, which may surprise many people.
In the most simplistic terms, the Rotary Foundation engages in primarily two functions: they manage their endowment ($1.06 billion as of June 30, 2017) and award grants (again, primarily to foreign organizations) – $69 out of every $100 in revenue collected in 2017 were awarded in grants. Read more 
Where Does $100 to Rotary International Go?
There are an estimated 32,000 Rotary Clubs worldwide that are grouped into 529 districts (an average of 60 clubs per district) in 34 zones (an average of 16 districts in each zone). Each district (529 of them) has a governor. There are 17 zone directors who each head 2 zones. The governors and directors are nominated and elected positions. In other words:
- 35,000: Rotary Clubs
- 529: Districts (65 Rotary Clubs per district)
- 34: Zones (16 Districts in each zone)
- 17: Zone Directors (2 zones per director)
Executive Compensation at the Rotary Foundation
The Rotary Foundation (RF) is a 501 (c) (3) based in Evanston, Illinois (at the same address as Rotary International (RI)). Although the organizations are separate (RI is a 501 (c) (4)), they are related. In the most simplistic terms, RI overseas the 32,000 Rotary Clubs across the world while RF awards grants and manages a very large endowment (nearly $1.1 billion). The executive employees appear to work with both organizations.
Staffed with 281 employees who were compensated $27.8 million (an average compensation of $99,000), RF provided more than $100,000 in compensation to 45 employees. The most highly compensated individuals were: Read more
Executive Compensation at Rotary International
Rotary International (RI) is a 501 (c) (4) – a social welfare organization that oversees 32,000 Rotary International Club organizations – based in Evanston, Illinois. Governed by a 20-member board (the president, president-elect, general secretary who is also the CEO, and 17 Rotary Zone Directors), Rotary International reported having 330 employees who were compensated $34.3 million which equates to an average compensation of $104,000. However, only 60 individuals received more than $100,000 in compensation with the 14 most highly compensated individuals listed below: Read more
Understanding Rotary
Most people think of the Rotary as the local business group that invites business leaders and citizens to join the club (members have to be invited by a current Rotarian and cannot join without an invitation) and meets once a week for breakfast, lunch, or dinner to develop friendships, listen to speakers, and organize community assistance programs conducted throughout the year, but Rotary is more complicated than that. Read more
