Rotary District 5180
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The Humanitarian Grants Program

The Humanitarian Grants Program provides grants to Rotary clubs and districts to implement humanitarian projects.There are several grant types that address different service needs and funding options. The following grants are available to support these endeavors:

Matching Grants support international humanitarian projects. Rotary clubs or districts in at least two countries must work together to plan, implement, and complete the project. Matching Grants are designed to support relatively small, one-time-only humanitarian service projects. Grants are awarded for a wide variety of projects such as agriculture, water, medical care/equipment, combating diseases, projects to help the disabled, literacy and numeracy, and educational/occupational training.The projects must involve active personal Rotarian participation. There are two categories of Matching Grants: Matching Grants and Competitive Matching Grants. Matching Grants are awards of US$5,000 to$25,000. Competitive Matching Grants are awards of $25,001 to $150,000.Funding for Matching Grants is based on submission of contributions by the Rotarian project partners.The Foundation will provide a US$0.50 match for every $1 cash contribution and $1 match for every $1 DDF (District) contribution.

Health, Hunger, and Humanity (3-H) Grants
are awarded to fund large international long-term, self-help, and grassroots development projects that use an integrative approach to address humanitarian needs. An integrative approach incorporates multiple program components to address humanitarian needs, including a combination of sustainable activities such as: training, community participation, Community Corps, capital assets, and technical expertise from Rotarian and other sources. Projects must be self-sustaining after the 3-H Grant funds have been spent.All projects must involve clubs and districts in at least two different countries with a significant number of Rotarians actively participating in the project. The primary host and international sponsor clubs/districts of a 3-H application must have successfully worked together as primary sponsors of a Matching Grant project within five years of submitting their 3-H application to be eligible for consideration. Funding starts at US$100,000 and can go up to US$300,000. 3-H Grant sponsors must provide a minimum contribution of 10 percent of the total 3-H grant award amount.

District Simplified Grants (DSGs) are a tool for Rotary districts to support small, short-term, humanitarian projects that benefit the community. sIn District 5180, District Simplified Grants have been used primarily to fund local community service projects. The grants are awarded on a competitive basis.  Grant amounts vary from year to year, but are typically in the $1,500 to $2,000 range. The District matches the club’s contribution.

Volunteer Service Grants (VSGs) subsidize travel for international humanitarian service in Rotary countries for periods of 5 to 60 days. International humanitarian service is defined as providing a needed service or skill to a community that is either unavailable or difficult to provide with existing in-country Rotarian resources.This skill or service must be requested by the benefitting community. Funding may be used for travel-related expenses to plan specific humanitarian projects for future implementation or to provide direct service to a specific project in a benefitting community. More information:

Lynette Andersen, District 5180 Grants Chair,
(916) 925-2787(bus),
(916) 783-7243(res),
(916)925-3472(fax),
Landersen@lawTML.com (e-mail).