At the 1917 convention, outgoing Rotary president Arch Klumph proposed setting up an endowment “for the purpose of doing good in the world.” That one idea, and an initial contribution of $26.50, set in motion a powerful force that has transformed millions of lives around the globe.
This endowment fund, became a not-for-profit corporation known as The Rotary Foundation in 1928. Upon the death of Paul Harris in 1947, an outpouring of Rotarian donations made in his honor, totaling US$2 million, launched the Foundation’s first programme — graduate fellowships, now called Ambassadorial Scholarships.
The Rotary Foundation helps Rotary members to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace by improving health, providing quality education, improving the environment, and alleviating poverty.
The Foundation is organized as a public charity operated exclusively for charitable purposes and governed by a Board of Trustees. The operations of Rotary International, a member organization, are overseen by its Board of Directors. The Trustees are elected for a 4-year term.
We, the Rotary Club of Karachi (RCK), are proud that Aziz Memon, one of our members, who has also been a Past President of the RCK, and a past District Governor, served as a Trustee of The Rotary Foundation from 2020 to 2024.
The headquarters of the Foundation, like the headquarters of Rotary International, are in Evanston, Illinois, USA. Associate foundations are present in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, and the United Kingdom.
Since it was founded more than 100 years ago, the Foundation has spent more than $4 billion on life-changing, sustainable projects.
A seminar of The Rotary Foundation, organized by RCK in progress
