The challenges of The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International

Currently and towards the future there are a series of challenges that we have to face as an organization. In a very concise manner, I describe bellow some of the most relevant ones, not classified in any order of importance.

The challenge of continue to Streamline Procedures - A great step was already given with the establishment of a new grants structure. The initial analysis and the establishment of criteria for them to be elaborated reduced the several types of grants to only two, allowing also the progressive reduction of approval time and their concentration in the six areas of focus. The next step will be to improve and redefine these criteria for them to better satisfy the needs of the community while maintaining the continuity of the services rendered and produce the necessary impact on the community we serve while being relevant.

The challenge of definition of metrics in the six areas of focus Metrics that allow the evaluation of projects with respect to their impact on the community, their sustainability better defined in each area of focus and their value and not only their cost. These metrics will allow the comparison of the effectiveness of projects in the areas of focus and the establishment of parameters of good execution and their repeatability.

The challenge of maintaining high the Object of Rotary Interna-

tional and its Foundation - More than an instrument of charity, The Rotary Foundation must continue to achieve tangible improvements in the quality of life of million people in the world and by doing that, show to them the trough value of solidarity. By doing that we will show clearly this object of our organization that crystallizes itself with its contribution to the progress of peace and world understanding.

The challenge of development - The seed sowed in 1917 started really to grow after 1947, but from that time and on its growth has been extraordinary. In terms of contribution, function of the generosity of Rotarians and those that we were able to inspire, allowed us to break records of contributions year after year to the Annual Fund and the growth of the Endowment Fund which will surely reach the goal of one billion dollars by 2017- the centennial year of our Foundation- assuring a solid financial support to our actions. Our challenge is to increase the effectiveness of the use of our financial resources that already assures nowadays that 89% of them be used directly in the projects and services rendered. We must also continue to be proudly recognized with maximum scores by renowned international foundation evaluation organizations.

The challenge of organizational effectiveness - With a permanent and continued action towards the optimization of corporate management and the equitable distribution of of organization support.

The challenge of intelligent partnerships - With the purpose of establishing bridges between good ideas and great projects, we must and are qualifying and determining criteria to the selection of partners that allow the chosen partners to exercise their social responsibility relevant and related to their business. By attracting strong partners we are offering them the reliability of our organiza-

tion, the ubiquity of our clubs, spread out in every corner of the earth and our capacity to complete sustainable projects at a low operational cost and that address community needs.

The challenge of financial sustainability - The several modes of contribution and financing of projects and programs must continue to be continuously improved in order to allow low operational costs and still be immune to financial market fluctuations.

The challenge of the eradication of Polio - To fulfill difficult promises requires strategy, total attention and great compromise with them to accomplish the changes necessary to be done to finish this effort. We cannot stop to believe in our promise to humanity and complete our journey. This final effort is being rewarded. Who make a promise… must accomplish it. Who takes more time to fulfill a promise are the ones who accomplish them with greater rigor.

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