Health, Hunger, and Humanity (3-H) Grants

31 March 2008 - 3-H grant applications are reviewed once a year during the April TRF Trustee meeting. During their meeting next month, the Trustees will review 37 3-H grant applications. The first step in the application process, however, is the submission of a 3-H grant proposal and community needs assessment. Interested Rotary clubs and districts are encouraged to visit the RI Web site for more information.

Semiannual District Mailing

08 February 2008 - The Humanitarian Grants Program will be sending out the second of its semiannual district mailings this month. This mailing contains updates related to Humanitarian Grants as well as current activity reports for all districts. District leaders are encouraged to use these reports as they work with clubs to ensure that all grant reporting requirements are being met.

"March Madness"

26 January 2008 - Humanitarian Grants staff would like to bring your attention to the 31 March 2008 deadline for receipt of Matching Grant applications, District Simplified Grant requests and 3-H proposals. Each year March and April are the busiest months for the Humanitarian Grants Program staff. We expect to process 50% of all 2007-08 Matching Grant requests during these months in addition to the normal flow of correspondence, payment requests, etc.  As might be expected, our response time will be longer than normal during these months.  We thank you in advance for your patience. 

We would like to request your assistance in communicating the following reminders and tips to clubs.

Reminders:

1. New applications are entered into our system in the order they are received.

2. Application acknowledgements and the corresponding file numbers are sent by email to the primary contacts, as listed in the application.

3. During March and April it may take 15 working days for us to acknowledge receipt of new applications so please be prepared for some delays.

Tips:

1. Send only one copy of the application to TRF. Sending multiple copies only increases the likelihood of double entry into our system, resulting in further delays.

2. Keep a copy of the application for your records.

3. Keep record of the date, by what method and to what address or fax number the application was sent.

4. If after 15 working days the applicants have not received their file number in the form of an acknowledgment letter, confirmation of application receipt should be requested via email.

If sending the application by email, it should be sent to contact.center@rotary.org. For more efficient processing the subject line should say “New request”, indicate the type of grant being requested and name the country where the project will take place. For example: New Matching Grant request – Mexico” or “New DSG request – Canada”.

We thank you for your patience and assistance in spreading this message to clubs in your regions.

District Simplified Grant Payment Requirements

15 January 2008 - As of last year, TRF made a change to the District Simplified Grant (DSG) payment requirement deadline. Previously all payment requirements for approved not paid DSGs needed to be met within six months of approval or the grant would be cancelled. Starting last year, the payment deadline was adjusted to 15 May of the program year. For example 2007-08 DSGs that are approved but not paid need to meet their payment requirements no later than 15 May 2008 or the grant will be cancelled. TRF will be sending out a mailing during the first week of February to remind DSG sponsors of this deadline.

 Grant Application Submission Deadline

15 January 2008 - The deadline for submitting grant applications is fast approaching (31 March). Now is a good time to work with clubs in your district to ensure that reports for all prior grants have been submitted and that applications for new grants will be submitted to TRF prior to the deadline.

Important Trustee Decisions

03 November 2007 - At their most recent meeting, the Trustees took two decisions that have a direct impact on Humanitarian Grants:

1) Beginning next Rotary year, the deadline for submitting Competitive Matching Grant applications for review at the April/May Trustee meeting is 15 December. (Previously the deadline was 1 January.)

2) Also beginning next year, the District Governor, in addition to the district Rotary Foundation committee chair, must now authorize the use of DDF.

World Reporting - Follow-up

03 November 2007 - Humanitarian Grants staff members have finished calculating the reporting percentages for every district. This information will be distributed to each district by the end of November/early December.

 Rotary Foundation Month

03 November 2007 - November is Rotary Foundataion Month. During this month, all Rotarians are encouraged to highlight the activities of The Rotary Foundation. The Humanitarian Grants Program has designed a number of PowerPoint presentations that may be used to promote our grants. Please visit the downloads section of this forum to view the presentations.

World Reporting

04 September 2007 - Twice annually the Trustees review the reporting status of all districts worldwide. Humanitarian Grants staff are currently preparing to generate reporting statistics in preparation for the October Trustee meeting. Now is an ideal time to encourage clubs in your district to submit reports for their open grants. As a reminder, reports must be submitted at least every twelve months for the life of the grant and within two months of the project's completion.