Author Archives: Carol Dois Woodward

A look at the 2019-2020 District Grants:

02 Thursday Jan 2020

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Variety and value of grants growing:

This article is a reprint from the January 2020 Spirit of 7600, just in case you missed reading it there.

Each year since the 2013-2014 new grant process began, the grant funds available have grown as have the size and variety of district grants. District grant policies have fostered multi-club grants, regularized the grant application process, and auditing procedures have improved the stewardship of district grant funds.

In the 2019-2020 Grant year, District 7600 had almost $153,500 in designated funds to dispense and hosted two rounds of grant applications. The second round of grant applications allowed the District Grants Team to award almost all of the district designated funds (DDF) available. With clubs joining each other on grant projects and partnering with other nonprofits and governmental agencies the total financial impact of this year’s district grants totals $263,364. This represents a significant and lasting impact for the communities in central and southeast Virginia.

In total there were 20 district grants awarded. But three clubs double dipped in interesting ways.  South Hill came back in Round Two to purchase more benches for its project and the clubs of Warwick at City Center Newport News and Virginia Peninsula joined together in two separate district grants. Double dipping is possible, though any given club may not be awarded more than a total of $5000 DDF.

There were 13 multi-club grants in five of the Areas of Focus. There were ten  grant applications which listed Economic & Community Development as the area focus.  One club listed both Economic & Community Development as well as Maternal & Child Health as its area of focus.  There were seven grants in the Maternal & Child Health Area of focus, and one each in Basic Education & Literacy, Peace & Conflict Resolution, and Disease Prevention/Treatment.  There were not grant projects in the Water & Sanitation Area of Focus. In the early days of “Future Vision” the marketing description of our current grant module most of the district grants clustered in the Maternal & Child Health and Basic Education & Literacy Area of Focus.

If you would like to delve more into the District 7600 grants you can visit dacdb.com. After logging in, click on the District Tab and then click on the Grants icon. Your club may come up with some super ideas for your grant projects next year.

Little Free Library

World Polio Day

16 Wednesday Oct 2019

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October 24th World Polio Day

Colleen Bonadonna, District Polio Plus Chair, and Past District Governor Jim Bynum were interviewed by WRIC TV on October 15th about Rotary’s effort to eradicate polio world-wide.Colleen emphasized that though we have eliminated Polio as a health threat in America, polio and other diseases are only a plane ride away. https://www.wric.com/community/rotary-clubs-to-mark-world-polio-day-with-local-events/

A Different Kind of Event

Visit the day-long (10:00 am – 5:00 pm) free exhibition about Rotary’s efforts to eradicate Polio at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, 428 N Arthur Ashe Blvd, in Richmond on October 24th. There will be many neat displays and experiences:

  • polio artifacts display
  • virtual reality videos of the eradication efforts around the world
  • purple pinkie booth
  • polio banner signing
  • corn hole relaxation area

All ages will enjoy and learn

The Virginia Museum of History & Culture is located next to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts which is also free and open to the public. Lunch and snacks are available there as well as a world class exhibit of the world’s most exciting art.

Alumni Social at 6:30

The social ($5) is provided complete with musical entertainment. Cash bar available. Not able to visit during the work day for an hour or so, come later and enjoy the company and stories of Rotary Alumni.

Virginia Museum of History & Culture 428 N Arthur Ashe Blvd, Richmond VA

District Grants On the Loose

24 Saturday Aug 2019

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$245,162 of good in District 7600 communities:

Fifteen district grants have been awarded for the 2019-2020 year. District 7600 awarded approximately $125,000 of District Designated Funds for these grants. That is a handsome figure. Even more handsome is the total dollar value impact of the grants which will be $245,162, based on donations from the participating clubs, partnering organizations, and governmental entities. The projects funded will bring significant enhancements to communities in District 7600 and to one community in Costa Rica. Yes, Costa Rica.

Norfolk (Lead Club) Improving YMCA – Rotary Kitchen

Four of the six areas of focus represented:

The largest number of district grants was in the Maternal & Child Health area of focus with a total of 8 grants. Next was Economic & Community Development with a total of 6 grants. Basic Education & Literacy had one grant. There were no grants in either Water & Hygiene or in Peace & Conflict Resolution.

Virginia Peninsula (Lead Club) Boys & Gril Club

Club projects increase impact by working together:

Of the 15 district grants awarded, 9 were multi-club projects while six were single club projects. Many clubs do not have nearby clubs to partner with, which makes these clubs so much more important for their communities.

Great projects, great partners, & more good news:

There will be a Round 2 of district grant awards. District Rotary Foundation Chair Stephen Beer reports that there is still approximately $25,000 in the kittly. Information on the application and award timeline will be announced soon. Presidents and Club Foundation Chairs, be sure to read your email if you want a shot at a Round 2 district grant award.

The Rotary Foundation News

01 Thursday Aug 2019

Posted by in Foundation Giving, Foundation Reports

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Fundraising Goals for Polio Met:

This week District Rotary Foundation Chair (DRFC) Stephen Beer (Innsbrook) shared an email he received from Chuck Davidson, the Zone 33 Polio Chair. Chuck’s email covered an email from Brenda Cressey, the Immediate Past Chair of The Rotary Foundation (TRF). Part of email dealt with our Polio fundraising and eradication efforts.

Her email reported that the Polio Eradication fundraising goal of last year (2018-2019) of $50 million had been surpassed. This good news comes along with Chuck’s good news that as of July 24, 2019, there were NO new cases of the polio wildvirus in Pakistan or Afghanistan in the seven days prior.

Our own district is part of that success! Colleen Bonadonna (New Kent), our District Polio Chair, has put enormous energy into raising awareness and financial commitment in District 7600 towards eradicating Polio. According to Rudy Garcia (Fluvanna), our district’s Immediate Past Development Chair reports that in 2018-19, our district Polio donations were $107, 894. There was also a District Designated Funds (DDF) match of $57, 616 for a grant total of $165,510 towards Polio eradication.

Rotarians are #peopleofaction and action and action.

We did it in 2018-2019!

23 Tuesday Jul 2019

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The district clubs met their goals overall :))

Joy Kline (Goochland) published her final “Joy” Report after the Rotary books closed around mid month. Assuming there are no late discovered errors or needed minor adjustments, the total annual fund giving goals of the District 7600 clubs were met at the 120% level.

We referred above to the “final ‘Joy’ Report” only because Joy has moved into her new role as the Development Chair for the District Rotary Foundation Committee (DRFC). David Rosenthal of the Hampton Roads club is now the Annual Fund Chair and will continue to provide updated reports.

And now for a few particulars:

The clubs’ Annual Fund giving goals for the 2018-19 year totaled $475,500. The total Annual Fund giving for the year was $571,622 meaning that our clubs’ giving came it at 120%. Way to go, clubs! District per capita giving was $213.

Many clubs exceeded their goals and some clubs fell a tad short, but all tried to support The Rotary Foundation. Good years come and sometimes less than good years come. This year the Mechanicsville club had a good year with a per capita giving level of $591, coming in at a 165% fulfilment of their Annual Fund giving goal.

For those of you who like spreadsheets (and we know you are out there) the Final Joy report can be downloaded below.

2018-2019 Annual Fund District ReportDownload

Savor the smell of success:

We know a new Rotary year has started, but clubs and especially club foundation chairs, take a moment to savor the thought of all the good that your clubs’ hard work will do in the world. Job well done!

July Foundation Milestones

12 Friday Jul 2019

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July is change of Leadership month and:

July is also the month when Rotary Districts around the world learn whether the club Rotary Foundation giving goals have been met. The other milestone in July is that clubs learn if their District Grant applications have been approved.

Foundation Giving Goals:

The giving year for 2019-2020 ended on June 30, 2019. However, it takes a couple of weeks to correctly process the donations and make sure the catagories of giving are correct.

Based on her initial check, Joy Kline, now our District Rotary Foundation Development Chair, is convinced that District 7600 clubs met their giving goals. Next week we will know how much we gave and by how much we may have exceeded our giving goals. Stay tuned.

Fireworks of Success

District Grant Approvals:

Stephen Beer, our District Rotary Foundation Committee Chair (DRFC) has announced that the district’s spending plan has been approved. Very shortly, probably next week, letters will go out to the clubs involved in the approved district grants. Will your club be one of them? Stay tuned.

Upcoming District Events:

Many of us will be congregating in Williamsburg tomorrow (Saturday, June 13) for the District Change of Leadership and for the District Awards ceremonies

Please pencil in the following dates and register at your earliest opportunity.

District Conference in Virginia Beach: September 20-23. The Westin at Virginia Beach Town Center.

District Conference 2019

The Rotary Foundation Awards Banquet: November 14. Colonial Heritage Club in Williamsburg.

July message from Stephen

03 Wednesday Jul 2019

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Our new District Rotary Foundation Chair, Stephen Beer writes to D7600 Rotarians

In case you missed it in the July Spirit of 7600, Past District Governor Stephen Beer’s first monthly Spirit message as the District Rotary Foundation Chair (DRFC), encourages us all to remember the good our donations to The Rotary Foundation can do.

Beverley & Stephen

July is a Hot Time to Start a New Rotary Year

“This month each year Rotary changes its leadership.  It’s a wonderful thing, even with its challenges.  Most Rotary leaders serve one-year terms in their specific office.  The district’s Rotary Foundation Committee Chair (DRFC) is one exception, serving a term of three years.  This month I officially commence my three year commitment as your Foundation Chair.  Thanks to the immediate past DRFC Chuck Arnason for helping me to prepare for my new role.  I am humbled by all of the outstanding leadership from my predecessors, who served before me, particularly Past RI Director Joe Mulkerrin, Past District Governors Bob Preston, Bill Pollard, Jim Probsdorfer, and Chuck Arnason.  I have big boots to fill (outgoing chair Chuck wears boots most of the time, being a rancher).  They have shared their wisdom and are providing much support.  THANK YOU to all the past chairs!

The Rotary International Convention in Hamburg was a fantastic experience.  If you have never attended a convention, consider going to next year’s in Honolulu. Two quotes at the opening ceremony inspired me and provide great meaning to being a Rotarian and wanting to support Rotary through The Rotary Foundation:

“Rotary International’s international reach (across over 200 countries) achieves more for humanity than any single government around the world.” (I do not remember the speaker who said this, but he was not a Rotarian.)

“Freedom is dependent on service and charity.” (spoken by the Mayor of Hamburg, Germany.)

Each year in Rotary we try to do a little more than we achieved the previous year.  The bar keeps moving higher and higher!  Here are my goals for the new Rotary year:

  1. Every Rotarian cheerfully contributes to The Rotary Foundation.  I recognize this may be a challenge for some people.
  2. Continue to grow our Foundation giving, whether to the Annual Fund, Polio Plus, or the Endowment Fund. But remember … you can give to all three funds. The Foundation helps Rotary clubs make a greater impact serving their communities;
  3. Continue to grow participation by clubs in the District and Global Grant programs of The Foundation;
  4. Create greater awareness of The Rotary Foundation within and outside the Rotary world.

This year District 7600 will do something new and different for World Polio Day on Thursday, October 24.  We will hold a World Polio Day event at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture in Richmond.  Plan to have your Rotary club, Rotaract Club and Interact Clubs involved in this exciting event.  More to follow…

Enjoy your summer!”

Stephen Beer

Time to dig deep! TRF Rocks!

22 Saturday Jun 2019

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Week left to give to The Rotary Foundation!

There is only one week left for clubs and Rotarians to give to The Rotary Foundation. Out total District 7600 Rotary Foundation giving is lagging behind last year at this time according to Joy Kline’s “Joy” Report.

Is it enough that we just meet our goals?

Well, that may depend on the integrity of the goals set. Just remember that the amount of monies available for district grants in a given year depend upon the district’s annual fund giving amount three years prior. If ho hum goals have been set and met, then three years later there will be ho hum funds available for worthy district grant.

The same applies for global grants:

District giving three years prior also impacts funds for global grants. The only difference being that at least some unused funds in the World Fund can be rolled over from one Rotary year to the next.

So, make the final 2018-19 Joy Report, Joyful!

2019 District Grant Outlook

16 Thursday May 2019

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District Grant Applications Are In!

A total of 19 district grant applications have been submitted for consideration by the District Rotary Foundation Grants Committee. As in past years the timely submission issues centered around the needed club signatures and submissions of the club MOUs. Mother’s Day weekend was fraught with urgent text messages, phone calls, and emails.

Only five of the grant applications were from single clubs. Forty clubs participated in the grant applications. The total requested District Designated Funds (DDF) was $170,020.

Slide from Grant Management Webinar April 2019

Areas of Focus:

The grant applications catagorized their requests in 5 of the 6 areas of focus:

  • Disease Prevention & Treatment – 5
  • Maternal & Child Health -6
  • Economic & Community Development – 6
  • Basic Education & Literacy – 1
  • Peace & Conflict Resoluton 1
  • Water & Sanitation – 0

Our esteemed District Rotary Foundation Chairs, present and past, need to be consulted, but this may be the first time we have had a Peace & Conflict Resolution district grant submission.

Next Steps:

First, relax for a day or two. Do a little fishing, golfing, cooking, reading, whatever. Put your fee up and have your favorite beverages. Give some quality time to your club as it wraps up its Rotary year. Be sure to donate to The Rotary Foundation by June 30.

While you are doing all of those things, the District Grants Committee will be evaluating your submissions, with heart, but objectively. When they have selected the recipients in the amounts deemed worthy, the 2019-22 District Rotary Foundation Chair Stephen Beer will submit the spending plan to The Rotary Foundation. Pending approval, the block grant should be received sometime in the July-August timeframe. At that time clubs will be notified of their application status

Good Luck!

Photo of Natash House – Photo submittedd with district grant application

District Training Assembly

18 Thursday Apr 2019

Posted by in Membership, Public Image, The Rotary Foundation

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Time to register, really!

It is really just a little more than a week away from the District Training Assembly (DTA) and the Foundation, Membership, & Public Image Seminars.

Every club should expect its officers and directors to attend this one-time only Rotary club training for the upcoming Rotary year and every club should encourage its members, especially newer members, to attend the training. The DTA is on April 27th, 2019, at Old Dominion University, Webb Center, 1301 49th Street, Norfolk, VA.

It only costs $50 and includes free parking, breakfast, & lunch. And then there is all of the information, ideas, and connections with fellow Rotarians from across the district.

Need more information. Go to the April 27th block on the dacdb.com calendar and read all about it and while there, r-e-g-i-s-t-e-r.

What is the Spring forecast?

30 Saturday Mar 2019

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The forecast is sunny with a chance of Baseball!

April is Maternal & Child Health Month:

April 2: District 7600 Giving Tuesday. Individual contributions matched up to $500. Must be made online in My Rotary to the Annual Fund. April 2 only. Accelerate your first or your multiple Paul Harris Fellow Recognition.

April 20: Grant Management Webinar. Attendance qualifies a club to apply for a Rotary grant. Attendees may attend in person or in the location of their choice by computer. Attendees will need access to wifi/internet connection. This is the final chance for a club to meet this attendance requirement. Registration is free and is on the dacdb.com calendar.

April 27: District Training Assembly & the Foundation, Public Image, and Membership Seminars (no separate August Seminars this year). The Grant Doctors will be on duty that day. Registration will be available next week on dacdb.com calendar.

May is Youth Service Month:

May 1: Clubs must have entered their Foundation Giving Goals for the year in Rotary Club Central to be eligible to apply for a Rotary grant. This is a new district requirement.

May 1: Clubs will need to have closed out any district grants for the 2018-2019 year to be eligible to apply for a district grant. All grant related processes are completed in the grants module on dacdb.com.

May 2: Polio + Baseball at the Norfolk Tides at Harbor Park.

Baseball FlyerDownload

May 15: Deadline to submit district grant applications through the grants module.

May 16: Polio +Baseball at the Richmond Flying Squirrels at the Diamond.

May 23-26: Marshalling at the LPGA Tournament at Kingsmill.

Welcome home to the Costa Rica Literacy Global Grant Team:

This was a follow on visit to Costa Rica by members of the Rotary Clubs of Richmond, Huguenot Trails, James River, and South Richmond. This multi-year, multi-club global grant provides books in the English language for a regional Costa Rican school system. On previous visits Rotarians realized that there was a shortage of toothbrushes and toothpaste in the schools. So they chipped in on the side and brought along the much needed items. This grant was featured in the March issue of the Spirit of 7600 which can be found on rotary7600.org. A follow up article will be featured in the May issue of the Spirit.

  • Jeanne Walls & Kelly Keene
  • Toothbrush & Toothpaste Anyone

World Water Day

22 Friday Mar 2019

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Water & Sanitation are core Rotary causes:

Assistant Governor Shel Douglas and Past District Governor Stephen Beer shared many of their photos and stories from their Water & Sanitation grant project in Ghana on all of our District 7600 channels. This extensive Global Grant allows individual clubs, even small ones to “invest” whatever they can afford finanically to the efforts to improve access to clean water, safe sanitation, education, and economic development in Ghana. In District 7600 the Rotary clubs of Prince George and South Hill took that opportunity and through their involvement, Ghanain communities will be benefitting from Rotarians’ concern and generosity.

Another such story is the story of the Soap Chips District Grant spearheaded by the Churchland club. This multi-club, multi-partner District Grant provides private, portable showers for the homeless in the greater Hampton Roads area. These are private showers with hot water, hygiene supplies, and fresh socks, provided on a regualr basis to those in need.

Both the Ghana grant and the Soap Chips grant have been featured in recent issues of the Spirit of 7600, our the District’s Facebook pages and in this blog. As recently as today (March 22), Past District Governor Bill Pollard and AG Shel Douglas have posted on Facebook, Bill specifically about the Soap Chips grant, and Shel, a meme she created to celebrate that today, March 22, is the UN’s World Water Day.

Enjoy.

UN World Water Day Meme

Giving Tuesday … April 2

16 Saturday Mar 2019

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District Giving Tuesday: Get a boost towards your Paul Harris Fellow

Let’s Celebrate Onine District 7600 “Giving Tuesday” on April 2

Giving Tuesday in Rotary District 7600 is on Tuesday, 2 April 2019. On that day contributions to the Annual Fund made online will be matched with recognition points up to an individual contribution total of $500.00. 

To receive the matching points, you must contribute on that day only through online giving at My Rotary.  If you don’t have a My Rotary account you will need to set it up in advance of the 2 April 2019 date as it takes a day or two to be established.

Last year the District raised $52,639.00, a 6% increase from the 2017 Giving Tuesday’s amount.  Hopefully, we can beat the 2018 mark this year.

Remember, only individual, online contributions to the Annual Fund made on 2 April 2019 are eligible for matching points. 

Rotarians who have attained Paul Harris Fellow plus 8 (PHS+8) are ineligible for recognition points as they can only be transferred once and do not count towards Major Donor status.

How to create a MyRotary Account:

How to Create MyRotary AccountDownload

GMS Registration Extended

08 Friday Mar 2019

Posted by in Rotary 7600 Foundation News, Rotary Grants, The Rotary Foundation, Upcoming District Events

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Register please by March 9 (Saturday)

The Grant Management Seminar is on March 16 and any club wanting to receive a District Grant or be a participant in a Multi-Club District Grant must have at least one person (more are welcome) attend the GMS.

So be sure that your club is in the game! Go to dacdb.com calendar and register for Pete’s sake.

You can take a look at and download the training documents that will be used at d7600foundation.org. https://d7600foundation.org/grants-scholarships-2/

Two of the documents are the Memorandum of Understanding or MOU and the Top Ten Tips for applying for a grant.

Top Ten Things to Know About District GrantsDownload
Memorandum of Understanding 2019-2020Download
Our Purple Pinkie Dancing Queen courtesy of Bill Pollard.

Give your Presidents-Elect a hand (or two)

01 Friday Mar 2019

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Where are the P-Es this weekend?

The District 7600 Presidents-Elect are at Chesapeake Presidents-Elect Training (PETS) this weekend receiving training for their year of Presidency. Their terms begin July 1, but their work has already begun. They will return from PETS inspired, but also stunned by all of the possibilities. How can you help?

How can I help my P-E?

The first thing you can do is by helping take some of the load of her or his shoulders. One humongous opportunity for P-Es and their clubs is the whole grants thing. Every club wants to do a great local or international grant project. It is a reality that the district grant deadline (global grants operate differently) is on May 15, well before the P-E’s presidency begins. In addition to that two additional district grant eligibility requirements occur on May 1 when:

  • a club must have its Foundation Giving Goals entered into Rotary Club Central, and
  • a club must have closed out (approved final report) any 2018-19 district grants in which the club participated.

2019-20 Grants Documents:

You, yes you, whatever your role in the club, but especially if you are the incoming Club Foundation or the Club Service Projects Chair, can download important documents about this grant cycle. These documents will be shared with the P-Es this weekend, but they are also available on the District Foundation’s website.

While there, why not enter your email address to get up to the minute (almost) Rotary District Foundation news?