Tag Archives: Communications

43 days and counting … will your clubs meet their giving goals?

18 Monday May 2015

Posted by in Rotary 7600 Foundation News

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On June 30 the barn door closes. Foundation giving for the 2014 -2015 year will be over.  The amount given this year will govern the amount of money available for grant awards for District 7600 clubs in 2017 -2018. During that three years the 2014-15 club giving will be earning its keep, so to speak.

Foundation Advocates and Club Foundation Chairs (CFCs) are urged to communicate with their clubs NOW to remind club leaders and members of the importance of achieving club giving goals to The Rotary Foundation and to assist clubs in their efforts to meet those goals.  Club Foundation Chairs are the front-line leaders in their clubs on behalf of The Rotary Foundation.  Foundation Advocates are the CFCs support team.

During the last two weeks the Foundation Advocates have been following up with the Club Foundation Chairs in their areas to get assessments on club giving status.  This is important to our District Foundation Committee leaders so they can accurately forecast final giving and to have one last chance to help clubs with strategies to meet club goals.

Many of the Advocates have already provided their updates, but we still need a few more follow ups.  Everyone knows that this is the time of year when clubs and club leaders are doing double duty — wrapping up the 2014-15 year and implementing plans for the 2015-16 year.

If you are a Foundation Advocate, pick up the phone and check in with  your Club Foundation Chairs.  Club Foundation Chairs … don’t wait for a call … reach out to the Foundation Advocates for your areas.

Bill Henn-CFC Petersburg Breakfast

Bill Henn-CFC Petersburg Breakfast

Club Foundation Chairs don’t just serve as club leaders.  Bill Henn, white tee shirt above, got his hands dirty on May 16 working on the largest district grant awarded in 2014-2015.  The grant for $25,000 was awarded to 6 clubs to make improvements to the Appomattox River Regional Park.  The clubs were Petersburg Breakfast, Petersburg, Hopewell, Colonial Heights (lead club), Chester, and Prince George.

Thank you for all you do!

It’s May, it’s May, the Merry Month of May!

04 Monday May 2015

Posted by in Foundation Reports, Rotary 7600 Foundation News, Rotary Grants

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May is such a wonderful time of the year.  May 1 is my birthday so the month has always been special to me.

For Rotary Clubs it is also a hectic month … meeting goals from 2014 -2015, setting goals for 2015 – 2016, submitting district grant applications, getting ready for the governance transition on July 1.  It is such a dynamic month for Rotary Clubs world-wide.

Many thanks to the Foundation Advocates who are following up with their clubs on all of the above and offering their assistance to Club Foundation Chairs, Presidents, Presidents-Elect, and to their counter-parts, the Area Governors.  Those who care about The Rotary Foundation are a creative, supportive community.

Thanks so much to Brad Reynolds and Jim Halasz  for reaching out with questions on behalf of their clubs.  Thanks to Dennis Wool, Louis Tayon, Paul Strong, and Cynthia Gregg for their followup on their Foundation Advocate duties.

Louis Tayon

Louis Tayon Area 13 Foundation Advocate

My personal goal this month … to use some of my recognition points to ‘recognize’ some of my fellow club members for committed service to Rotary by boosting them to Paul Harris Fellow level.  Would you like to know more?  You know how to reach me.

To all of you incoming leaders and those now serving … thank you for all you do.

Presidents-Elect Attend PETS Training — How do we Advocates Help our Foundation Chairs

23 Monday Feb 2015

Posted by in Rotary 7600 Foundation News

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This Week we have a communication from our fearless District Foundation 100_0497Committee Chair, Jim “Probs” Probsdorfer.

“Greetings to the Advocates Resources Committee and to you hardworking Advocates. Historic Triange Equine Assisted Therapies

The Presidents-Elect (PEs) from District 7600 are attending the Multi-District Presidents-Elect Training  Seminar (PETS) this weekend, February 26 – 28, in Reston, Virginia. You, as club leaders, know that this is the required and most formal of the training experiences for PEs.

 These PEs as Club Presidents will need knowledgeable Club Foundation Chairs (CFCs) to help their clubs be successful and to share in some of the critical leadership tasks. Clubs need noteworthy community and global projects, and strong publicity about those projects to help them attract and retain members.

District and Global Grants are important sources of funds and  expertise for club projects. Generous giving to The Rotary Foundation by club members is the means by which grant funds are available to districts and their clubs for some of their projects.

Grants/projects → Publicity → Members → TRF Giving → DDF $   →  Grants/Projects  

As Foundation Advocates you are the ‘go-to’ persons for your CFCs. In Rotary Year 2013-2014, with your help, District 7600 broke both total and per capita giving records. If we continue this trajectory the district will have vibrant and growing clubs.

Thank you for all you have done in the past for the District and The Rotary Foundation. Thank you for your continuing commitment to The Rotary Foundation.

As the PEs return from PETS they and their CFCs may have many questions for you. Be assured none of us have to know it all. We are all in this learning boat together.

Here are a few suggestions for the next 120 days of transition …

  • Ask the current CFCs for updated giving figures/reports and offer assistance to meet 2014-2015 Foundation Goals
  • Determine who the incoming CFCs will be and offer to help them help their PEs set their 2015-2016 Foundation Goals. Those goals need to be entered in My Rotary/Rotary Club Central
  • Take steps you deem helpful to have names of incoming CFC entered into Rotary Club Central even if that person currently holds that position
  • Reach out to your predecessor for information if you are a new or incoming Advocate
  • Reach out to your Area Governor. Have a beer and compare notes.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to Carol, Cindy, Bruce, me, or any of the 20 or so folks on the District Rotary Foundation Committee to ask for help or to make suggestions. We are all on the same team … those doing good in the world.” —

Probs

Pensive Carol

Carol

Just a thought or two from me … due to our work with the District Rotary Foundation Committee, and perhaps as having served as Club Foundation Chairs, we are building, collectively, amazing knowledge about The Rotary Foundation. We are special.

Have a great week — Carol (woodwardcd@aol.com)

The DTTS Rotary Foundation Glow Defies the Octavia Storm

16 Monday Feb 2015

Posted by in Rotary 7600 Foundation News

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Oyster Point Donates to TRF

Oyster Point Donates to TRF

The glow from the District Team Training Seminar (DTTS) is still warming me even though we are awaiting inches and inches of snow tonight.  Thank you, Octavia!

 In this week’s message I’d like to:

  • provide some insights from the discussions and information from DTTS
  • describe our Advocates’ communication plan
  • ask for some feedback from you as you delve deeper into your Advocate’s role

DTTS:

The Advocates met separately for an hour and then had a joint session to discuss how to analyze club reports and how to work together.

The top challenges raised by the Area Advocates and the AGs were scheduling visits with area clubs, receptivity or not of clubs to visits from the Advocates, and the obtaining of club giving reports by Advocates.

Advocates, in particular, wanted more information on how to use recognition points. The Advocates and the AGs wanted more information shared by district on grant applications submitted by clubs, as well as grants awarded.

Suggestions for working with the clubs included doing more in one-on-one meetings or calls with the Advocates and AG counterparts in the clubs rather than just relying on club visits, sending handwritten thank you notes from time to time, and communicating how important it is for the clubs to get their information into Rotary Club Central.

Jim Probsdorfer presented many documents. Shared here are two of them.

DRFC Awareness Campaign 2015 would probably be better titled ‘The 2015 – 16 Rotary Year At A Glance’. This one-pager, which was also shared with the AGs in the joint meeting, provides a quick look the priorities for each month of the Rotary year. Columns 4, 5, and 6 are of particular interest to Advocates.

2014-15 DTTS Probs Top 5 (1) is a reminder that our work for the current Rotary year is still ongoing. With your help we set Rotary giving records for the district last year and clubs were awarded over $120,000 in district grants in the 2013 –14 year. We can do it again in 2014 – 15.

Advocates Communication Plan:

  • Weekly updates on the Advocates’ page on rotary7600.org
  • similar post on 7600advocates.wordpress.com ‘Follow’ to get notice of updates
  • loading useful/frequently used documents on Resource pages of both sites
  • reaching out in a respectful way via email, phone calls and personal visits
  • occasional Survey Monkey requests for specific information
  • Features, the District Foundation Newsletter, published mid-month
  • ‘Rotary D7600 Foundation Committee’ page on Facebook.

A request for feedback:

  • would a monthly Advocates’ Conference Call be helpful to you?
  • would a frequently asked questions (faq) page on 7600advocates be helpful?
  • What can Bruce, Cindy, and I do – right now – to help?

 

Finally … Thanks to Jaime, Paul, Dennis, Jan, Stan, Jeff, Bruce, Lou, and Cindy for your warm communications this past week or so.