On 1 July, we will embark on our newest challenge as an organization: the full rollout
of the Future Vision Plan, the new grant model for our Rotary Foundation. We in Rotary
have set for ourselves a simple and vital goal: to do the most good we can with all
the resources we have. To do this, we will be working to reduce overhead; to improve
accountability, transparency, and local control; and to focus our service more intensely
in the areas where we know we can have the most impact.
With Future Vision, we will implement a simplified grant structure that will encourage
Rotarians to serve in our six areas of focus: peace and conflict prevention/resolution,
disease prevention and treatment, water and sanitation, maternal and child health, basic
education and literacy, and economic and community development. These are areas in
which Rotarians around the world have already been working for many years, and in which
we have experience and a track record of project sustainability.
Sustainability will be a major focus under Future Vision, as we shift our emphasis to
long-term, high-impact projects. Simply put, a sustainable project is one that will continue
to benefit the world even after Rotary funding ends. The ultimate example of a sustainable
project, of course, is polio eradication: When polio is gone, the good that we have done
will continue forever, centuries after the last polio vaccine is given. And the lessons
we have learned from PolioPlus are universal. A truly sustainable project requires an
emphasis on planning and cooperation, a long-term perspective, and an approach that
considers community members as partners in our service, not passive recipients.
Embracing Future Vision means embracing a more ambitious view of Rotary – one
in which we work to address major issues in a serious, lasting way. It is a new way of
thinking about our service, and an approach that I believe will lead to a Foundation
more capable than ever of Doing Good in the World.
