Rotary International

About Rotary

The world of Rotary consists of more than 28,736 clubs in 157 countries. The number of clubs ranges from more than 7,300 in the United States to only one or two in small island nations and the newer republics of the former Soviet Union. Besides the U.S., 14 other countries with more than 500 Rotary clubs. In order, they are Japan, Brazil, the United Kingdom, India, Australia, France, Korea, Germany, Canada, Argentina, the Philippines, Italy, Mexico and Sweden.

As of June 30, 1997, there were 1,213,748 Rotarians.

Why Rotary?

The vision of Rotary founder Paul Harris was of a club that would kindle friendship among members of the Chicago business community. He wanted to find in the large city the kind of friendly spirit and helpfulness that he had known in the small towns where he had grown up -- the spirit to reach out in service to others less fortunate. Through the subsequent spread of the Rotary movement, the spirit of friendship and service evolved quite naturally into a focus on helping to build goodwill and peace in the world.

It was also Harris's thought that the first club should represent a cross-section of the business and professional life of the community. From this idea developed Rotary's Classification Principle. Admission to Rotary club membership is by invitation, and accepting the invitation represents a personal commitment of the Rotarian to exemplify high ethical standards in one's own vocation or occupation.

As the entity representing the global association of all Rotary clubs, Rotary International's mission is to assist Rotarians and Rotary clubs to accomplish the Object of Rotary, emphasizing service activities by individuals and groups that enhance the quality of life and human dignity, encouraging high ethical standards, and creating greater understanding among all people to advance the search for peace in the world.

Classifications

Membership in a Rotary club is by invitation and was based on the founders' paradigm of choosing one representative of each business, profession and institution in the community. What is called the "classification principle" is used to ensure that the members of a club comprise a cross section of their community's business and professional life.

A Rotarian's classification describes either the principal business or professional service of the organization that he or she works for or the individual Rotarian's own activity within the organization. The classification is determined by activities or services to society rather than by the position held by the particular individual. In other words, if a person is president of a bank, he or she is not classified as "bank president" but under the classification "banking." The classification principle fosters a fellowship for service based on diversity of interest, and seeks to prevent the predominance in the club of any one group.

When a person becomes an active member of a Rotary clubs, it is said that a the member has been "loaned" a classification. He or she may propose one additional active member in that classification. On completing five, ten or fifteen years of service, depending on the individual's age, he or she becomes a "senior active" member and their classification is released to enable another person to join the club.

Structure Administration

Rotary is organized at club, district and international levels to carry out its program of service around the globe. Rotarians are members of their clubs, and the clubs are members of the global association known as Rotary International. Each club elects its own officers and board of directors and enjoys considerable autonomy within the framework of its constitution and the constitution and bylaws of Rotary International.

Clubs are grouped into Rotary districts, each led by a district governor who is an officer of Rotary International and represents the RI board of directors in the field. During the 1997-98 Rotary year, there are 521 districts. The number can increase as new clubs are chartered. A 19-member board of directors, which includes the international president and president-elect, administers Rotary International. The board meets quarterly to establish policies and programs, with input from committees representing all parts of the Rotary world.

While the Rotary International president is chief executive of the organization, the active managing officer is the general secretary who heads a staff of about 450 persons working in one of nine centers around the world. The international headquarters is in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois.

Club Structure

Rotary clubs operate under the Standard Rotary Club Constitution, originally adopted in 1922. It contains the club's name, definition of its territorial limits, and rules for regular club meetings, membership, attendance, admission fees and dues. It provides for a board of directors as the club's governing body and a president and other officers. Their terms of office -- like those of international and district officers -- begin on July 1 each year.

Most clubs use the "recommended committee plan" to carry out service projects and activities. It includes four main committees corresponding directly to Rotary's Four Avenues of Service. The club president assigns a director to each avenue to act as coordinator and supervisor of the work of several subcommittees.

Avenues of Service

The term "Four Avenues of Service" is frequently used in Rotary. The "Avenues" refer to the four elements of the Object of Rotary: club service, vocational service, community service and international service. They describe the primary areas of Rotary activity.

Club service involves all of the activities necessary for Rotarians to make their club function successfully. Vocational service is a description of the opportunity each Rotarian has to represent the dignity and utility of one's own vocation to other members of the club. Community service pertains to those activities which Rotarians undertake to improve the quality of life in their community. It frequently involves assistance to youth, the aged, the handicapped and others who look to Rotary as a source of hope for a better life. International service describes the many programs and activities which Rotarians undertake to advance international understanding, goodwill and peace. International service projects are designed to meet humanitarian needs of people in many lands.

District Structure

The chief officer of a Rotary district is called the district governor, and each of these 521 men and women is considered an officer of the international organization. Typically, a district consists of about 45 Rotary clubs. The governors serve one year, providing leadership and guidance to help clubs carry out the Object of Rotary and strengthen the programs of Rotary within the district. A District Leadership Plan allows for the appointment of assistant governors to help with this task

The annual district conference, lasting two or three days, is open to all Rotarians in the district along with their families, Youth Exchange students, Interactors, Rotaractors, and Group Study Exchange teams are welcome. The district conference furthers Rotary's program through a keynote address by a personal representative of the RI president, group sessions, forums, exhibits and fellowship. It usually focuses on the current RI theme. The conference can legislative on matters of concern to the districts and may consider special matters submitted to it by the RI Board. It may propose legislation for consideration by the next triennial Council on Legislation.

Rotary International History

On February 23, 1905, a Chicago lawyer, Paul P. Harris, called three friends to a meeting. What he had in mind was a club that would kindle fellowship among members of the business community. It was an idea that grew from his desire to find within the large city the kind of friendly spirit that he knew in the villages where he had grown up. The four businessmen didn't decide then and there to call themselves a Rotary club, but their get-together was, in fact, the first meeting of the world's first Rotary club. As they continued to meet, adding others to the group, they rotated their meetings among the members' places of business, hence the name. Soon after the club name was agreed upon, one of the new members suggested a wagon wheel design as the club emblem. It was the precursor of the familiar cogwheel emblem now worn by Rotarians around the world. By the end of 1905, the club had 30 members.

The second Rotary club was formed in 1908 half a continent away from Chicago in San Francisco, California. It was a much shorter leap across San Francisco Bay to Oakland, California, where the third club was formed. Others followed in Seattle, Washington, Los Angeles, California, and New York City, New York. Rotary became international in 1910 when a club was formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. By 1921 the organization was represented on every continent, and the name Rotary International was adopted in 1922.

Rotary Foundation

What is now The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International grew from a small endowment fund started in 1917. It became the Rotary Foundation in 1928 but grew only modestly until 1947 when it received a number of gifts in memory of Paul Harris upon his death on Jan. 27 of that year. Accelerated growth in recent years has made it a major source of activities to provide humanitarian assistance, to enhance education and promote international understanding and peace. Since 1917, contributions to the foundation have totaled $824.3 million including $61.7 million in 1994-95.

A major source of the Foundation's recent growth, and of Rotary's increasing membership, has been the burgeoning of the Rotary movement in Asia. Also growing is the number of new Rotary clubs in countries formerly in the Communist-governed bloc of eastern Europe. Countries where there were no Rotary clubs in 1987 now have more than 220.

Among programs that Rotary has undertaken in recent years, the largest is PolioPlus, whose goal is the eradication of the disease polio throughout the world. To achieve that goal, Rotary is working in coalition with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Task Force for Child Survival and Development, supplying funds for vaccine purchase and manpower for polio immunization campaigns in polio-endemic countries. If the disease is eradicated by the year 2000, the achievement will be certified in time for Rotary to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its birth in a polio-free world.