The Rotary Foundation is the charitable foundation that helps fund Rotary's humanitarian work. If you want to donate "to Rotary," it helps to know whether you mean the Foundation, which supports work around the world, or a local club such as the Rotary Club of Cebu East. Both paths are real. They are not automatically the same gift.
What The Rotary Foundation is
On its Who We Are page, Rotary International says The Rotary Foundation helps fund humanitarian activities, from local service projects to global initiatives. Clubs, Rotary International, and the Foundation are the three parts of Rotary's published structure.
The Foundation is also the organization behind recognitions such as the Paul Harris Fellow, which thanks cumulative giving of US$1,000 or more to specified Foundation funds or grants.
How Rotary says donations are used
Rotary's Ways to Give page, checked in November 2026, says that when you give to The Rotary Foundation you fuel service projects that eradicate polio, promote peace, and improve communities. The same page states that 90.8 percent of donations go straight to supporting service projects.
It also says Rotary has wiped out 99 percent of all polio cases, that a child can be protected from polio with as little as 60 cents, and that for every US$1 Rotary commits to polio eradication, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has committed US$2. Those statements are Rotary's, from that page, as it read in November 2026. This article reports them with that date attached, because figures of this kind can be updated.
The same official page lists several ways to give: a memorial or tribute gift, recurring gifts through Rotary Direct, support for current service projects, planned giving, gifts to the endowment, support for a global grant, gifts of securities, corporate matching gifts, and check, draft, or wire payments. Rotary's public giving page is the right place to start a Foundation donation, at rotary.org/get-involved/ways-to-give.
The page also publishes a telephone number and an invitation to email Rotary with questions. Those contact details belong to Rotary International, not to the Rotary Club of Cebu East.
Giving to the Foundation, or supporting this club
A Foundation gift goes through The Rotary Foundation and is used in the ways Rotary describes on its giving pages, including PolioPlus and other funds. A gift to the Rotary Club of Cebu East is a gift to this club's work, arranged with the club.
The club's Support our work page asks people who want to donate to the club, or to a specific project, to email the club president to arrange how funds are sent. That page mentions wire transfer and Paypal as examples. It does not publish account numbers. This article will not invent them either.
If you are unsure which path you want, email our club president at cardwell.marc@gmail.com and say what you hope the gift will do. The president can tell you whether a club gift, a Foundation gift, or both is the better fit. There is also a separate page about partnerships and sponsorship if you are writing on behalf of a business or another club.
Polio and other global work
Ending polio is the Foundation cause many people know first. Rotary's history and giving pages say the effort began in 1979 with vaccinations for 6 million children in the Philippines. Official wording in November 2026 says Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only countries where polio remains endemic. The dedicated explainer is Rotary and the fight to end polio.
Foundation gifts can also support the wider list of causes on Rotary's causes and areas of focus.
Questions people ask
If I donate to the Rotary Club of Cebu East, does that automatically go to The Rotary Foundation?
Not automatically. A gift to this club is arranged with the club, as described on the Support page. A Foundation gift is made through The Rotary Foundation. Ask the club president if you want a gift handled in a particular way.
Where do I donate to The Rotary Foundation?
Start on Rotary International's Ways to Give page. That is the official public starting point, checked in November 2026.
Does a Foundation gift make me a Paul Harris Fellow?
Rotary says Paul Harris Fellow recognition is for cumulative giving, or a gift in someone's honor, of US$1,000 or more to the Annual Fund, PolioPlus, or an approved Foundation grant. Details are on What is a Paul Harris Fellow?.
Sources
Facts about Rotary International on this page come from rotary.org, checked in November 2026. Facts about the Rotary Club of Cebu East come from pages recovered for this site.
- Who We Are, Rotary International
- Ways to Give, Rotary International
- Support page of the Rotary Club of Cebu East