What is Rotary?

Rotary International, the world’s oldest service club organization, is made up of over 32,000 clubs in 168 countries. Its members form a global network of business and professional leaders who volunteer their time and talents to serve their communities and the world. Rotary’s motto, Service Above Self, exemplifies the humanitarian spirit of the organization’s more than 1.2 million members. Strong fellowship among Rotarians and meaningful community and international service projects characterize Rotary worldwide. Rotary enjoys a rich and sometimes complex tradition and organizational structure, with many programs and customs that can be confusing to new and even not-so-new members. The following pages offer a basic Rotary education – the fundamental knowledge that will make every member better informed about Rotary and proud to be a Rotarian.

Rotary International is a global network of service volunteers. It is the world’s largest service organisation for business and professional people, with some 1,180,000 members operating in 166 countries world-wide.

There are some 58,000 Rotarians in Great Britain and Ireland in 1,845 clubs, helping those in need and working towards world understanding and peace. Its a fulfilling role, and Rotarians can get involved as much or as little as their time will allow.

But there is much more. Clubs meet on a regular basis, which allows members to build firm friendships. Every Rotarian has a right to attend any Club meeting anywhere in the world, so there is always somewhere to go, and people to meet, wherever business or leisure travel may take you.

Various Clubs have different emphases, which can reflect differences in size. A small market town may have a Club of perhaps 20 members, whereas in large centres the number can be closer to 100. Some concentrate on local community or vocational projects. Others link up with a sister club in another country to undertake an international project. Each Club decides how it wants to use available resources.

Rotary is a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders that provides humanitarian service, encourages high ethical standards in all vocations, and helps build goodwill and peace in the world. Approximately 1.2 million Rotarians belong to more than 31,000 Rotary clubs located in 166 countries.

Rotary club membership represents a cross-section of the community’s business and professional men and women. The world’s Rotary clubs meet weekly and are nonpolitical, nonreligious, and open to all cultures, races, and creeds.

The main objective of Rotary is service — in the community, in the workplace, and throughout the world. Rotarians develop community service projects that address many of today’s most critical issues, such as children at risk, poverty and hunger, the environment, illiteracy, and violence. They also support programs for youth, educational opportunities and international exchanges for students, teachers, and other professionals, and vocational and career development. The Rotary motto is Service Above Self.

Although Rotary clubs develop autonomous service programs, all Rotarians worldwide are united in a campaign for the global eradication of polio. In the 1980s, Rotarians raised US$240 million to immunize the children of the world; by 2005, Rotary’s centenary year and the target date for the certification of a polio-free world, the PolioPlus program will have contributed US$500 million to this cause. In addition, Rotary has provided an army of volunteers to promote and assist at national immunization days in polio-endemic countries around the world.

The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International is a not-for-profit corporation that promotes world understanding through international humanitarian service programs and educational and cultural exchanges. It is supported solely by voluntary contributions from Rotarians and others who share its vision of a better world. Since 1947, the Foundation has awarded more than US$1.1 billion in humanitarian and educational grants, which are initiated and administered by local Rotary clubs and districts.