As you can see by the headline, the District Grants program is changing.  We are now COMMUNITY Grants. This change is made to avoid ongoing confusion with the District Designated Funds (DDF) that are passed along to the District from The Rotary Foundation (TRF) as one block grant.  This block grant is also a District Grant. Another reason for the change is to remind ourselves that 50% of our donations to TRF Annual Fund comes back to D6900 three years later for use in our communities. What a wonderful way to create hope right in our own back yard!

We also have other improvements coming to the grant program such as Rotaract Clubs can now apply for a Community Grant in conjunction with their sponsoring club.  Funding is lower for a Rotaract Club for this first year as we need to test the program and make sure we don’t run out of grant funding.  Rotaract Club grant funding will be evaluated at the end of the 2024 Community Grant year (around April ’24) and adjustments will be made based on the success of the program.  (In order to have Rotaract Clubs apply, be sure their information is updated on the District website at rotary6900.org.) 

We have added a Collaborative grant category to join our Standard and Competitive grants. This grant will allow three (or more) Rotary Clubs to apply for a Community Grant of up to $30,000!  One Collaborative grant will be selected for the upcoming year.  The more clubs collaborating, the merrier!

So what does your club need to do to take advantage of the world of Community, Competitive and/or Collaborative Grants for the 2023/24 Rotary year?

• Meet the March 31, 2023 deadline for submitting ALL your documentation for 2022-23 district grants spending to District 6900 via Rotary6900. All that paperwork must be fully accepted and the 2022-23 grant must be closed by April 7, 2023.
• Get your project ideas ready now - know what your community needs and how you can help so you're ready to complete the grant applications. And think about the clubs you might collaborate with on a larger community project.
• Attend Training Session for Community Grants, Competitive Grants, and the exciting Collaborative Grant worth up to $30,000 (remember at least three or more clubs planning and implementing one entire project together) - training dates will be announced soon.
• Submit your grant applications to the District by May 15, 2023 - 2023-2024 Community, Competitive and Collaborative Grants received by the District. Start Planning now as no requests will be honored after this day.  

On May 19, 2023, - 2023-2024 Competitive and Collaborative proposals will be reviewed and winners will be selected and notified.

We hope to make additional improvements to the Community Grant program and announce those changes soon.  For now, check out the provisions for grants for the 2023-2024 Rotary year with regards to funding and deadlines. Let the planning begin!

Zoom discussion/training sessions for the 2023-2024 Grant year will be scheduled soon to be held after April 7, 2023, which is when the current grant season must be closed out.

Thank you for all you do for your communities, your club, and for Rotary around the world!

Gillian Leggett - D6900 Community Grants Chair

gkleggett@att.net

404.202.2409