What about Rotary?
About Rotary
Rotary is a global network of more than 1.2 million neighbors and friends who are committed to solving problems. From our local neighborhoods to the farthest corners of the globe, our members work to improve communities in sustainable ways.
Only true vision and consistent effort can solve real-world problems. For over 110 years, Rotary members have applied their passion, energy, creativity, and wisdom to implement projects around the world that address pressing challenges.
We're making the world a better place in diverse areas, encompassing decomposition, peace, clean water, and health. And we never stop working. Learn more about how Rotary is organized.
Our Motto: Service to the Self
For over 110 years, Rotary's Guiding Principles have formed the foundation of Rotary's core values: service, fellowship, diversity, integrity, and leadership.
Our activities
Rotary members believe that solving the world's most persistent problems is our collective responsibility. Through our 35,000 clubs, we strive to:
Rotary History
For over 110 years, Rotary members have been meeting challenges around the world.
Rotary is a grassroots international organization, connected by the connections of over 1.2 million members around the globe. Its unique history began with the vision of one man: Paul Harris. On February 23, 1905, Harris, a Chicago lawyer, founded the Rotary Club of Chicago as a way for professionals from diverse backgrounds to come together to exchange ideas, form meaningful, lifelong friendships, and give back to their communities.
The name 'Rotary' comes from the fact that early members would rotate their meetings between their offices.
"Rotary means a lot to us, but the world will know Rotary through what we accomplish."
Paul Harris
Rotary founder
Rotary founder
Rotary's Unwavering Promise
Rotary members have not only been present at significant historical events, but have also played a leading role in them. Since its founding, Rotary has maintained three core characteristics.
First, Rotary is a truly international organization. In just 16 years since its founding, Rotary clubs have been established on all six continents, and today, members in nearly every country are addressing humanity's most challenging and pressing problems.
Second, Rotary endures difficult times. During World War II, Rotary clubs in Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, and Japan were forced to disband. Despite the perils of war, members continued to meet informally, and after the war, they regrouped to rebuild their clubs and their countries.
Third, Rotary pursues ambitious dreams and bold goals, grounded in its unwavering commitment to service. We embarked on the eradication of polio in 1979, beginning with a project to immunize six million children in the Philippines. By 1988, we had reduced the number of endemic countries from 125 to just three.
$26.50
The first donation to The Rotary Foundation in 1917
$500
The Rotary Foundation's first grant, made to the International Association for Crippled Children in 1930.