Lifecycle of a Service Project (Part 3): Acquiring Resources
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Rotary International is pleased to present this five-part webinar series to support the Rotary family in producing sustainable service projects. The series will highlight different strategies, best practices, and Rotary resources available to help clubs and districts undertake successful, sustainable service initiatives, using real-life examples from Rotarians. These slides are from part 3 in the webinar series: • Learn about resources to help you find partners to collaborate with other clubs or organizations and increase the impact of your project • Find out how to secure funding, volunteers, and needed resources for your service project • Understand the Rotary resources available to you to help make your service project a success Visit www.rotary.org/webinars to view the recorded webinar.
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Lifecycle of a Service Project (Part 3): Acquiring Resources
- 1. Lifecycle of a Service Project (Part 3): Acquiring Resources Rotary International 28 January 2014 #Connect4Good
- 2. #Connect4Good WELCOME TO THE WEBINAR Sheena Lilly Adam Arents Coordinator, Regional Membership Plans Promotions Coordinator Programs Membership Development Jan 2014
- 4. LEARNING OBJECTIVES #Connect4Good During today’s webinar you will: Learn about resources to help you find partners to collaborate with subject matter experts, clubs, or organizations for your service project Find out how to secure funding, volunteers, and needed resources for your initiative Hear real-life examples of small and large, local and international Rotary service projects securing partners and resources Jan 2014
- 5. PARTICIPATING IN THE WEBINAR #Connect4Good Getting connected to audio Use the Audio pod to select Use Telephone - or Use Mic & Speakers * To improve sound quality, please close all unnecessary programs such as email, MS Office, etc. If you have a cellular device, please move it away from your computer. Jan 2014
- 6. LIFECYCLE OF A SERVICE PROJECT #Connect4Good Jan 2014
- 7. LIFECYCLE OF A SERVICE PROJECT #Connect4Good Jan 2014
- 8. LIFECYCLE OF A SERVICE PROJECT #Connect4Good Jan 2014
- 9. LIFECYCLE OF A SERVICE PROJECT #Connect4Good Jan 2014
- 10. LIFECYCLE OF A SERVICE PROJECT #Connect4Good Jan 2014
- 11. LIFECYCLE OF A SERVICE PROJECT #Connect4Good Jan 2014
- 12. LIFECYCLE OF A SERVICE PROJECT #Connect4Good Jan 2014
- 13. ROTARY RESOURCES #Connect4Good Ideas.rotary.org Rotarian Action Groups Rotary Community Corps Rotary Grants Rotaract Clubs District chairs Local/international partnerships • International Rotary events • • • • • • • Jan 2014
- 16. POLL Jan 2014
- 17. ROTARIAN ACTION GROUPS #Connect4Good • Subject matter experts • Enhance club and district service projects • Organized by Rotarians and Rotaractors • International, intercultural Jan 2014
- 18. #Connect4Good ROTARIAN ACTION GROUPS • • • • • • • • • • • • • AIDS and Family Health Alzheimer’s and Dementia Blindness Prevention Blood Donation Child Slavery Dental Volunteers Diabetes Food Plant Solutions Hearing Hunger and Malnutrition Literacy Malaria Microfinance and Community Development • • • • Multiple Sclerosis Peace Polio Survivors and Associates Population & Development • Water and Sanitation Jan 2014
- 19. ROTARIAN ACTION GROUPS PROJECTS #Connect4Good • Annual health camp events in Africa • Sight-restoration procedures in Pakistan • Microcredit loans in Ecuador and Liberia • Trained healthcare providers in Nigeria • Improved access to clean drinking water in Uganda • Distributing hearing aids in Brazil Jan 2014
- 20. ROTARY COMMUNITY CORPS #Connect4Good • Encourage local community members to improving their communities • Help identify and address root causes of community needs • Bring in local subject matter experts • Help incorporate project longevity and sustainability • Provide a framework for local culture Jan 2014
- 21. ROTARY COMMUNITY CORPS PROJECTS #Connect4Good • Provide service opportunities for those with special needs • Organize activities to help reduce youth crime rates • Educate fellow residents on emergency responses to disasters • Shelter and care for orphaned children Questions? District Rotary Community Corps Chair or rotary.service@rotary.org Jan 2014
- 22. ROTARACT CLUBS #Connect4Good • Partners in service • Expertise • Networks Questions? Contact your District Rotaract Chair or rotaract@rotary.org Jan 2014
- 23. ROTARY GRANTS #Connect4Good • Global grants • District grants • Packaged grants Jan 2014
- 24. DISTRICT GRANTS #Connect4Good • Educational and humanitarian activities consistent with the mission • Single “block” grant awarded annually • Smaller activities and projects • Local or international activities Jan 2014
- 25. GLOBAL GRANTS #Connect4Good • Long-term projects • Sustainable, measurable outcomes • Alignment with areas of focus • Larger grant awards Jan 2014
- 26. PACKAGED GRANTS #Connect4Good • Designed by Rotary and our strategic partners, Support Rotary’s six areas of focus • Fund scholarships, humanitarian projects, and vocational trainings • Partnership opportunities: – Needs assessment – Vocational service – Promotion, mobilization – Monitoring and evaluation Jan 2014
- 27. TRAINING ON ROTARY GRANTS #Connect4Good • Rotary.org/grants • Learn.rotary.org Questions? Contact your District Grants Subcommittee Chair, District Rotary Foundation Committee Chair, or Rotary staff: contact.center@rotary.org Jan 2014
- 28. VOCATIONAL TRAINING TEAMS #Connect4Good • Team of professionals • Provide training • Increase sustainability and capacity • May qualify for funding under district, global, or packaged grants Questions? Contact you District Vocational Training Team Subcommittee Chair or contact.center@rotary.org Jan 2014
- 29. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES #Connect4Good • Rotary events (RI Convention, International Assembly, zone trainings) • Project fairs • District leaders Questions? Contact your District Community Service Chair or International Service Chair Jan 2014
- 30. POLL NOV 2013
- 31. Meet our panelist NOV 2013
- 32. MEET OUR PANELIST #Connect4Good Ronald (Ron) Denham, Ph.D. Past District Governor Rotary Club Toronto Eglinton Toronto, Ontario, Canada D7070 Chair-emeritus, Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action Group Jan 2014
- 33. Working with partners NOV 2013
- 34. TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE #Connect4Good • Start locally • Non-government organizations • Community-based organizations • Ideas.rotary.org • Rotary groups • Rotary grants • Corporate and private foundations Jan 2014
- 35. Working with Rotarian Action Groups NOV 2013
- 36. TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE #Connect4Good • Provide technical expertise for evaluation and implementation • Help design an action plan and budget • Select appropriate technologies, materials, etc. • Funding Jan 2014
- 37. TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE #Connect4Good Smaller initiatives: • Project promotion to help connect with partners/funding sources Larger initiatives: • Needs assessments • Implementation strategies • Finding international partners • Identifying funding sources • Assisting with grant applications Jan 2014
- 38. TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE #Connect4Good Jan 2014
- 39. Working with Rotary Community Corps NOV 2013
- 40. TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE #Connect4Good Jan 2014
- 41. TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE #Connect4Good • Local • Mobilize communities • Account for local culture and customs • Bridge gap between project host clubs and local community • Project ownership • Sustainability Jan 2014
- 42. TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE #Connect4Good Jan 2014
- 43. TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE #Connect4Good Jan 2014
- 44. ADDITIONAL ROTARY RESOURCES #Connect4Good • Matchinggrants.org • Local/international partnerships • Social Media & the Internet – Facebook – Twitter – Websites – Blogs – Newsletters Jan 2014
- 45. Your service project tips #Connect4Good NOV 2013
- 47. Thank you for attending today’s webinar! Register for upcoming webinars and view recordings here: www.rotary.org/webinars NOV 2013
Editor's Notes
- SHEENA: My name is Sheena Lilly and I am fromMembership Development. I will be co-moderating today’s session along with Adam Arents from Programs. You may remember us if you joined us for part one of this series in September, or part two in November.ADAM: Hi everyone.As Sheena mentioned, I’m Adam and I support Rotary’s programs for young leaders. We’re happy to be here again to discuss how you can acquire resources for your service project.
- SHEENA:Today’s webinar, along with all the webinars in this series, will help you produce sustainable service initiatives. We will highlight strategies other Rotarians have used in their service projects, offer best practices, and guide you to Rotary resources that can help you with your service project.We understand that each service project is unique in scale. During this series, we will try to provide examples of a variety of service resources and projects so you can learn from other Rotarians’ experiences. You can find details about this webinar series and links to register for each session on the Webinars page at ROTARY.ORG/WEBINARS. We’ll include a link to this page, and all of the resources we mentioned today, in a follow-up email after the webinar. All participants will also receive a link to the recording of this webinar.
- ADAM:Today we hope to inform you about:Resources that can help you find project partners including subject matter experts, clubs, or external organizationsWe’ll discuss tools that can help you secure funding, volunteers, and resources for your projectWe’ll also include real-life examples of Rotary service projects that are both small and large, local and international, and which used a variety of strategies to secure partners and resourcesWe also want to help our attendees learn from each other during this webinar. So during our time together, we will ask you to share your tips for acquiring service project resources by typing in the question pane, and we’ll also ask you to vote in a few polls. We encourage you to participate actively in the webinar. Send us your questions and comments either through the question pane or on Twitter using the hashtag #Connect4Good. We’ll be sharing some of your questions and comments as they come in. Now we’ll take a moment to show you how you can participate.
- SHEENAYou each have your own control panel in the upper right corner of your screen that looks similar to the one here. Use the orange arrow to open or close your control panel.ADAM: For today’s webinar we have __ registrants from __ countries joining us. To maintain the highest sound quality possible, all but our presenters will be muted during the webinar. Please submit questions or comments to our panelists and to Rotary staff by using the question pane on your control panel.You can also use the question pane if you’re having technical difficulties. Just describe the problem you are having in the question pane, and a staff member will assist you right away.Now, let’s take a moment to practice. Please use your question pane to type in one or two words to describe where you look when seeking funds, volunteers, experts, and partners for your humanitarian projects.****** Comment on answers coming into the questions pane
- SHEENA:We mentioned earlier that every service project is unique. However, there’s one thing service projects have in common, which is that they tend to share a common “lifecycle”. On your screen is a graphic that represents the lifecycle of a service project.As you can see, the key stages are:
- SHEENA:Planning
- SHEENA:Acquiring Resources
- SHEENA:Project Implementation
- SHEENA:Evaluation and Promotion
- SHEENA:Each webinar in this series touches on different aspects of these key areas, and gives you best practices and tips that you can implement right away, no matter where you are in the lifecycle of YOUR project.
- SHEENA:Remember to keep your project goals in mind as you consider options for acquiring resources. Take your time determining which strategies and tools are most appropriate for each of your projects.
- ADAM:Securing resources for a project can be a daunting task. You may already be familiar with some of Rotary’s options to help projects find the support they need. The suggestions we’ll discuss today include tools like Rotary’s new crowdsourcing platform, a tool that helps a project or idea collect resources from hundreds or thousands of people. We’ll also touch upon our experts such as Rotarian Action Groups, groups like Rotary Community Corps and Rotaract clubs, Rotary Grants, district leaders, partnerships, and Rotary events. After we briefly go through this list, our panelist will join us to detail how clubs and districts can work with these groups to support their projects. It’s important to remember that simply presenting a project plan and requesting specific resources is not enough to successfully establish partnerships and acquire funding, volunteers, and in-kind donations. To succeed, you’ll need to use these tools while working your local and international networks, both within and outside of Rotary, to make your project happen. If you have questions at any point during the webinar, please submit them using the question pane in your control panel.
- SHEENA:You may have heard about Rotary’s new crowdsourcing tool, an application that helps the Rotary family connect with resources needed for their service projects. Crowdsourcing is the idea of acquiring needed services, ideas, or support by soliciting contributions from a large group of people. You may be familiar with popular crowdsourcing websites such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo. For those who remember the old ProjectLINK database, this tool has replaced ProjectLINK and offers more features to the Rotary family and prospective donors or volunteers.Rotary and Rotaract clubs can post information about their projects seeking funding, volunteers, in-kind donations, and partners at ideas.rotary.org. After posting a project, the sponsoring club can promote their initiative on social media, on their club or district website, in a newsletter, and beyond. Rotarians and non-Rotarians alike can access project listings to learn more about a project, contact the sponsoring club, and contribute to the project using the tool. To access our crowdsourcing site, visit ideas.rotary.org. Rotary members should sign in using their My Rotary account. Visitors outside of the Rotary family can sign in using a Google or Facebook account.
- ADAM:Once a club has added its project to ideas.rotary.org and indicated which type of support it is seeking – either funding, volunteers, in-kind donations, partners, or a combination of these – it’s up to the club to start promoting the project. The tool allows users to easily share projects through Facebook and Twitter. Users can also embed a project listing in a newsletter, blog, or on a website. As I mentioned earlier, Rotarians and non-Rotarians can sign in to the tool and contribute to projects. Monetary contributions can be made online through the tool if the club accepts payments through PayPal payments. Otherwise, the club should mention if they accept money contributions by check, money order, or wire transfer. Individuals and clubs looking for projects to support can visit ideas.rotary.org and search active projects by keyword, area of focus, club name, or language.Although ideas.rotary.org is new, a number of clubs have already used it to find global grant partners, volunteers, and donors. We’ll send you a link to a detailed tutorial on how to post projects to our crowdsourcing site and how to share them with your personal network. If you have any questions, contact social@rotary.org.
- SHEENA:Before we continue with the ideas on acquiring project resources, you have a chance to participate in our first poll of the day. We want to know which project resources you have sought within the past six months.Since July 2013, my club has tried to secure the following project resources:FundingVolunteersIn-Kind DonationsPartners (grant partners, subject matter experts, etc.)OtherPLEASE SELECT ALL OF THE OPTIONS ON YOUR SCREEN THAT APPLY TO YOU:[DISCUSS POLL RESULTS]
- ADAM:Now we’ll talk about Rotarian Action Groups, which are a great resource when looking for project support. Rotarian Action Groups can act as volunteer consultants available to help you design and implement effective, sustainable club and district service projects. These Groups tap into the expertise of Rotary’s top thought leaders and are recognized by Rotary’s Board. They are made up of Rotarians, Rotarians’ family members, and Rotaractors from at least five countries who have a passion and expertise in a specific area. Rotarian Action Groups align with Rotary’s six areas of focus and are available to advise on Rotary-led projects.
- SHEENA: Let’s talk about some of the specific areas that Rotarian Action Groups work on. You’re looking at a list of all of the different areas our 18 current Groups address. You can find descriptions of each of our Rotarian Action Groups and contact information for each Group’s officers on Rotary’s website. We’ll send you a link to this document after the webinar. We’ll be joined by one of our Rotarian Action Group experts in just a little bit to hear more about how these groups can serve as a resource to your projects.
- ADAM: With the help of Rotarian Action Groups, and often other partners, clubs and districts have organized large and small initiatives all over the world. Some examples include: - Providing health care services to 275,000 disadvantaged people in Uganda, Nigeria, and South Africa.- Connecting clubs in Ecuador with a microfinance institution and helping lay the foundation for future microfinancing and development collaboration.- Distributing 164 solar powered hearing aids to adults and children in Brazil.Our panelist will go into detail about how clubs with projects of different sizes can work with Rotarian Action Groups to strengthen their service works.
- SHEENA:Thanks, Adam. Some of our audience members may be familiar with the next resource we’ll discuss, Rotary Community Corps. A Rotary Community Corps is a team of non-Rotarian men and women who are committed to their community’s long-term economic development and self-sufficiency. These groups can be found all across the Rotary world and can help clubs identify—and address—community needs.A Rotary Community Corps is sponsored by a Rotary club from the same district and, just like Rotaract and Interact, the club acts as its partner in service for community development projects. As representatives of the community, Rotary Community Corps members bring enthusiasm, creativity, and sustainability to the projects they design and implement. Essentially, they offer community solutions for community issues.Some RotaryCommunity Corps are founded to assist with a specific project, while others attempt to tackle larger, more entrenched local problems. Working with one of these groups helps clubs strengthen ties with the community and achieve a greater service impact while empowering members to make a difference and develop their own leadership skills in the process. These partnerships can also help bring a Rotary grant application to the next level by incorporating a plan for sustainability and project longevity.
- ADAM: As Sheena mentioned, Rotary Community Corps differ in shape and focus, depending on the needs of the local community. I’ll share a few examples of projects that have involved these groups:In the United States, clubs have organized Rotary Community Corps to help adults with special needs learn new skills while giving back to their community through service projects. Focused on decreasing local crime rates, a Pakistani club sponsored a Corps to arrange large soccer tournaments and provide meaningful and engaging activities for local residents.A Japanese club sponsored a Rotary Community Corps to train local schools on proper emergency disaster alleviation courses.A club in Kenya sponsored a Corps to establish a home for children whose parents have died from AIDS.Our guest panelist will also share a few examples of successful Rotary Community Corps and how they’ve helped secure resources, bring local expertise, and ensure the sustainability of a service project.More information about sponsoring and working with these groups is available on Rotary’s website. A link to these resources will be included in the follow-up email you’ll receive after this webinar. You can also contact your District Rotary Community Corps Chair for more information.
- ADAM:Now, as I mentioned before, I work with Rotary’s programs for young leaders, including Rotaract clubs. The young professionals and university students who get involved with Rotaract can be excellent partners in service. Just like Rotarians, Rotaractors provide unique insights into the local community’s needs. Rotaract members can also provide technical skills and expertise as project volunteers, fundraisers, and implementers. Through unique approaches to problem solving, mobilizing efforts, and using social media, Rotaractors also have their own personal networks that they can include in service initiatives once they are invested in a project.Consider connecting with a Rotaract club in the community where your project will be implemented or sponsor a local club and partner up on your service efforts. If you have questions about chartering a new Rotaract club, please contact your District Rotaract Chair or email us at Rotaract@rotary.org.
- SHEENA:As you all know, The Rotary Foundation offers great opportunities for Rotary clubs and districts to receive funding for their service projects. There are opportunities for Rotarians to create service projects using district, global, and packaged grants.
- SHEENA:District grants support smaller, short-term activities both locally and internationally. They support the overall mission of The Rotary Foundation, and offer clubs and districts great flexibility by supporting a wide range of activities. District grants are not required to support activities that align with an area of focus. A district can submit a spending plan annually for a block grant to support club-sponsored activities.For example, a club in South Africa purchased vegetable gardening equipment to expand a school vegetable garden that provides meals for students and improves their nutrition through a district grant.
- ADAM:Global grants fund long-term projects and activities that align with one of The Rotary Foundation’s six areas of focus. Projects must be sustainable and yield measurable results. Global grants provide large awards, with a minimum total project cost of 30,000 US dollars. Clubs and districts in different countries partnering together can develop global grants for humanitarian projects, scholarships, vocational training teams, or a combination of these activities relating to the same area of focus.For example, with the help of a global grant, a district in Ecuador implemented a training program for primary education teachers in 20 schools, supporting reading comprehension and writing methodologies to improve the quality of education.
- ADAM:Finally, packaged Grants differ from the other two types of grants because they are designed by Rotary in collaboration with our strategic partners. These pre-designed grants outline specific roles and responsibilities for clubs, allowing them to contribute their expertise where it is needed most. Just like global grants, each packaged grant supports one of Rotary’s six areas of focus. These grants are used to fund scholarships, humanitarian projects, and vocational trainings. Some examples of roles clubs have played as recipients of packaged grants include:Assessing community needs and identifying groups who could benefit from a projectSelecting and mentoring scholarsAssembling teams of professionals for vocational trainingsProviding technical expertisePromoting and publicizing activitiesMonitoring and evaluating a project
- SHEENA:We just shared a very brief overview of the types of projects that may qualify for each category of Rotary grants under our new funding model. There are detailed online resources available to help further explain each type of grant, the qualification and application process, sustainability, and more available on our website. Visit rotary.org/grants and our Learning Center at “learn.rotary.org” for more information.You can submit questions for staff now through your question pane or contact your District Grants Subcommittee Chair, District Rotary Foundation Committee Chair, or Rotary staff with any questions in the future. Staff can be reached by writing to contact.center@rotary.org.
- ADAM:Many of our audience members may have heard about vocational training teams, but today we’ll go into detail about the funding available for these teams. A vocational training team, or a group of professionals, travels to another country to teach local professionals about a particular field. Vocational training teams increase capacity of the project host community and help ensure project sustainability. If your project has a training component, it may be possible to obtain grant funding to help pay for the training. Under our new grant model, district, global, and packaged grants all support these teams, but each grant type has different requirements.For information about which types of vocational training teams would qualify for funding under each grant type, sign in to My Rotary and search for “Vocational Training Teams”. If you have questions about these teams, feel free to write to Rotary staff at contact.center@rotary.org or contact your District Vocational Training Team Subcommittee Chair.
- SHEENA:In addition to the mentioned tools and resources, there are annual Rotary events and many leaders in Rotary who are eager to help you with your project.Rotary events including the Convention, International Assembly, zone trainings, and institutes, bring together Rotary members from different regions of the world with a wide variety of technical skills, project experiences, success stories and learned lessons, and interest in fostering international partnerships. Many of our members have met project partners at these events. Members representing their clubs and districts at Rotary events should bring information about a current or upcoming project that will need support and explore partnership opportunities with their counterparts from around the world in the House of Friendship, during workshops, roundtable discussions, breakout sessions, and meals.Project fairs are also excellent approaches to finding project partners. Fairs are hosted at the district level for the host region’s clubs to showcase their humanitarian projects in need of support. International visitors interested in learning about the region, making new friends, and establishing international project partnerships attend the fairs and connect with prospective project partners. Contact your district leaders if you’re unsure whether your district hosts or participates in a fair.If you have any questions about these resources, please submit your questions to Rotary staff. We’ll answer as many questions as possible during the question and answer session at the end of the webinar.
- ADAM:Before we hear from our panelists, we want to know if you have used the following mentioned resources: Of the Rotary resources we have talked about today, which has your club used in the past?:ideas.rotary.org (replacing the ProjectLINK database)Rotarian Action GroupsRotary Community CorpsRotary GrantsOtherPLEASE SELECT ALL OF THE OPTIONS ON YOUR SCREEN THAT APPLY TO YOU:[ADAM DISCUSS POLL RESULTS]
- SHEENA: Thanks for participating in the poll. Now let’s meet our panelist.
- SHEENA:I’m excited to introduce Past District Governor Ron Denham, a member of Rotary Club of Toronto Eglinton, in Ontario, Canada, District 7070. Ron received his Bachelor of Science and Doctorate degrees in mechanical engineering in his native country, England. After obtaining a Masters in Business Administration, Ron entered the management and consulting profession where, as senior partner in Canada’s largest firm, he played a major role in development projects around the world.Ron has been active in Rotary for over 40 years. Among his many accomplishments, Ron is a Past District Governor and the founding chair of the Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action Group, commonly known as WASRAG, a group of 1,500 Rotarians in over 75 countries dedicated to improving life and livelihood of communities through the provision of safe water, sanitation, and hygiene. He has supported projects in Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Ghana, and India. While Ron’s current mission is to encourage every Rotary club to become involved in a water/sanitation project, Ron has a wealth of experience with connecting resources for projects of all scales and sizes. He is currently a member of the committee coordinating the US AID/Rotary alliance to bring safe water to developing countries. ADAM:If you have any questions for Ron at any point, type them in the question pane. We’ll ask Ron as many of your questions as we can later in the webinar.Thank you for joining us today, Ron!RON:Thank you for the warm welcome, Sheena and Adam, and thank you to everyone joining us today for the webinar. This topic, partnerships, is so critical to success that I hope, in future, whenever you are planning, or even just thinking about a project, you will ask yourselves-who are the partners who will help to make this a truly sustainable, effective project.
- ADAM:Ron, given your extensive experience working on small and large projects, both locally and internationally, can you speak to the roles partnerships play in supporting a project?RON:Time and time again we see how project partnerships, especially ones that contribute insight into the host community, where the project is being implemented, are instrumental to the success of any humanitarian endeavor. Partnerships provide expertise, local knowledge, insights into the local culture and values, and they provide a means of accessing local resources to provide training and know-how. Quite often partners can be a source of funding to complement club, district, or TRF contributions.
- SHEENA:And sometimes, one partnership can be an introductory point for an entirely new network of support. Where would you recommend clubs and districts begin their search for partnership opportunities?RON:I always advise starting locally. There may be local non-governmental organizations or community-based organizations that want to partner with Rotary and offer skills and knowledge lacking among our members. I would also ask whether other local groups are working on similar initiatives. If so, can we reach out to discuss ways of working together, to join forces and expand our reach rather than duplicate efforts. A project may need resources at different stages of execution. The needs assessment should involve local partners to provide input from the local community and an understanding of local organizations such as a “Water Users Committee”. The local “District Water Officer” or equivalent should be able to tell us about the plan for water and sanitation in the region.Partners can help to raise funds, identify volunteers and apply for a grant. Promoting an event also benefits when partners share the workload with us. In all of these activities, culture, values, and local regulations should be inputs into planning a project to ensure its success, effectiveness, and sustainability. On an international scale, clubs should seek Rotary and NGO partners from hi-economy countries for funding and expertise. Corporate and private foundations are playing an increasing role. As mentioned previously in the presentation, ideas.rotary.org is a great starting point. Rotarian Action Groups are another great link to external resources. For example the Water and Sanitation Rotarian Action Group, has links with Engineers without Borders, UNESCO-IHE, in Delft, Unicef and “Eau sans Frontieres” and organization of Rotary clubs in France.
- ADAM:Can you walk us through how Rotarian Action Groups can help clubs and districts design and implement effective projects?
- RON:First and foremost, Rotarian Action Groups provide technical expertise—“how to do it”. It may be providing a template for conducting a needs assessment to ensure that we identify the real need in the community. Once the community’s needs have been identified, members of the Rotarian Action Group can help the host Rotary club to evaluate and select the appropriate technology, and design an action plan and budget to address the issues and reach the project’s goals. Rotarian Action Groups are global with members from many different regions of the world. Consequently they can often access sources of funding through a charitable or humanitarian organization. For example, the Royal Bank of Canada donated $100,000 in 2012 for a major rainwater harvesting program led by the Rotary club of Bombay Midtown. This donation resulted from relationships between members of Wasrag (Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action Group) in Canada and the Bank. Rotarian Action Groups also help to prepare grant applications, to The Rotary Foundation and other grantors as many members have gained much experience in grant writing for their own clubs and districts. Frequently RAGs (Rotarian Action Groups) help to link clubs, in developing countries, seeking support with clubs in North America, Europe, Japan or other developed country offering support and know-how.
- SHEENA:Does a project need to be a certain size or span a certain number of countries and geographic regions in order to receive support from a Rotarian Action Group? RON:No, but the nature of support will depend on the size and scope of the project. For a small project, Rotarian Action Group support may be limited to helping a club list its project on the group’s website, or a reference in a newsletter. For larger projects of Global Grant scale, Rotarian Action Groups will offer help with needs assessments, preparing implementation strategies, finding international partners, identifying sources of funding, and assisting with grant applications. Equally critical is the design and implementation of monitoring and evaluation procedures.
- ADAM:Can you provide a few examples of how clubs and districts work with Rotarian Action Groups?RON:Specifically in our case, the Water and Sanitation Rotarian Action Group has supported clubs and districts in many different ways:On a smaller scale, Rotary clubs in Cote D’Ivoire needed funds to match for a TRF Matching Grant a few years back. WASRAG provided $30,000 to facilitate the match.On a medium scale, the Rotary Club of Bombay Midtown needed additional funds for a rainwater harvesting program among tribal people. WASRAG negotiated $100,000 from the Royal Bank of Canada.On a large scale, WASRAG recently provided $75,000 to support two global grants for rainwater harvesting programs in Nakuru, Kenya.As I mentioned, in addition to assisting with funding needs, Rotarian Action Groups provide technical expertise. In 2011 WASRAG supported a team of experts to conduct needs assessments of water and sanitation projects on Remba Island in Lake Victoria, an island where the population, according to public health officials, was drinking “faeces”. Another project our group supported was providing experts for PPP (Project Planning and Performance) teams in Papua New Guinea, Tanzania, Uganda and Turkey. These teams helped host clubs prepare project plans for water and sanitation in the region. Wasrag members have also assembled a set of technical guidelines, available on our website, to help Rotarians to evaluate, select and implement appropriate technologies such as bio-sand filters, VIP toilets, sand dams, manually drilled bore-holes etc. As Adam and Sheena mentioned earlier, each of Rotary’s 18 Rotarian Action Groups specializes in a certain area and each Group can provide varied levels of support. Visit Rotary’s website to connect with a specific group to explore partnership opportunities.
- SHEENA:Thanks, Ron. We’ve already received a few questions regarding working with Rotarian Action Groups that we’ll address during our question and answer session in just a little bit. Earlier, we also mentioned Rotary Community Corps as resources to help implement projects. Can you explain how a Rotary Community Corps be leveraged at this stage of the project lifecycle.
- RON:Much of Rotary’s work, in developing countries, takes place in villages and rural communities, distant from the nearest Rotary club. Members of these communities do not have the resources to become Rotarians but still wish to help address local needs. Rotary Community Corps, commissioned by the host Rotary club may be the answer. They can provide insights into cultural values and practices. Very often comprising local women’s groups, RCCs play a key role in empowering the local community to address its needs. After being trained, they can train local householders to implement local solutions for their needs.For example, in the Nakuru region of Africa, the local club has commissioned at least 20 Rotary Community Corps. These groups, after appropriate training, show fellow residents how to build rainwater harvesting systems. Another example is a Rotary Community Corps in Peru that helped to produce bio-sand filters for distribution to local households. The distributed devices are made locally and circulate locally.
- SHEENA:It sounds like these groups can help ensure the sustainability and longevity of projects.RON:Exactly. Rotary Community Corps are local. They mobilize a community. They ensure local culture and customs are captured in Rotary activity. They bridge the gap between host Rotarians and local people, thus ensuring that local needs are met. In many communities they become the “executing agency” under direction of the host Rotary club. They also have a vested interest in success. They have to live with the results of their work; their commitments are the basis for sustainability. Rotary grant applications that establish Rotary Community Corps help to ensure that the project’s impact lives on in the community long after Rotary’s direct support.
- ADAM:We hear the term sustainability used a lot, especially with Rotary’s new grant model. Can you please explain why local involvement is so crucial to sustainability?RON:That’s an important question. Local involvement is key to “ownership”. It implies decision-making by the community. It means a local committee to agree on technology and tariffs. If the community doesn’t “own” the service, it is less likely to support it, even if the service does fulfill a need. Successful projects and programs MUST reflect local culture, values, and beliefs. Only the local people can do this. For example, attitudes towards the use of toilets vary among communities. One approach to ensure that newly introduced toilets are acceptable to a community is to involve a pivotal community leader, such as the village chief, in the initiative. A Rotary Community Corps, working with local leaders, helps gain this credibility. It bridges the gap between the host club and community acceptance of the solution. Decisions on projects in each area of focus MUST reflect local needs. If they don’t, it is unlikely the community will adopt or support the facility or service.
- SHEENA:You have provided our audience members with some really great ideas on how to utilize some of Rotary’s groups when implementing projects and applying for Rotary grants. Thank you again for joining us today, Ron.RON:Thanks for having me, Sheena and Adam. We’ve touched upon many important resources during today’s webinar. Sustainability of projects is the key challenge facing Rotary clubs everywhere. The traditional Rotary approach of deciding what is good for a community and then implementing the solution will not ensure sustainability. We need to act differently. Most important we must listen to the community and provide the solutions they choose.This emerging complexity calls on every available resource. Only in forming partnerships within Rotary, at all levels, and beyond Rotary to the institutional, commercial and academic world will Rotary be able to maintain and enhance the global image we have created through to the eradication of Polio.
- SHEENA:SThank you again, Ron, for joining us today, and for sharing your insights on how Rotary’s resources can help projects make a sustainable impact near and far.An addition to the mentioned options, clubs and districts have had great success using external tools to find partners, raise funds, and connect with volunteers. Matchinggrants.org is a district-created and maintained website that helps prospective global grants post information about their projects and connect with interested partners.As we’ve stressed throughout the presentation, social media and the Internet plays a central role in helping acquire project resources. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, My Rotary’s discussion pages, blogs, newsletters, and club or district websites help spread information about your project and can help you connect with partners near and far.
- ADAM: Ron has given us a lot of details about his experience with service projects, and how he has seen projects acquire needed resources through different approaches. Now we want to hear from you – please share your tips for securing project resources with the audience. Use the question pane to type in your tips. Again, you can also share your tips on Twitter using the hashtag #Connect4Good. [READ SOME TIPS THAT THE AUDIENCE SUBMITTED THROUGH THE QUESTION PANE]SHEENA: (After a few minutes of questions have gone by) Keep those tips coming. We’ll continue reading some of these during the last part of the webinar.
- SHEENA: While we’re more of your service project tips are coming in, let’s go to your questions. We’ve already received a lot of great questions, and we will answer as many of them as we can over the next few minutes. Anythat we can’t respond to during this webinar will be answered by email afterward.The first question comes from ______. [Read questions, flagged in RED, and direct to the appropriate panelist for response.][Intersperse questions with Service Project Tips, these will be flagged in YELLOW.]ADAM:We’re nearing the end of our time for today’s session. Thank you for attending. We appreciate your participation! As a reminder, this is only the third webinar in a series of five, so we encourage you to sign up for the rest of the webinars in the series, at the web address shown here on your screen: www.rotary.org/webinarsThe next webinar in the Lifecycle of a Service Project series will focus on implementing your service project. You can also find a recording of today’s webinar, and the first webinar of the series, on the same page – just click “On Demand” to view this and other webinar recordings. After today’s webinar ends, you will see a survey on your screen. Please take a minute to complete the survey, since we will use your feedback to help us develop the rest of the webinars in this series.
- ADAM: Feel free to share the recording with others who may have missed today’s webinar, and encourage them to sign up to attend the next webinar in the series, Lifecycle of a Service Project (Part 4): Project Implementation.Within a few days, you’ll receive an email with a link to a recording of this webinar, information about some of the resources mentioned during today’s presentation, and a link to register for the part four of this webinar series. Another thank you to our panelist, Ron Denham, and all of our participants. We hope to see you for the next service project webinar!