Every Global Grant tells two stories.
The first is the project on the ground: the borehole in Ghana, the cataract surgery in Ecuador, the cervical cancer screening in Sierra Leone. The second is harder to see but just as important: the Canadian Rotarian who made a donation three years earlier, then waited patiently while The Rotary Foundation invested the money. By the time a Global Grant closes, the donation that made it possible has been quietly working for years.
This is how TRFC works. Your donation today funds the projects closing three to five years from now. That long horizon is why we can plan ambitious international work with confidence, year after year.
What follows is a snapshot of where some of those donations have recently flowed. It is a sample of Canadian Rotary's ongoing global service, not the complete picture. Many more grants are in planning, in delivery, or already complete and not captured here. But even one slice tells you something striking about the breadth of the work.
The Snapshot, By the Numbers
- 23 Global Grants in this sample, all closed in recent years
- 14 countries on 4 continents (Americas, Africa, Europe, Asia)
- 6 of Rotary's 7 global Areas of Focus are represented in this group alone (only Peace and Conflict Prevention/Resolution does not appear in this particular sample)
- 9 Canadian Rotary districts as international partners, from BC to the Maritimes
- 17 humanitarian projects, 5 scholar grants, and 1 Vocational Training Team
Again, this is just one snapshot. Canadian Rotary's Global Grant footprint stretches well beyond these 23 projects, and grows every year.
Six of Seven Areas of Focus, in Action
Rotary's international humanitarian work is organized around seven global Areas of Focus. This sample of 23 grants touches six of them. The seventh, Peace and Conflict Prevention/Resolution, is something Rotary funds through other Global Grants not captured in this particular snapshot.
The variety within even one slice of work is striking.
Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (6 in this sample)
Clean water and sanitation projects across Colombia, Honduras, Ghana, and Nepal, including boreholes and microflush toilets in eight Ghanaian schools, biosand filters and hygiene training in Ibagué, and a full well-and-filtration system in St. Helene, Honduras. The Honduras project, led by Edmonton-Glenora, was built on a community assessment so exemplary that one of its Rotarians was later interviewed by The Rotarian magazine about the process.
Disease Prevention and Treatment (6 in this sample)
Cervical cancer screening in Sierra Leone, an ophthalmological van for indigenous highland communities in Peru, a cataract surgery Vocational Training Team in Ecuador, a mobile diagnostic van for liver disease in São José do Rio Preto, Brazil, expanded telehealth in Miami, and a medical research scholarship for a Japanese surgeon to study lung transplants at the University of Toronto.
Community Economic Development (4 in this sample)
Solar panel installation training for 120 people across three Brazilian cities (a project that pivoted during the COVID-19 pandemic to keep delivering). Equipment and education for a municipal recycling cooperative in Pato Branco, Brazil. Agricultural sciences and entrepreneurship programming for students in Mission, Texas. And two scholarships at Makerere University in Uganda, training wildlife health and management specialists from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda.
Basic Education and Literacy (3 in this sample)
Capacity building for educators at 47 early childhood development centres in Cape Town. Teacher, librarian, and parent training delivered by Vocational Training Teams in San Ignacio, Belize. And ongoing mentorship for early childhood development practitioners in Durban.
Maternal and Child Health (3 in this sample)
A High Obstetric Risk Unit at the Fundación Hospital San José in Buga, Colombia. A scholarship for a researcher to pursue international public health at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. And a scholarship that sent a Japanese pediatrician to Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children to study infectious disease, work that ended up including pandemic-era COVID research.
Environment (1 in this sample)
The Brazilian solar panel project sits at the intersection of environment and economic development, training people in skilled work that also reduces local energy costs. Two homes for low-income elderly residents and a charitable institution that hosted training cut their electricity bills significantly as a side benefit.
From Coast to Coast
Within this snapshot alone, Canadian clubs from nine districts appear as international partners:
- British Columbia (D5020)
- Southern Alberta (D5360): Calgary Chinook, Red Deer, Calgary West, Calgary at Stampede Park
- Northern Alberta and Saskatchewan (D5370): Edmonton Riverview, YEG Passport, Edmonton-Glenora
- Manitoba, Saskatchewan, NW Ontario (D5550): Sioux Lookout
- Southwest Ontario (D6330): St. Marys
- Windsor area (D6400): Windsor-Roseland
- Eastern Ontario (D7040): Gananoque and the E-Club of D7040 Premier
- Niagara region (D7090): Brantford-Sunrise, St. Catharines, St. Catharines-Lakeshore
- Maritimes (D7815): Kentville, Charlottetown
Plus Toronto (D7070), where two Japanese scholars came to study at the University of Toronto and SickKids.
Notable Firsts and Standouts
A few projects in this group deserve a special mention.
- The first Rotaract-hosted closed Global Grant. The Rotaract Club of Kumasi in Ghana served as the host sponsor for a borehole, toilet, and water-and-hygiene training project in Ejura and Sekyeredumase, partnered with the E-Club of D7040 Premier. A milestone for Rotaract globally.
- Scholars who became Rotarians. A scholarship recipient who studied at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine joined Rotary immediately after her training. She is now a member of the Rotary Club of Sooke, BC.
- An E-Club international partner. The E-Club of D7040 Premier appears as international partner on two of the closed grants in this set, showing how digital-first clubs can play a major role in international service.
- Two-way scholar exchange. Canadian districts hosted Japanese scholars in Toronto, while Canadian districts also funded scholars from the DRC and Rwanda studying in Uganda. The exchange flows both directions.
Why the Three-Year Pipeline Matters
None of this work would be possible without TRFC's investment model. Every dollar donated to The Rotary Foundation (Canada) is invested for three years before it becomes available as a Global Grant. That patience is what allows clubs and districts to plan ambitious, multi-year international service projects with confidence.
The grants in this snapshot trace back to donations made years ago by Canadian Rotarians and friends of the Foundation. The next snapshot, three to five years from now, will be funded by donations made today.
The Bottom Line
23 grants. 14 countries. 4 continents. 9 Canadian districts. 6 of Rotary's 7 Areas of Focus. One Foundation. And this is just a sample.
Canadian Rotary's actual Global Grant footprint is broader than any single snapshot can capture, with new grants closing every year and many more in motion at any given time. What you are seeing here is a glimpse of what TRFC donations become once The Rotary Foundation has had time to put them to work.
The Rotarians who funded these projects gave years ago. The next generation of grants will be funded by the donations made now.